Request for proposals release: September 27, 2021
Informational webinar for applicants: November 4, 2021 (2:30pm EST)
Full proposal due: December 17, 2021 (5pm EST)
Award notification: February 1, 2022
Funding period (up to 18 months): April 2022 – October 2023
Interim workshop: October. 2022
Final research paper presentation: Fall 2023
The Cornell University/Colorado State University (CSU) Agri-food Systems Targeted Applied Research (ASTAR) Pilot Grants Program supports research using the Economic Research Service (ERS) food dollar method, which is a systematic economy-wide agri-food value chain (AVC) data and modeling framework. Grants will be awarded to applied agri-food systems research proposals that address one or more topics at the intersection of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the high priority focus areas (HPFA) indicated by USDA Secretary Vilsack: climate change, racial and social equality, tackling the pandemic, building back the economy, open and competitive markets, nutritional food insecurity, and rural economic development and growth. The ASTAR program seeks applications from a diverse community of experienced economic systems modelers, domestic and international development researchers, early career scholars, and established researchers who bring expertise in complementary research areas and disciplines. We are especially seeking projects actively engaging researchers from historically underrepresented groups.
The value of a systematic, economywide AVC data series is evident in the United States, where the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) has published the “Food Dollar” data series annually since 1947 to measure the relative value captured across post-farmgate activities. The Food Dollar data series has deeply influenced how researchers, policymakers, and AVC actors in the United States think about and approach food policies and agri-food business practices. This data series has been used to examine competitiveness and performance during a period of rapid transformation of AVCs, to inform anti-trust policy, and to design policy interventions to protect family farms, among other purposes.
Progress towards many domestic and international priorities of USDA and many SDGs of the United Nations depends on AVC performance improvements on economic, environmental, and social dimensions. But to date, there has been incomplete development of cross-nationally comparable research of AVCs because of limitations in the quality and quantity of AVC data and modeling frameworks. As of 2021, ERS and its research partners have extended the food dollar framework in two directions. First, using the UN’s system of environmental economic accounting (SEEA) central framework, we have developed several environmental factor flow accounts linked to the U.S. food dollar accounts. Second, using data from 61 countries representing over 90% of the global economy for the period 2005-15, ERS and its research partners are developing a global food dollar data system. These two extensions facilitate a wide array of research opportunities, both in terms of expanding the data coverage of these accounts, and in framing new applied agri-food systems research.
Work is underway by ERS and its research partners to integrate and harmonize the expanded food dollar framework, inclusive of ERS’s Food Dollar accounts, the Food Dollar SEEA accounts, and the Global Food Dollar accounts. In deference to the SEEA, the fully integrated data system will be called Ag-FEEDS (Agri-Food Environmental Economic Data System).
2022 ASTAR FUNDING PROGRAM
All applications must
focus on research concerning one or more UN-SDG or USDA-HPFA topics,
targeting one of the following:
(1) U.S. agri-food value chains
(2) International agri-food value chains
To the extent possible, and based on the quality of applications, ASTAR grants will aim to balance funding equally across these two areas. At least one funded study will address a climate change related topic.
All proposed studies must use and/or extend Ag-FEEDS.
Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to propose studies that include an ERS investigator and should address research priorities and topics of interest to ERS.
Proposed studies could include any of the following types of research: secondary data analysis, including national datasets useful in agri-food commodity value chain research; evaluations of promising market or policy interventions; retrospective analyses of national, state, region, multi-regional, or local agri-food policy changes; modeling studies using and/or building on AVC data and modeling frameworks, and studies of emerging markets that examine how the addition of value varies by country and by product. For primary data collection studies, researchers must adapt to the Ag-FEEDS accounting framework.
Proposed studies may be conducted as extensions or supplements to existing studies if they contain innovative approaches to the ASTAR Program’s research priorities. It is important that applicants specifically explain the additional gain from the requested ASTAR Program funds and how the proposed project differs from ongoing or recent work.
All proposals should include specific plans for communicating and disseminating research results to a variety of diverse audiences, including researchers, advocates, policymakers, and relevant stakeholders.
A total of $300,000 will be awarded under this RFP. These awards are intended for research projects. Each research grant awarded will be up to $75,000. All award totals are offered for a maximum funding period of 18 months and must include funds for required travel (see Terms of Awards). Note that these awards are funded by a Cooperative Agreement, which prohibits or limits indirect costs (contact the ASTAR program coordinator for details at ASTAR@cornell.edu).
Applicants’ organizations must be accredited private or public institutions of higher education or non-profit research organizations.
The ERS/Cornell/CSU ASTAR Program is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in agri-food systems research. The ASTAR Program encourages applications from investigators of every race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, age, and disability status. ASTAR highly values diversity in perspectives, region of the country and world, diverse life, and career experiences, etc.
