Guidelines for Applications NIFA-BARD Phase II

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S.-Israel Bi-national Agricultural Research & Development Fund (BARD).
In 2016 and Annex to this agreement was signed which enables Israeli scientists to join US recipients of NIFA projects in program areas agreed upon by NIFA and BARD. This RFA applies to the following awards made under the RFA's which were awarded in 2017.

NIFA-BARD Application Submission

The application is a two step process. Only investigators who are approved after the first stage will be able to submit proposals to the second step.

• First Step
  • Israeli scientists need to contact any of the eligible NIFA scientists (list of projects) to determine research objectives which will both enhance the NIFA project and be of interest to advance agriculture in Israel.
  • The Israeli PI must submit a 2 page which includes the following:
    • Title and PI of the NIFA project
    • List of Israeli collaborators and their institutions
    • Objectives of the proposed NIFA project and the added objectives of the objectives of the Israeli addition
    • An outline of the Israeli contribution to the NIFA project and the benefits of the collaboration to achieving the objectives
    • Potential benefit to Israeli agriculture if successful.
    • Collaborative arrangements.
    • Agreement of the NIFA Project Director to participate in this collaboration.
  • A sample template for the pre-proposal can downloaded from here. Send the completed form to haim@bard-isus.com.
  • The pre proposals will be reviewed by BARD, NIFA and the NIFA PI to ensure that the proposals are relevant to Israeli agriculture and enhance the goals of the NIFA approved project.
  • The deadline for pre proposal submision is July 15, 2018,
  • Pre proposals submitted prior to the deadline will receive a decision within 10 days of submission.
• Second Step: Upon approval of the 1rst stage the Israeli PI will prepare a full proposal which includes the following (see the general BARD Guidelines for Research Proposals p.5-7 for specific instructions regarding the content of the proposal):
  1. Cover Page
  2. A List of Abbreviations used in the proposal are to be included in the Cover Page.
  3. Budget Tables
  4. Abstract
  5. Detailed Description of the Research Plan/Proposal body - Limited to 10 pages
  6. Description of the expected results and their relevance to agriculture in general and Israeli agriculture in particular.
  7. Timetable of the Work Plan
  8. Details of Cooperation - Explain how the Israeli scientists contribute their expertise to the joint effort and the benefit to the Israeli scientist from his cooperation with the US scientific team.
  9. Facilities: Briefly detail the facilities to be dedicated to the project in each funded institution.(Sections 6, 7 8 are limited to a combined total of 3 pages)
  10. Relevant Bibliography
  11. Curriculum Vitae
  12. Letters --specifically confirming the use of additional materials, expertise, facilities, know-how, etc. for those who are not listed as PI/Co-PI and Collaborators, may be included. General letters of support for the idea or concept are not allowed.
  13. Description of Budgets
• NIFA-BARD Collaborative Applications Budget:
  • Equal support from AFRI and BARD is not required, but the BARD portion must be no more than 50% of the total requested budget for that application.
  • Israeli partners will be funded solely by BARD and US participants will be funded by AFRI.
  • The maximum award for the Israeli team is $200,000 for 3 years but not to exceed the total NIFA award for the US team.
  • Travel budget: If awarded, the researchers will be asked to attend an annual meeting to be held at either the National Institute of Food and Agriculture or an alternate location. Thus, necessary travel costs for attendance at this meeting should be included in the proposed budget.
• Application Review and Award Selection:
  • A separate peer review panel to evaluate NIFA-BARD Collaborative Applications will be convened.
  • To be competitive for funding, a NIFA-BARD Collaborative Application must clearly demonstrate a substantial and meaningful collaboration between the US and BARD partners. Work proposed must contribute to the success of at least one of the project's objectives.