RFA: New Technologies for Ag Extension Accelerator Program Year 3 Projects
REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
Accelerator Program Year 3 Projects
Funded by a Cooperative Agreement with the USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Ag Extension Program awarded to Oklahoma State University
SUMMARY: Project/program team leaders are invited to apply to this NTAE Program Accelerator. By the end of one year, accelerated programs are stronger, better-resourced, and more easily adopted or adapted by others across the Cooperative Extension system to serve the needs of people and communities. For one year, project leaders and teams are partnered with the Extension Foundation and are coached to identify new possibilities and strengthen their planned impact. Each team receives support to create materials and experiences that engage Extension resources to speed development and generate a change where it is desired. In addition to stipend funding, the full value of this program is in the accelerator experience. Awardees can expect robust and productive interaction with a group of catalysts and key informants in a mentoring role to help the leader and their team grow professionally over the course of a one- year partnership.
AWARD DATES: September 1, 2021 -August 31, 2022
ELIGIBILITY: The RFA for NTAE Year 3 Projects is open to all Land Grant University Cooperative Extension professionals from 1862, 1890, and 1994 institutions. LGUs may submit more than one project nomination.
AWARD: Approximately eight projects will be awarded.
- Awardees receive $10,000 in the form of a stipend and/or salary and benefits of up to 10K. Indirect costs are not allowed on these funds. Recipients of this funding can be the team leader, team members, or support personnel.
- Awardees receive the mentorship of an Extension Foundation Catalyst throughout the 1-year Accelerator Program.
- Awardees receive support from Key Informants that is customized to each project’s needs including, but not limited to, team leadership development, communications and marketing/market research, evaluation planning, partnership development, digital engagement, professional development delivery, and publishing of project methodologies and support materials.
- The one-year journey for the project leader and team will be unique. Please expect the time commitment for the team leader to be as much as 10 to 20 percent (4-8 hours per week) on average over the course of one year.
REQUIREMENTS:
- All applications must align with the USDA Strategic Goals USDA Strategic goals and align with Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) program priorities (ECOP) Program Priorities.
- Projects must be in the early stages of maturity and have a high potential for making a significant local/state impact, and by providing a model for adoption by Extension professionals regionally or nationwide. This means the project is likely to have objectives completed, audiences identified, potential outcomes identified, and implementation planned or in an early stage.
- Each application should identify a team leader (a Fellow) for the project who will serve as the primary contact.
- Teams must have at least three (3) members including a project/team leader.
- All applications must have the support of the Extension Director/Administrator.
TIMELINE:
- May 10, 2021 Application Workshop for those interested in strengthening their application
- May 12, 2021 Application Workshop for those interested in strengthening their application
- July 16, 2021 Applications Due
- August 13 Approximate time for award notifications
AWARD DECISIONS: Award decisions will be considered final. Award decisions will be published on the Extension Foundation Website and emailed to each institution individually.
AWARD RECIPIENTS: Awardees will participate in quarterly project meetings along with meetings as needed to work with Catalysts and access Key Informant resources. Quarterly reports are required.
APPLICATION ACCESS: The application is available at https://applyextension.smapply.io/ The proposal will be submitted using an online application linked to our Application Portal. Applications can be initiated, saved in progress, and completed at a later date. If you do not already have an account in our system, the first step will be to obtain an account by using the registration link in the Application Portal. You can invite other team collaborators to assist in building and submitting your application.
APPLICATION GUIDE: The Application Guide will prepare you to submit your application and provide resources to frame your proposal. NTAE Application Guide
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Tira Adelman
Extension Foundation
Grants and Project Manager
FURTHER INFORMATION:
The New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) cooperative agreement with the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through a partnership with Oklahoma State University will enter its third year on September 1, 2021. A key program in the cooperative agreement is the Program Accelerator. The Program Accelerator is a unique partnership between a project/program team and the resources of the Extension Foundation for a year of rapid growth and progress resulting in expanding the team’s local impact and national potential. Our unique methods and team of catalysts and key informants work uniquely with each team to produce scalable, better resourced, and more effective programs and community-based initiatives through a one-year boost of additional support. You can learn more about NTAE projects taking advantage of the Program Accelerator at https://impact.extension.org/ntae/.
Applications for the NTAE Program Accelerator for Year 3 will need to align with the USDA Strategic goals and be early-stage/high potential projects. In Year 3, projects are also sought to align with the Extension Committee on Policy (ECOP) Program Priorities to bring greater support for projects serving multiple national initiatives. At least one proposal is desired that advances the understanding of an engaged university. Such evidence includes 1) partner programming with nontraditional university units (colleges of liberal arts, engineering, medical school, etc.) and/or 2) co-creation of project design with partners, audience, and/or community members.
