California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (ARI) California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo FY 2008-2009 Request for Proposals David Wehner, Dean Mark Shelton, Campus Coordinator Sue Tonik, Grants Analyst TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4-5 Glossary 1. General Information 6 2. Types of Campus Funding 7 3. Matching Funds 7-8 4. Indirect Costs 8 5. Insurance Certification 8-9 6. Format/General Instructions 9-10 7. Notices of Intent 10 8. Final Proposal 10 9. Checklist Instructions 10-12 10. Signature Page Instructions 12-13 11. Timelines 13-14 Submissions, Review, Award Notification, and Funding 13-14 Orientation Meetings 14 Interim, Annual and Final Reports 14 12. Abstract/Impact/Summary Page Instructions 14 13. Narrative Instructions 15-17 Statement of Problem/Issue 15 Statement of Methodology 15 Dissemination Plan 15-16 Impact/Industry Support Statement 16 Staffing 16-17 2 Budget 17 14. Seed Funding Proposals 17-18 Attachments: 19-35 1. Contact List 19 2. Checklist 20-24 3. Signature Page 25-26 4. Project Timeline 27 5. Budget Format 28 6. Proposal Evaluation Instructions 29-30 7. A&B Proposal Rating Sheets 31-32 A. ARI Matching Funds Acquisition Policies and Guidelines 33-35 3 Glossary Added compensation For faculty, added compensation or additional employment is sometimes referred to as “overload”. Therefore, added compensation refers to CSU additional employment of up to twenty-five percent of a full-time position in excess of a full-time workload, or when appropriate, in excess of a full-time time-base. Additional employment and overload limitations and calculations are based on workload or time-base, not salary (CSU Policy HR 2002-05). For employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, the additional employment provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement supersede CSU Policy HR 2002-05 and govern the administration of additional employment. ARI The California State University Agricultural Research Initiative Campus Coordinator Campus coordinators are the individuals responsible for ARI campus administration, local program oversight and collaboration with the ARI executive director on each of the four member campuses. Campus Funding Campus funding is ARI funding dispersed directly to member campuses in support of intra-campus competitive proposals submitted under these Guidelines. Cash Legal tender that can be used in exchange for goods, debt or services. This includes bank accounts, marketable securities, government bonds, banker’s securities, and sponsored projects at the submitting member’s campuses or its financial auxiliary. Collaboration Collaboration for ARI System proposals shall consist of at least one listed collaborator or cooperator from an academic, governmental or non-profit institution outside of that of the Project Director AND either a subcontract of the current proposal to that institution or for the proposal to be receiving financial support via matching funds. Collaborator Collaborators are scientifically and/or practically qualified individuals with key expertise and responsibility for completion of a significant portion of a project’s goals and objectives. Cooperator Cooperators are scientifically and/or practically qualified individuals with specific expertise in project topics that provide advice, guidance and consultation to the project director and co-principal investigators. Co-Investigator Co-investigators are scientifically qualified individuals with specific project related expertise who share responsibility with project directors for all aspects of a project. 4 Executive Director The executive director is the individual responsible for the ARI’s overall administration, day-to-day operational management and oversight, promotion and program and financial accountability. Faculty Release Faculty release is a funded reduction in the academic teaching workload of a specific faculty member. In-kind In-kind refers to any support which is NOT cash and includes goods, services and equipment donated by third parties regardless of the taxable status of the donation as a gift. Key Personnel Key personnel are project personnel with significant identified project related responsibilities. Match Match or matching funds are donated or pledged cash and/or in-kind goods, services or equipment of verifiable financial value other than that originating from the CSU State Budget General Fund allocation. Member Campus Member campuses are those CSU campuses with colleges of agriculture; California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO), California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly, Pomona), and California State University, Chico (Chico State). Pending Match Pending match is any ARI project related cash or in-kind match funding request that has not yet received final funding notification. Project Director The project director is the individual ultimately responsible for all pre and post award proposal and project management including, but not limited to, proposal preparation and submission, securing and verifying appropriate external match, budget management, coordination of research and personnel activities, timely submission of research and financial reports, information dissemination, and relevant technology transfer. Sponsored Project Cash with some term or condition attached or other deliverable. System Funding System funding is ARI research funding annually awarded solely on a competitive basis to address priority statewide applied agricultural and natural resources issues. It is available to any qualified ARI member campus faculty or research scientist. 