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Frequently Asked Questions

BARD runs competitive funding programs that support collaborative agricultural research in areas of mutual interest to the U.S and Israel. BARD has funded outstanding agricultural science activities by leading researchers from the two countries.

The primary rational of BARD’s activities is to bring together US and Israeli scientists to solve important agricultural challenges which are common to the two countries. The fostering of this cooperation creates a synergy which leads to results that would not be possible had the scientists worked independently.

The strong connections created between the collaborating researchers are expressed in ways that often continue beyond the lifetime of the grant: continued exchange of research ideas, cooperation in other research initiatives and exchanges of students and young researchers between the laboratories.

Collaboration is stimulating and positive, and even when a particular project is not ultimately granted funding, long-term relationships are fostered, and communication is improved; it has been noted that "just writing the application jointly increases the information exchange." Read more about our mission.

  1. The BARD Research Grant Program funds projects covering all phases of agricultural R&D including strategic or applied research. Three years program.
  2. The Postdoctoral Fellowship Program funds postdoctoral fellowships for citizens from one country (U.S or Israel) to perform agricultural research with established scientists in the other country. One-to-two-year program.
  3. The Senior Research Fellowship Program promotes joint agricultural research between established scientists from the US and their Israeli hosts. Two to twelve months program.
  4. The Graduate Fellowship Program enables Ph.D. students in one country (U.S or Israel) to travel to the other country to acquire new skills and techniques in their field of study. Two to six months program.
  5. BARD Workshops Program supports cooperative, impactful and outcome-related workshops in areas related to the binational and agricultural interests of the U.S and Israel.
  6. The Academia to Industry Collaboration A new initiative of supporting research through partnership with the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
While BARD will continue to fund agriculturally relevant and scientifically meritorious work in all disciplines of agriculture, the Board of Directors identified the following areas as priority areas for the coming years:
  • Improved efficiency of agricultural production, including sustainable development and engineering, enhancing nutritional value, efficient use of resources & agricultural waste, economic evaluation of policies, regulation, and labor; use of functional genomics & proteomics to protect and produce traits supporting increased crop yield and genetic optimization in animals, focus on heterosis opportunities & consequences.
  • Plant, animal, and agricultural environment defense, including pest and host genetics, invasive species & emerging diseases, early stress detection and rapid point of care methods, development of safe and bio-secure biological, physical, & chemical control measures.
  • Agricultural production challenges in increased marginal conditions, including climate change & abiotic stress factors such as drought, salinity, high temperatures, nutrient, and soil stress.
  • Food quality, safety, and security, including improved assessment and detection methods, nutritive value and post-harvest treatment, reduction of food loss & waste, enhanced supply chain quality and technologies, functional foods, development of alternative quality protein sources including plants, fungi, algae, insects, & tissue.
  • Soil & water, quality, and quantity, including efficient use of low-quality water (grey, black, saline), improved economic return for water in agriculture, crop response to soil & water quality & their constituents, impact of nutrients and agricultural chemicals on water quality.
  • Agricultural Engineering/Precision Agriculture - Sensors, instrumentation, & control systems; robotics and artificial intelligence; mechanization for improving labor efficiency; biological engineering, biotechnology, nanotechnology.
  • Sustainable Agri-environmental management, including sustainable ag-based energy systems for reduced energy costs, bioconversion technologies, agricultural feedstock, controlled environment and urban agriculture, renewable resources and ecosystem services, circular bioeconomy, reducing agricultural waste.

Every year between 100 to 120 research proposals are judged by the fund. BARD’s evaluation procedure consists of a three-tiered review system based on expert ad-hoc reviewers for each proposal, 7-8 discipline review panels, and a 10-member Technical Advisory Committee, which recommend the final interdisciplinary portfolio of projects for approval by the Board of Directors.

BARD is unique among competitive granting programs in requiring collaboration between researchers and following a process of retrospective project evaluation, an important means of judging the effectiveness of research that it has supported. All stages of the review process are predicated on equal representation of U.S. and Israeli scientists.

BARD closely and constantly monitors the continuing evolution of its operations to guarantee that its awardees maintain standards of excellence and that the research that it supports meets the current needs of the two agricultural communities. Its operations have become a benchmark for binational funding in countries with comparable scientific and technological capabilities and common agricultural problems.

The upcoming deadlines are posted on our homepage.
All applications are submitted online thought our website (see the applications tab on our website menu) which are available about 1 month prior to the submission deadline. If you are experiencing technical difficulties, please contact us.

Revised proposals are previously submitted proposals that were not funded. Indicate the BARD assigned number of the previous proposal in the appropriate box on the on-line Cover Page. The addition of a new investigator, in itself, does not indicate a 'new' proposal.

In any case, BARD reserves the prerogative of identifying a given proposal as 'revised' or 'new'. This will be done by comparing the content of the current proposal with the earlier one. Should it not be obvious that it is substantially different, BARD will ask an expert in the field to provide an opinion on this issue. Unapproved proposals may be revised and resubmitted only once. Read more about revised proposals

For questions regarding revised proposals please contact us.

One-year feasibility studies are proposals submitted for an opportunity to establish a basis for further research or to provide preliminary results for a particularly innovative idea or concept. Feasibility studies are subject to the same proposals, scientific and fiscal management guidelines, as regular BARD grants. The maximum funding is $100,000. See our proposal guidelines for further details.

BARD Research Grant - Maximum award: $310,000 for a 3-year grant.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program- Award amount: $55,000 including travel expenses per year.

Senior Research Fellowship Program- Award amount: $3,000 per month + $2,000 for travel costs.

Graduate Fellowship Student Program Award amount: $1,500 per month, $2,000 for travel costs + $2,000 dependent allowance.

BARD workshops - Award amount varies: $20,000 to $45,000.

A PI or Co-PI may submit more than one proposal in a given year, provided that the proposals are pursuing different topics. However, if multiple proposals from the same PI or Co-PI (not necessarily together) are deemed worthy of funding only ONE of these will be funded.
Notifications of awards are sent to the applicants towards the end of May of the year following the submission.
BARD requires 3 different reports annually:
  • Scientific Report - submitted by the PI of the project and should reflect the progress of all the participants in the grant.
  • Fiscal Report - submitted by each funded institution participating in the grant
  • Semi-annual declaration submitted by each funded institution participating in the grant
Scientific reports are submitted using our online form. About 1 month prior to the due date the PI will receive an email with access information to the scientific report submission site.

Scientific reports and fiscal reports are due annually (one year from start date) with the exception of the final scientific report which is due 3 months from the end of the project.

The semi-annual declaration is due once a year 6 months after the start of the research year.

BARD should be acknowledged for support in published papers. Use the following format:
This research was supported by Research Grant Award No. __________ from BARD, The United States - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund
No-cost extension requests are carefully examined and should be submitted via e-mail to nitsan@bard-isus.com .
Yes. However, any substantial changes in the use of the allocated budget must be authorized in advance by BARD. Unexpended balances at the completion of the project shall be refunded to BARD without delay.
Yes. Read more about the opportunity here