Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program | USDA NIFA CGP 007858

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA CGP 007858

The Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) that funds higher-education projects in the food and agricultural sciences. The core purpose is to support educational efforts that respond to an identified need at the state, regional, national, or even international level. Funded projects are expected to use creative or non-traditional strategies that can be replicated elsewhere, strengthen collaboration across the university science and education community and with private-sector partners, and produce results that last beyond the grant period and USDA support. In other words, the program is looking for high-impact education projects that solve a real problem, try something meaningfully different, build durable partnerships, and leave behind lasting improvements such as scalable curricula, teaching models, training systems, or institutional practices.

Eligibility centers on U.S. public or private nonprofit colleges and universities that offer a baccalaureate or first professional degree in at least one food or agricultural sciences discipline. Eligible applicants include land-grant colleges and universities (including land-grant institutions in the Insular Areas), institutions with significant minority enrollments that can clearly demonstrate capacity to teach food and agricultural sciences, and other colleges and universities that can demonstrate that same teaching capacity. The applicant must also meet the specific definition of an Eligible Institution/Organization as described in the program’s Request for Applications (RFA), and the institution’s accreditation must come from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

The opportunity clarifies how multi-campus systems are treated for eligibility. Branches of a state university system (or similar higher-education system) that are separately accredited as degree-granting institutions are treated as separate institutions and can apply on their own. Campuses or branches that are not individually accredited as degree-granting institutions are not treated as separate institutions for this program. The program also allows a research foundation maintained by an otherwise eligible college or university to be considered an eligible applicant institution.

On personnel and participation rules, U.S. citizenship is not required for faculty serving as the project director (PD), co-PD, or other key personnel. However, any individual participant who will receive federal funds for developmental activities must be a U.S. citizen or national as defined in the RFA. The RFA emphasizes that missing any eligibility requirement by the application deadline can lead to the application being excluded from consideration or can prevent NIFA from making an award even if the application is reviewed.

For certain project categories referenced as CG1 and CG2, an additional eligibility structure applies: the lead applicant institution must meet the RFA’s definition of an “eligible institution,” but partner organizations participating in the project do not necessarily have to meet that same institutional definition, nor do they have to meet the RFA’s definitions of “college” or “university.” More broadly, award recipients are allowed to subcontract with organizations that are not eligible to apply directly, as long as those organizations are necessary to carry out the project work.

Key opportunity details from the listing include the funding opportunity title Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program, funding opportunity number USDA NIFA CGP 007858, assistance listing (CFDA) number 10.217, and an award ceiling of $750,000. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and uses a grant funding instrument, with the activity category listed as agriculture. The original closing date provided is March 18, 2021, and the posting creation date is October 16, 2020. The program also points new applicants to NIFA’s Grants Overview as a helpful starting resource for understanding federal financial assistance and the awards process.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.217.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-10-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $750,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA CGP 007858

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