5 PROPOSAL FORMAT 1. General Information A. Notices This publication contains various changes and clarifications to the ARI Call for Proposals that will be important to note when preparing a proposal for submission. Therefore, applicants are advised to thoroughly review submission requirements and formats. This is an instructional document intended to assist applicants in the preparation, submission, and management of ARI proposal and projects. It is not an application form. Corresponding printable/interactive application and project management forms are located on the campus ARI website at: http://ari.calpoly.edu/ B. Proposal Expectations ARI Funds are available either campus-wide or statewide on a competitive basis. Therefore, the Board of Governors has determined that all proposals must meet a minimum standard to be peer reviewed for funding consideration. Addressing ALL of the required sections, from the “Abstract” to the “Impact/Industry Support Statement,” including a sound economic analysis of the proposed research, timeline, and full budget justification, is required for a proposal to be considered complete and ready for peer review. Proposals that do not contain all of the required sections WILL NOT be eligible for further consideration. Researchers are advised to review Attachments &A&B, the “Proposal Evaluation and Rating Sheets” as well as Attachment 6, the “Instructions for Review Committee Proposal Evaluation” for additional information on the evaluation process. C. Proposal Priorities The ARI provides public funds that are annually matched at least one-to-one with industry/agency resources to fund high impact applied agricultural and natural resources research, development, and technology transfer, as well as related public and industry education and outreach. Its projects and programs improve the economic efficiency, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of California agriculture and its allied industries. ARI programs lead to consumer sensitive and environmentally sound food and agriculture systems and foster public confidence in food safety and agricultural research and production systems. Through a system of university-industry partnerships, the ARI focuses on finding immediate and practical solutions for high-priority challenges in the following research areas: ‰ Agricultural business ‰ Biodiversity ‰ Biotechnology ‰ Food safety, nutrition, processing, & new product development ‰ Natural resources ‰ Production & cultural practices ‰ Public policy ‰ Water & irrigation technology 6 Additional information can be obtained from the ARI web site at http://ari.calpoly.edu. 2. Types of Campus Funding A. Seed Funding Eligibility Length of Award Maximum funding Number of Awards Available Matching funding required Timeline Project Director must be a first year tenure-track faculty member in a non-endowed position 1 year $5,000 Maximum of 4 per year none special – see Timelines in section 10. B. New Investigator Funding Eligibility Length of Award Maximum funding Number of Awards Available Matching funding required Timeline Project Director must be a first through fourth year tenuretrack faculty member; Project Director is not eligible if he/she has received or concurrently receives a Campus Competitive Award maximum of 2 years $20,000 per year Maximum of 4 per year minimum of 75% with 20% being cash regular – see Timelines in Section 10. C. Campus Competitive Funding Eligibility Length of Award Maximum funding Number of Awards Available Matching funding required Timeline all tenure-track faculty and lecturers on AY appointments > 85% maximum of 3 years there is no maximum, however due to limited resources, it is suggested that projects stay under $50,000 per year except for one-time capital equipment expenses the number of awards is dependent on available funding each year minimum of 110% total with 25% being cash regular – Timelines in Section 10. 3. Matching Funds Matching funds must be project related. This may take the form of direct cost share, serial or parallel studies, or some other justifiable support but must be fully explained in the ARI 7 proposal. Additionally, if the work performed with matching funds is not a direct cost share, care must be taken to demonstrate the scope of work to be done under each form of support and relationships between these components. Both the narrative and the budget sections must reflect this support. As an example, if support has already been received to perform objectives 1, 2 and 3, please explain that the ARI funding will be used to support additional new objectives 2a, 2b, 2c, 4 and 5. Matching funds for the first year of an awarded proposal must be received between July 1, 2007 and December 15, 2008. Awards are not made based on the availability of matching funds; however, if matching funds do not arrive for an awarded proposal by December 15, 2008, that award will be cancelled and the awarded funds will be carried forward to the following funding year. Matching funds for subsequent funded years of multi-year proposals must also be received no later than December 15 of that funding year and are a necessary condition for project augmentation by ARI funds. Matching funds can be of three types and combinations are acceptable as stated previously: sponsored project, cash gift, and gift in-kind. (see Glossary for definitions) For a further explanation of the Cal Poly College of Agriculture Policies and Guidelines for receipt of matching funds, please refer to Attachment A. 4. Indirect Charges Pursuant to ARI policy approved by the Board of Governors regarding indirect charges, the ARI does not allow the imposition of any indirect charges to funding projects, contracts, subcontracts, and/or the transfer of portions of a project budget between colleges, centers, campuses, university systems, or other public or private agencies. 