AMES, Iowa—The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is now accepting pre-proposals as part of the Center’s long-running competitive grants program.
Those with innovative ideas for research projects that impact water, soil, crops, and the land are encouraged to submit a pre-proposal. The competitive grants program is comprised of four initiatives: Ecology, Marketing and Foods Systems, Policy, and Cross-cutting.
The 2016 Request for Pre-proposals (RFP) encourages submissions for research projects whose outcomes contribute to increased resilience on Iowa landscapes as well as demonstrating a systems approach rather than single-tactic solutions.
The focus areas for this year’s pre-proposals are:
- Soil health and associated biological processes
- Farming options for a more diverse landscape
- How to increase adoption of conservation practices
- Preliminary development of a collaborative group/issue team to research a critical sustainability topic
- Food hubs/food processing and distribution business development.
In addition to the focus areas, pre-proposals will be categorized in one of 10 subject portals including: water, soil, landscape, crops, integrated farming systems, energy, livestock systems, policy, social, and marketing and food systems.
Full details for this year’s RFP are available on the Leopold Center website. This includes information on the 10 subject portals, instructions on submission, and the criteria by which the pre-proposals will be assessed. The Center will accept pre-proposals from investigators in Iowa nonprofit organizations and agencies or Iowa educational institutions. Farmers, landowners and farm-based businesses are invited to participate but must be partnered with a nonprofit organization or eligible investigator. The deadline for submitting a pre-proposal is July 7, 2016.
The pre-proposals will be reviewed by the Leopold Center Advisory Board and staff after July 7. Invitations to submit a full proposal will be sent in September. The RFP can be found on Leopold Center website at: www.leopold.iastate.edu/grants/rfp
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture was established in 1987 through the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act. It is a research and education center at Iowa State University created to identify and reduce negative farming impacts and to develop new ways to farm profitably while conserving natural resources. The Center’s competitive grants program awards funds to researchers and investigators across Iowa, extending more than 500 competitive grants since 1988. For more information about the Leopold Center, visit the website: www.leopold.iastate.edu.
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