Project Review Committee Tutorial: Steps to Reviewing Proposals

The Project Review Committee is involved in the review and selection of the following Southern SARE Grants:

• Research and Education Grants

• Education Grants

• Graduate Student Grants

• Young Scholar Enhancement Grants

---

Research and Education Grants

Research and Education Grants are research-based projects with required farmer collaboration, and an educational/outreach component to extend the project findings to the public. Research and Education Grants encourage a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary systems approach to agricultural research.

Research and Education Grants involve a pre-proposal and full proposal application process. Applicants whose pre-proposals are selected will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Research and Education Grant pre-proposals open in late February or early March with an application deadline in June. In August, selected pre-proposal applicants are invited to submit full proposals, with an application deadline in November. Full proposals are selected and announced in February.

The full Administrative Council is involved in screening pre-proposals at the close of the pre-proposal grant deadline. After the full Administrative Council makes its recommendation on the pre-proposals, the Project Review Committee meets to discuss which pre-proposals to invite for full proposals based on the scores, comments, and recommendations put forth by the Administrative Council. At the full proposal stage, a team of outside technical reviewers score the full proposals. Once the technical reviewers have completed their reviews, the Project Review Committee reviews and makes funding recommendations to the full Administrative Council.

The following Project Review Committee Review tutorial provides guidance for reviewing proposals so that both seasoned and new Committee members are prepared to put forth the most effective research-driven projects (both quantitative and qualitative) to help farmers further sustainable agriculture practices across the Southern region.

---

Education Grants

Education Grants, while open to academic institutions, are specifically designed for organizations, such as non-profits, to conduct sustainable agriculture work that is not grounded in research. Education Grants should focus on a topic area of sustainable agriculture relevance that meets SARE’s program goals. In addition, the proposed project should comprise education/outreach efforts/activities that support the research/education foundation of the institution/organization, and must clearly articulate how those education/outreach efforts/activities will be implemented and evaluated.

Education Grant proposals open in May with an application deadline of August. Selected projects are announced for funding in February.

The Project Review Committee is involved in reviewing Education Grant proposals. Once the Committee has completed its technical review, it makes funding recommendations to the full Administrative Council.

The following Project Review Committee Review tutorial provides guidance for reviewing proposals so that both seasoned and new Committee members are prepared to put forth the most effective educational-based projects to help farmers, organizations, and others in the community further sustainable agriculture practices across the Southern region.

---

Graduate Student Grants

Graduate Student Grants are specifically for Master's and PhD students enrolled at accredited institutions across the Southern region to conduct sustainable agriculture research projects. The main objective of the Graduate Student Grants is to prepare the next generation of scientists in researching sustainable solutions to the challenges farmers and ranchers face each day, and to prepare young professionals to work together with other scientists, educators, and farmers to test sustainable ag theories in real-world, on-farm situations.

Graduate Student Grant proposals open in February with an application deadline in May. Selected projects are announced in August.

Once the application deadline closes, proposals receive reviews from outside technical reviewers. Once the technical reviewers have completed their reviews, the Project Review Committee reviews and makes funding recommendations to the full Administrative Council.

The following Project Review Committee tutorial provides guidance for reviewing proposals so that both seasoned and new Committee members are prepared to put forth the most effective student-focused, research-driven projects (both quantitative and qualitative) to help farmers further sustainable agriculture practices across the Southern region.

---

Young Scholar Enhancement Grants

Young Scholar Enhancement Grants are not open to the public. These grants support active Research and Education Grants and Education Grants, and are designed for a researcher or community-based ag professional to bring on board a high school or undergraduate student who is interested in pursuing college degrees emphasizing agriculture careers.

Principal investigators with active Research and Education Grants and Education Grants are invited in February to submit an application, with an application deadline of April. Selected projects run 6 weeks over the course of the summer, beginning June 1.

Once the application deadline closes, the Project Review Committee evaluates proposals and makes funding recommendations to the Executive Committee for approval, generally in April.