5. Insurance Certification Project directors are responsible for ensuring that the following liability insurance certification statement is incorporated into all agreement(s) with contractor(s) and subcontractor(s) and/or any other recipients(s) of ARI project funds. Certification recognizes the differing requirements of each ARI member campus and by this reference makes each campus’s relevant policies, procedures, and directives a mandatory part of any ARI agreement(s) with contractor(s) and subcontractor(s) and/or any other recipient(s) of ARI project funds from each respective campus. “Contractor(s) and/or subcontractor(s) affiliated with an ARI funded grant acknowledge and agree that the administration of such grant and/or any related sub-grant agreement(s) shall be subject in all respects to the policies, procedures and regulations of the ARI, California State University System, its individual colleges and universities, and their respective applicable Foundation(s) which are by this reference made part of any and all such contracts and subcontracts. Contractors and subcontractors, and their agents and employees, in the performance of an ARI grant and/or sub-grant, shall act in an 8 independent capacity and not as officers or employees or agents of the ARI the CSU, individual CSU colleges and/or universities, or any affiliated university Foundation(s). Contractors and subcontractors assume all risks as an independent contractor, and agree to obtain all insurance necessary for the protection of the CSU, ARI, individual CSU colleges and/or universities and any affiliated Foundation(s), all of said entities’ employees, agents, representatives, boards, committees, directors, officers, administrators, and volunteers, as well as the Contractor and subcontractor in connection with work under an ARI grant and as required by law, including, but not limited to, general liability insurance, automobile liability coverage, and workers’ compensation insurance bearing policy limits in compliance with existing law and university policy. Contractors and subcontractors will be required to provide certificates of insurance evidencing the existence of such coverage upon execution of the grant agreement or subagreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, other types and/or amounts of insurance may be required, depending on the type of work to be performed by the contractor or subcontractor. Contractors and subcontractors shall indemnify, defend, and save harmless the State of California, Trustees of the California State University, individual California State University colleges and universities, affiliated Foundation(s), the ARI, and all of said entities’ employees, agents, representatives, boards, committees, directors, officers, administrators, and volunteers from and against any and all losses, damages, suits, claims (including actions by administrative agencies), penalties, settlement amounts, costs, liabilities and expenses (including, but not limited to, a reasonable investigation, legal and paralegal expenses), that may arise out of or relate in any way to the contractor’s and/or subcontractor’s performance of an ARI grant award agreement. This indemnification obligation shall survive any expiration or termination of the Agreement.” 6. Format/General Instructions Use the following format for both Notices of Intent and Final Proposals: ‰ Program: Microsoft Word and Excel (if combining documents into one document, please use page and section breaks; if you do not feel comfortable doing this, submitting separate documents is acceptable) ‰ Font: Times New Roman ‰ Font Size: 12 point ‰ Margins: 1 inch margins – top, bottom, left and right ‰ Text: single spaced ‰ Headings: double spaced and bolded ‰ Footer: essential on each page (document name, date and page number) The following also should be submitted with Final Proposals: ‰ Checklist: available at http://ari.calpoly.edu/rfp.htm ‰ Signatures: available at http://ari.calpoly.edu/rfp.htm ‰ Budget: available at http://ari.calpoly.edu/rfp.htm ‰ Timeline: use the attached timeline format Please submit one electronic copy of the Notice of Intent by the due date listed in section 11. 9 Please submit one electronic copy of each Final Proposal plus one hard copy of the signature page and any non-electronic attachments for use by the Campus Coordinator and the ARI executive director’s office by the due date listed in section 11. 