All applications in response to this RFP must be submitted by email to ASTAR@cornell.edu. The application form with instructions is available at https://astar.business.cornell.edu/. Applicants must follow the instructions and use the template provided. In fairness to all applicants, the ASTAR Program will not accept late proposals.
Applicants will submit: (1) a full proposal using a required narrative template (up to 5 pages), (2) a budget narrative, and (3) supporting documents such as no more than two letters of support.
Deadlines for proposals and information about expected funding announcements and timeline are listed below.
|
Informational Webinar |
Full Proposals Due |
Notification of Awards |
Awards Begin |
Interim Workshop (Virtual) |
Final Conference |
|
November 4, 2021 |
December 17, 2021 (5pm EST) |
February 1, 2022 |
April 1, 2022 |
October, 2022 |
Fall, 2023 |
1. Awards will be made directly to the principal investigator’s institution. Proposals with budgets exceeding the funding maximum will not be accepted.
2. Grantees are expected to attend an Interim Workshop in October 2022 (virtual or in person, to be determined) to discuss their research design and early research results. Workshop attendees will be expected to prepare an early draft paper and submit it to the ASTAR Program coordinator at ASTAR@cornell.edu at least 10 days prior to the workshop.
3. Budget amounts must include expenses incurred for obligatory participation in and presentation at an October 2023 ASTAR Outcomes Conference (location to be determined, but likely Washington, DC). The ASTAR Program will not pay grantee travel costs, which should be included as part of the grant budget. Grantees should submit a draft paper to the ASTAR Coordinator at ASTAR@cornell.edu at least 10 days prior to the conference.
4. The grantees contribution to the project must be no less than 20 percent of the grant total. Contributions of the grantee(s) must consist of a sufficient amount of itemized direct costs to substantiate a true stake in the project. The contribution must be maintained at 20 percent of the grant throughout the period of performance.
5. Grantees are required to furnish the ASTAR Program with quarterly progress reports, with an invoice for payment. The award agreement with the grantee’s institution will stipulate a percentage of the total award that should be invoiced no earlier than submission of the deliverables in #2 and #3.
6. The revised final report, executive summary, and video brief are due no later than December 15, 2023. The final report will consist of the paper from the ASTAR Outcomes Conference, revised to respond to comments. The final report may appear in an ERS series publication. A special journal issue may also be compiled from papers originating from the ASTAR program.
The full proposals will be reviewed by the ASTAR review committee using the following criteria.
How innovative is the proposal? To what extent do the research aim’s and hypotheses align with the objectives of the ASTAR Program and with the HPVA of USDA and the SDG of the UN? How will the analysis utilize, build upon, and/or extend the Ag-FEEDS Data System? How will the project advance policy knowledge and support program implementation? To what extent will the results be suitable for USDA and/or peer-reviewed journal publication? What is the justification for the proposal’s study boundaries (e.g., population, scale, or sector(s))?
What makes the proposed research design strong and rigorous? Why are the data selected for the proposed study appropriate for the task at hand? Is the analysis plan and clear, and are the correct statistical methods chosen? To what extent do the methods avoid unnecessary complexity? How feasible and realistic is the project? What are the limitations and caveats of the proposed research approach?
Does the total budget adequately support the project? What is the justification for any large or unusual planned expenditures? Why is the workplan reasonable and sufficient to ensure timely implementation and completion of the study? To what extent are the personnel, facilities, and instrumentation needed for the proposed project available?
Is there a brief timeline and management plan that assures the grantors that the project will really be completed as planned in a timely basis? If the proposed project requires collaboration, who are the participating partners, and how have they committed? What type of communication, dissemination, and outreach activities are planned?
Does proposal describe how the researcher(s) plan to acquire the data they are proposing to analyze – source, cost, and time – and provide evidence that they have secured access to the data prior to the start of the project: e.g., a letter of support or commitment from entities supplying the data?
Why are the key personnel qualified to carry out the project? How much work time do they have available and committed to work on the project? How experienced are the investigators with agri-food systems research? How does the proposal connect investigators with new or underrepresented skills or backgrounds? How effectively can key personnel connect with ERS so that USDA internalizes the methods and findings of the proposed research? Is a PI or funded post-doc an early career scholar (less than 5 years since terminal degree)?
Access to the ASTAR cloud server housing all Ag-FEEDS data resources, and a GitHub open data portal maintained by ASTAR program staff will be available to all awardee researchers identified in the grant documentation. The ASTAR staff will handle database administration and technical support.
Responsible staff members at the ERS/Cornell/CSU ASTAR Program are:
• Patrick Canning, ERS (patrick.canning@usda.gov)
• Chris Barrett, Cornell University (cbb2@cornell.edu)
Please direct all questions to the ASTAR Program Coordinator at ASTAR@cornell.edu.