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3. Grants Resource Center News, Cont. U.S. Department of Agriculture - Administration’s FY 14 Budget, from GrantWeek, July 1, 2013 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2014 budget request to fund programs and operating expenses matches the FY 13 appropriation of $23 billion, reflecting reductions due to sequestration and cuts in administrative and operation costs. Funding for selected programs will be reduced or terminated and resources would be reallocated to fund targeted investments in priority programs within the agency and partnering agencies. For example, the budget proposes to reallocate $1.5 billion in funding for international food assistance, shifting an equivalent amount into three U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) assistance accounts. Funding for mandatory programs is estimated at $123 billion, down from $130 billion in FY 13. Decreases in this type of funding reflect lower participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and reduced crop insurance expenses. The Women, Infants, and Children program; rural rental assistance programs, and farming grants programs have also suffered fundingdecreases due to sequestration cuts. Though there is minimal current information about research and development cuts at USDA, university related research programs seem to be fairly safe. Approximately $383 million has been allotted for competitive grants through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI). A portion of this funding will support research to strengthen the sustainability of biomass production and understand its effects on land and water resources in order to enhance sustainable rural economies. Funding will also support regional projects across 22 states, involving universities, federal, and industry partners that link research with education programs to create a skilled workforce. For more information on competitive grant funding see the most recent budget summary or contact Sandy George at georges@aascu.org.
NEH Summer Stipends, from GrantWeek, July 1, 2013 The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is accepting applications for its popular Summer Stipends program which funds individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. The stipend supports continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two months, allowing recipients to produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions or other scholarly resources. Successful applicants receive a stipend of $6,000. In the last five competitions, the Summer Stipends program received an average of 953 applications per year. The program made an average of 75 awards per year, for a funding ratio of 8 percent. The Summer Stipends program accepts applications from researchers, teachers and writers, whether they have an institutional affiliation or not. Applicants with college or university affiliations must, however, be nominated by their institutions. Individuals currently enrolled in a degree-granting program are ineligible. Applications are due by September 26, 2013. For more information contact NEH’s Division of Research Programs at 202/606-8200 or stipends@neh.gov.