Risk Management Agency

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces the availability of funds for Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education. Although previous partnerships offered to producers by the RMA have been very successful, there is a segment of producers that has not been reached with these educational programs. The purpose of this cooperative partnership agreement program is to deliver risk management training and information to these producers, who include refugees and low income individuals who produce, or who are undertaking to establish a business producing, priority commodities (target producers).

Online, visit
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=10104

Conduct research to design and implement multiple approaches for targeting rural research to diverse audiences of decision-makers at national, state, and community levels. Rural research is defined as analyses by Rural Health Research Centers (RHRC’s), including those that are underway or completed, or published journal articles. A goal of the research is to synthesize issues raised by small focus groups of the diverse target audiences for the RHRC’s analyses. Once the multiple approaches are implemented and rural research is targeted, conduct research to evaluate the utility of the approaches to each of the diverse audiences. Based on results of the evaluation research, redesign and implement the approaches, and re-evaluate their ability in meeting their objectives

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), U.S. Department of Agriculture

The purpose of the SBIR program is to provide an opportunity for U.S.-owned, for-profit small business firms to submit innovative, applied research and development projects that address important problems facing American agriculture and have the potential to lead to significant public benefit if the research is successful.

Research proposals are accepted in any of the following topic areas:

• Forests and Related Resources
• Plant Production and Protection – Biology
• Animal Production and Protection
• Soil and Water Resources
• Food Science and Nutrition
• Rural and Community Development
• Aquaculture
• Industrial Applications
• Marketing and Trade
• Animal Manure Management
• Small and Mid-Size Farms
• Plant Production and Protection – Engineering

The primary purpose of this initiative is to promote rural development programs, provide outreach and technical assistance, and encourage and assist underserved rural community residents to participate in the USDA-Rural Development programs, especially those administered by the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS). This outreach initiative is also designed to develop programs that will develop future entrepreneurs and businesses in rural America in those communities that have the most economic need.

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Research

The intent of these grants is to provide national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood education through postsecondary and adult education. A central purpose is to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and the general public with reliable and valid information about education practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to education opportunities for all students.

 Under the first competition, only applications that address one of the following education research or research training topics will be considered:

• Reading and Writing
• Mathematics and Science Education
• Teacher Quality – Reading and Writing
• Teacher Quality – Mathematics and Science Education
• Education Leadership
• Education Policy, Finance, and Systems
• Postdoctoral Research Training.

The purpose of the program is to reduce the risk of childhood agricultural workplace injuries through the development and evaluation of new intervention strategies and evaluation of existing interventions.

This program supports research and social-action projects that focus on understanding and finding solutions to a broad array of social problems. The primary goal is to encourage research, including community-based research that supports and promotes social change. Preference will be given to projects that address institutional rather than individual or behavioral change, and/or research and initiatives that provide insight into sociological issues that may be useful to specific groups and/or communities.

Areas of particular interest include:

• Social and political inequalities
• Poverty and employment issues
• Social welfare issues such as education, housing and healthcare
• Minority group and gender issues
• Second language learning and use
• Literacy
• Topics related to language in its social contexts (attitude, dialects, gender, law and medicine, education, etc.)

Online, visit http://comm-org.wisc.edu/sif/

The Laura Jane Musser Fund

$35,000

The Laura Jane Musser Fund proposes to assist public or not-for-profit entities to initiate or implement projects in rural areas to undertake consensus-based activities in environmental stewardship or dispute resolution.

The Musser Fund encourages communities to use a consensus-based approach to environmental decision-making. By this we mean a collaborative process, involving a neutral facilitator where appropriate, that strives to involve all key stakeholders as well as local citizens in developing environmental programs and policies that satisfy common interests.

National Institutes of Health

$150,000 (total amount awarded and number of awards will depend on the numbers, quality, duration and costs of received applications)

November 23, 2006

A central goal of this program is to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in population research while providing essential and cost-effective core services in support of the development, conduct and translation of population research based in centers or comparable administrative units.

Applicants may request funds under this announcement to support infrastructure development designed to:

• enhance the quality and quantity of population research conducted at an institution, and
• develop new research capabilities to advance population research through innovative approaches.