[Faculty] AFRI RFPs are out

[Chorover, Jon - (chorover)]

Dear Colleagues,

Forwarding here some information that we received today from Lewis-Burke:

The FY26 AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program RFP was released<https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/agriculture-food-research-initiative-foundational-applied-science> on Friday. Deadlines for letters of intent differ by program. Please note that this RFP is for *FY2026*. It seems that because of the delay caused by (DOGE) review, many of the larger NIFA competitive programs will not have any RFP for FY25, so, instead, NIFA is reaching out to folks who submitted proposals from FY24 that were highly ranked and offering to fund/extend those projects now.

For an example of how NIFA is wording this policy, take a look at the GusNIP program page<https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/gus-schumacher-nutrition-incentive-program-nutrition-incentive-0>.

It looks like NIFA will be releasing FY24 RFPs for some of the smaller programs and for the programs that having "one year" funding that will expire at the end of FY25 (Sept 30). We've already seen FY25 RFPs for SBIR, Open Data, and Potato Breeding, so that tracks.

Word on the street is that there is a strong desire at NIFA to get back onto its normal schedule, and this is their creative workaround to get FY25 money out the door quickly so that they can do that.

The fact that FY26 RFPs were released, putting aside what happened in FY25, is a sign that things may move towards normal in the coming year.

-----------------------------------
Jon Chorover
Interim Associate Vice President/Associate Dean for Research
Professor, Department of Environmental Science
Division of Agriculture, Life & Veterinary Sciences, & Cooperative Extension (ALVSCE)
College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences (CALES)
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone:  (520) 626-5635
Email:  chorover at arizona.edu<mailto:chorover at arizona.edu>

I am on ancestral lands of the
Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui.


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