7. Notice of Intent (for New Investigator and Campus Competitive funding only) Notices of Intent should be no longer than 3 pages and must include: A. Proposal title (the Notice of Intent title and the respective final proposal title must be similar) B. The project director, including academic affiliations, position title, specific expertise (agronomist, pathologist, enologist, etc.), mailing and e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers. C. Co-investigators, collaborators, and cooperators including academic affiliations, position title, specific expertise (agronomist, pathologist, enologist, etc.), mailing and e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers, etc. D. Anticipated faculty release and/or additional employment to be funded E. In ranked order, the two (2) most appropriate ARI research focus areas addressed F. An estimated ARI funding request (provide by fiscal year as well as the total) G. The proposal’s anticipated duration (not to exceed three years) H. Potential external match funding sources, including: ¾ Donor’s name, title, contact information and funding classification (industry, state agency, federal agency, foundations, individual, and/or other) ¾ Anticipated type of match (cash and/or in-kind) ¾ Estimated actual market value of match G. A brief description of the proposed research. 8. Final Proposal Final proposals must include the following completely executed sections: ‰ Checklist Summary ‰ Signature Pages (signatures of Campus Coordinator and Dean are NOT required at this point) ‰ Detailed Annual Budgets ‰ Title Page ‰ Abstract Statement (not required for Seed Funding proposals) ‰ Proposal Narrative (Seed Funding proposals should refer to section 13) ‰ Project Timeline ‰ Curriculum Vitae/Resume (brief versions – no longer than 6 pages each) ‰ Documentation of Matching Funds Incomplete proposals will not be peer reviewed or considered for funding. 9. Checklist Instructions Attach the checklist pages to the front of the proposal (before the title page). Use the checklist provided at http://ari.calpoly.edu/rfp.htm 10 (please duplicate individual sections as necessary). Do not delete any section of the checklist pages and do not leave blank lines. If part or all of a checklist page section is not applicable, place an “NA” on the appropriate lines. The following information is required: A. Title – Provide the entire final proposal title. B. Submission date – Provide the date the proposal was submitted to the Campus Coordinator. C. Project Director – Identify the individual who serves as the project director with ultimate responsibility for the project’s coordination and outcomes. Provide the following information: ‰ name ‰ title ‰ affiliation (center, department, college, university, company, etc.) ‰ mailing address ‰ phone number ‰ fax number ‰ e-mail address ‰ specific expertise (e. g. agronomist, pathologist, enologist, etc.) D. Other Key Personnel – Provide the following completed information for all co-PI’s, collaborators and cooperators in this order: ‰ name ‰ title ‰ affiliation (center, department, college, university, company, etc.) ‰ mailing address ‰ phone number ‰ fax number ‰ e-mail address ‰ specific expertise (e. g. agronomist, pathologist, enologist, etc.) E. Proposal type – Indicate which type of Campus funding is being sought and state the duration of the project. Maximum project lengths are dependent on funding type as indicated in Section 2. F. Research focus areas - Identify the research categories that best describe this proposal’s subject matter for scientific review. If more than one category is suitable, prioritize your preferences numerically. Further information on the focus areas can be found at: http://ari.calpoly.edu/classification.htm G. Funding request – Identify the total ARI funding being requested. If the proposal is for a multiple-year project, also identify each fiscal year’s request and the total request separately. 11 H. Funding requirement - Indicate in a short statement if your project must be completed as presented in this proposal, or if the research activities could be segmented and partially funded. Identify what impact partial funding would have on the project. I. Match – Documentation of all match funding is required. (Seed Funding proposals should leave this section blank.) ‰ the names and contact information of all donors and/or pending donors ‰ category of match offered (industry, state and/or federal agency, foundation, individual, and/or other) ‰ dollar amount of cash and/or in-kind match sought (in-kind matches must be fair market value) Pending match must include the complete donor name, date of submission to an external funding entity and anticipated date of award notification. For more information on matching funds, please see Attachment A: ARI Matching Funds Acquisition Policies and Guidelines at the end of this Call for Proposals. J. Faculty and research staff release and/or additional employment pay – Identify all faculty release and additional employment pay requested by each individual (indicate the percentage of release time requested, if any, including the number of WTU’s, and quarter involved). If additional employment pay is requested, identify the position fraction, amount of pay and period of time. 10. Signature Page Instructions The project director is responsible for securing all appropriate signatures prior to submission of a proposal to the campus coordinator. If one or more of the following signatories is not applicable to a proposal submission, place an “NA” in the appropriate space. Do not delete