Funding Opportunities

EDEN Development Grants Program

Advancing Disaster Education Initiatives in Rural America

2021 Request for Proposals must be submitted by 11:59pm Pacific on Friday, November 12, 2021.

Background Information

The purpose of the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Development Grants Program is to invest in the development of innovative educational resources and Extension initiatives that can advance the work of EDEN and the broader land-grant and sea-grant systems across the nation in addressing the preparation for, response to, and recovery from hazards and disasters. The program is interested in a wide array of topics and issues. This document outlines the key information for applicants planning to submit grant proposals.

Award Amount

The anticipated amount available for grants in FY 2022 is approximately $160,000. The maximum amount allowed for any single EDEN grant proposal is $35,000. Applicants will be allowed a 10 percent indirect cost rate in their budget. However, the total amount may not exceed the $35,000 allocation.

There is no commitment to fund any specific number of awards.

Eligible Applicants

Applications may be submitted by Extension professionals employed by land-grant or sea-grant universities. At least one individual on the project must be an EDEN delegate.

Project Duration

Grantees will have 7 months (January 1, 2022 to August 31, 2022) to complete their projects. It is highly suggested that the Principal Investigator (P.I.) apply to present the project at the 2022 EDEN Annual Meeting, typically held in the fall with proposals accepted in the spring.

Award Notification

All successful grantees will receive preliminary notification of the award around mid-December 2021.

Priority Themes and Topics

EDEN is interested in basic, applied, research-based proposals that align with one or more of the following priority themes and possible research topics (NOTE: Other possible topics relevant to each priority theme are welcomed from grant applicants.)

• Information sharing and distributing techniques for just-in-time programming focused on enhancing national, regional, multi-state, or state networks.
• Educational materials, programs, and delivery methods to provide national, regional, multi-state, or state constituents with added value in developing plans, response, recovery, and mitigation protocols related to disaster issues.
• Development of materials targeting underserved audiences (such as, but not limited to English Language Learners, individuals with low literacy, and older adults who lack technology access or literacy).
• Innovative approaches to address current and anticipated disaster education needs.
• Enhancing partnerships at the national, regional, multi-state, or state stakeholder levels to prepare for and respond to disasters through Extension education.
• Research projects that enhance the capabilities of Extension professionals to develop and deliver disaster programming to stakeholders.

Other Relevant Topics

Timely topics (not outlined above) that the applicant believe would be of interest to EDEN and Extension professionals are welcomed. The key is to ensure that the topic explores innovative approaches to delivering research-based disaster programming to citizens and communities affected by or potentially affected by disasters.

Application Guidelines

All proposals must be organized in the following manner.

• Title of the proposal
• The specific research topic(s) being addressed
  • Indicate which of the broad themes/topics listed under the heading “PRIORITY THEME/TOPICS” your proposal most closely aligns.
• Principal Investigator(s) and Collaborators
  • List the name and institutional affiliation of each team member. Provide the telephone number, mailing address and email address of the Principal Investigator(s).
  • At least one team member must be an EDEN delegate or Point of Contact (POC).
• Project Summary
  • Provide a 250-words summary of your proposal.
• Layout
  • The proposal shall not exceed 10 pages of written text and up to 5 additional pages for figures and tables.
  • The document must include all of the following:
    • 1-inch margins;
    • Times New Roman 12-point font; and
    • Single- or double-spaced text.
• Project Description
  • This represents the most critical part of your proposal. This portion of your application cannot exceed 10 pages in length and should be single-spaced (double-spaced between paragraphs). Please use a 12-point font to ensure easy readability. The Project Description should include the following:
    1. Introduction and Problem Statement: Provide an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding the problem of interest in your program. In addition, specify what your proposal will do to further advance our understanding of this specific issue being addressed.
    2. Objectives/Questions: Specify the objectives or questions on which you plan to focus.
    3. Methods: Describe the methodology to be undertaken for each objective or research question. If sampling is being proposed, provide a strong rationale as to the relevance of the site(s) selected for your research investigation. If an existing data set is being utilized, discuss the quality and relevance of the data in terms of being able to address your research objectives or research questions.
    4. Data Analysis: Indicate the procedures that you anticipate using for your data analysis.
    5. Project Timeline: Provide a project timeline that specifies the activities to be completed over the period of the grant. NOTE: Grantees will have approximately 8 months (January 1, 2022 to August 31, 2022) to complete their projects. A “no cost” extension beyond the 8-month period should not be anticipated.
    6. Proposed Budget: Specify the anticipated budget expenditures for your project and include a brief justification for these budget expenditures. As noted earlier, the indirect cost rate is limited to 10 percent.
    7. References: Complete citation of articles referenced in your project description.

Relevant Experiences of Researcher(s) and Curriculum Vita

Briefly highlight the past activities that the applicant(s) has been engaged in that are relevant to the proposed project. This could include a listing of relevant publications, reports, and contributed papers. The Principal Investigator(s) abbreviated curriculum vita of approximately 3-5 pages must be included with the grant proposal packet. These products are not part of the 10-page limit noted in the previous section.

Grant Review Process

The EDEN Development Grants Program takes seriously the need for a sound and unbiased peer-review process of all proposals that it receives. As such, all reviews and decisions regarding projects to be funded will be made by the members of a blind review committee, external to and not including the Purdue EDEN FADI Team. Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The merit of the project being proposed and its intended impact on the Extension community (20 percent)
2. The relevance of the proposed project in terms of addressing one or more of the priority theme/topic, including a focus on key populations and/or places in rural America (20 percent)
3. The soundness of the methodology being proposed (20 percent)
4. The project’s potential contribution to the research literature; to informing policy discussions at federal, regional, state, and/or local levels; and/or to improving food assistance/nutrition-related program outreach/delivery activities (25 percent)
5. The qualifications of the individual or team that will provide leadership to the research effort (15 percent)

Questions

If you have questions about any aspect of the EDEN Development Grants Program, please contact Abby Lillpop, National EDEN Project Director, at alillpop@nullpurdue.edu or 765-430-0279.

In addition, you can watch the webinar below. It covers the basis of the grant and answers some questions from participants. This webinar was originally held November 4, 2020.

Process for Submitting Completed Proposals

Please submit ONE PDF copy of your proposal via http://bit.ly/2021-Development-Grants to the National EDEN Project Coordinator by the deadline date of 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time, December 4, 2020 or postmarked no later than December 4, 2020. The document should be submitted via the button below.

If you prefer to send your proposal by overnight, two-day delivery, or regular mail, it must be postmarked no later than November 5, 2021. The document should be sent to the following address:

Abby Lillpop
National EDEN Project Coordinator
ATTN: EDEN Development Grants Program
1341 Northwestern Ave.
West Lafayette, IN 47906