any signatory subsections. It is the project director’s responsibility to allow adequate time for each of the appropriate signatories to review and comment on the proposal prior to ARI submission deadlines. Signatories who have not been provided adequate review time may reject a proposal A. Project Director: The Project director is solely responsible for a project’s programmatic outcomes and financial accountability. [If co-PD’s are involved, this section should be duplicated.] B. Department chair/head Department chairs/heads review proposals to ensure that the proposal supports the programmatic goals and objectives of the department, and that any faculty release time and/or additional employment pay request is practical and can be coordinated with the teaching requirements of the department. [If more than Department is involved, this section should be duplicated.] 12 C. Center directors and/or the farm manager/director of operations Center directors and/or the farm manager/director of operations review proposals, if necessary, to ensure that the use of center/farm resources such as land, equipment, personnel, and laboratory and office space is reasonable, and that the support requested can be provided. Stop at this step for Campus submissions. D. Campus Coordinator: Campus coordinators will review proposals for conformity with ARI goals, objectives, and format, including collaboration and matching fund requirements. They will also verify the project director’s compliance with requirements of existing ARI-funded projects. E. Dean The Dean certifies that the proposal conforms to ARI goals and objectives; is complete and in compliance with ARI requirements; that the project director is in compliance with all previous ARI-awarded project requirement; that the proposal supports the programmatic goals and objectives of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science; and that proposed faculty release time and additional employment pay meet the College’s requirements. 11. Timelines (apply to all 3 funding types unless otherwise noted) A. Submissions, Review and Award Notification August 1, 2007 Call for Proposals released October 29, 2007 Notices of Intent Due (only New Investigator and Campus Competitive Funding) Last Monday of October. February 22, 2008 Proposals due to campus coordinator 4th Friday of February. March 14, 2008 Proposal submission to reviewers 2nd Friday of March. late April, 2008 Technical Review Committee meets mid May, 2008 Award Notification 13 July 15, 2007 Funding availability and/or 10 working days after the Governor signs the State Budget (including any applicable State budget trailer bills) – All funding is contingent upon final approval of the State Budget. B. Project Director Orientation Meetings Summer through fall 2008 Campus coordinators are responsible for conducting project orientation meetings for project directors within five weeks of award setup as needed. C. Interim, Annual and Final Reports and Receipt of Matching Funds November 7, 2008 Interim reports due 1st Friday of November. December 15, 2008 Deadline for receipt of first year matching funds for new awards. (only New Investigator and Campus Competitive Funding) April 17, 2009 Annual Reports due for projects continuing beyond 12 months. (only New Investigator and Campus Competitive Funding) June 30, 2009 Project completion target date (excluding any no cost extensions). August 31, 2009 Final reports due Note: All project reports are due at the executive director’s office within ten working days after the date due to campus coordinators. It is the campus coordinator’s responsibility to collect system project reports. It is the Dean’s responsibility, after consultation with the campus coordinator, to certify that project reports are timely and that they meet all ARI requirements. Project directors should submit all system reports directly to their respective campus coordinators. 12. Abstract/Impact/Summary Page Provide a brief summary (350 words or fewer, written for a generalist to understand) that describes the research and its benefit to society and/or the industry, that can also be used for promotion. The abstract/impact/summary page is separate from the narrative. 14 13. Narrative Proposal narratives are limited to no more than 10 single-spaced pages (excluding the checklist, signature, summary, budget, timeline, and other attachment pages) and should include the following: A. Brief Statement of the Problem/Issue (worth 20 points) Describe the problem or issue being addressed and explain why it is a high-priority for California agriculture; what is the anticipated economic impact of addressing the issue as the proposal suggests; and what are the short-term, intermediate and/or long-term benefits of conducting this research. Describe how this project is unique or supports the research of others. B. Statement of Methodology (worth 20 points) Provide a statement of the purpose of the research, a list of the research objectives, and a description of the research activities. Include the experimental design and the method of data collection and data analysis. A timeline of major activities (see Attachment 4) should outline the start and the end date of each activity. Dissemination should be included as an activity. C. Dissemination Plan (worth 10 points) Each plan must contain a detailed account of the actions that will be taken to disseminate project results to the California agricultural industry. A copy of all dissemination manuscripts must be submitted to the executive director’s office within thirty days of its first presentation for ARI publication and promotion. In any news release or public conference initiated by the issuance of any news release, during the conduct of any public conference, and/or within the release of any publication, newsletter and/or project summary the following statement shall be included: “Partial funding for this project has been made available by the California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (ARI)”. It is expected that major effort will be made to provide relevant information to California farmers, ranchers, agribusiness concerns and other relevant stakeholder groups. While professional journal publications, attendance and presentations at professional meetings, and other service to one’s discipline are strongly encouraged, involvement in these activities alone does not constitute a complete ARI dissemination plan, because California farmers’, ranchers’, and agribusiness concerns typically do not receive such publications or participate in such activities. Examples of dissemination activities acceptable for ARI projects are the following: Events ƒ Conferences, seminars, workshops, or field days ƒ Continuing education professional programs Publications ƒ California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (CSU/ARI) annual report ƒ California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (CSU/ARI) web site ƒ California Agricultural Technology Institute (CATI) Update articles 15 ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ Newsletter articles Technical reports, research bulletins, circulars, or fact sheets Interim reports of research in progress Articles in popular trade journals and other publications Articles in refereed journals Books Monographs Presentations ƒ Posters ƒ Video/photographic materials ƒ Industry meetings ƒ other Internet site D. Impact/Industry Support Statement (worth 20 points) Describe the expected return of the proposed research to California agriculture and its related industries. This return from your research may come from an expected decrease in costs, an expected increase in benefits, or both. You can cite academic or other scholarly sources that have already estimated the potential returns of your research. Industry trade publications can be an acceptable source as long as the information is not anecdotal. If this information does not exist, you should attempt to develop an expected value of your research by making an estimation of the reduced costs, increased benefits, or both for the stakeholders your research will affect. This brief economic analysis should include financial information on the industry under investigation as well as an estimate of costs and/or benefits to the proposed research. Direct cost savings are usually more easily estimated, while social or physical benefits are traditionally more difficult to assign financial value. Please note that just because you are dealing with a large industry or group of stakeholders, this is not enough justification of the value of your research. You also need to estimate the magnitude of the problem within the context of the industry/stakeholders. If you are having difficulty with justifying/estimating the expected returns of your research, you could consider collaboration with economists both before and during your project to enhance its value the same way you would use a statistician. E. Staffing (worth 15 points) Identify the project director and all co-investigator(s) as well as all collaborator(s), cooperator(s) and key personnel, including their institutional affiliation, position title, specific expertise and their respective specific project responsibilities. For each of the above personnel, the following should be included: 1. A statement of roles and responsibilities, 2. A statement of each person’s time commitment, and 3. A curriculum vitae or resume for all key personnel. (as attachments – not part of the 10 page limit). When the first RFP for this Initiative came out, our Dean and the ARI Board of Governors indicated their preference for proposals with strong components of student time, both graduate and undergraduate. Also, faculty time commitments during the 16 academic year should come from release time, if possible, because additional workload for faculty could have adverse impacts on the primary mission of the College – teaching students. These preferences have remained in effect and are now supported through a system of bonus points in the evaluation process. (see Attachment 7A) F. Budget and Justification (worth 15 points) Provide a complete budget narrative justification for each budget line item. (The budget pages themselves are submitted as attachments and do not count as part of the 10 page limit.) Additionally, use the Excel spreadsheet format provided at: http://ari.calpoly.edu/rfp.htm (see attachment 5 for an example) to communicate your funding needs and the use of your matching funds. If you propose a multiple year project, provide a complete budget for each year per sponsor. Budgets will be evaluated based on the relationship between resources requested and work proposed (i.e., level of funding requested relative to work performed, appropriateness for