
This Call is For: UF/IFAS Faculty
Submission Deadline: February 20, 2020
Click here for the announcement of the awardees.
Overview
University of Florida/IFAS is committed to fostering integrated, team science that addresses grand challenges faced by Florida and the world, and assisting faculty to develop and transfer tools and technologies that drive important innovations and fuel the economic engine of the state of Florida.
To promote and grow integrated research and Extension team efforts toward emerging agricultural enterprises, the UF/IFAS Dean for Research Office and Dean for Extension Office in partnership with the Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources are requesting proposals to the SEEDIT Program.
A total of up to $1,000,000 will be awarded in Phase I. Proposals are expected to range from $5,000 to $75,000, with the possibility of additional funding in Phase II. Successful Phase I grants will be announced in Spring 2020 and should be spent within 18 months.
Eligibility
PI or Co-PI of the proposal must be in a tenure-track faculty position with a tenure home in UF/IFAS. The PI or Co-PI must have a REEport project (individual or multi-state HATCH, or McIntire-Stennis) approved by NIFA prior to submission.
Scope and Criteria
The intent of the funding is to facilitate development and success of research and Extension programs related to emerging agricultural enterprises. Accordingly, these funds should be spent within 18 months to help build and support integrated teams working toward alleviating “choke points” in the development of emerging enterprises in Florida. Successful proposals will enable development and advancement of projects, collection of new data, and/or analysis of existing data to assist in the creation and transfer of tools and technologies with commercialization and business enterprise potential. The work funded under this program should also lead to significant extramural funding, whether private or public.
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
1) Scientific merit and rigor of the integrated research and Extension project;
2) Capacity, expertise, and experience of the interdisciplinary faculty team;
3) Identification of chokepoints related to technical feasibility, biophysical/environmental limitations, economic/social considerations, and/or regulatory/policy limitations;
4) Potential for the seed funding to lead to the creation and transfer of marketable tools and technologies and/or business enterprises;
5) Potential for the funds to be leveraged with extramural private and/or public sector funding; and
6) Impact of the proposed project on the investigators’ research and Extension program development, including intellectual property and publications.
Submission Process
Please submit the requested materials here: https://researchtools.ifas.ufl.edu/apps/seedit/ by February 20, 2020. The information requested includes:
• Online cover sheet:
a. Project title
b. Integration Team information (investigator names, titles, affiliations, email addresses, and REEport project numbers if applicable)
c. Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee determination
d. General audience abstract (limited to 200 words)
e. Non-proprietary statement briefly describing the potential path to commercialization and enterprise development (limited to 100 words)
f. Budget (faculty and TEAMS staff salary is not allowed, and IDC is not applicable to this internal program)
• Attached PDF narrative with the following information (maximum 3 pages excluding literature cited and evidence of industry support, one inch margins on all sides, at least 11 point font including tables and figures):
a. Title, and Integration Team names and affiliations
b. Introduction: A brief overview of the literature, justification (e.g., chokepoints), and relevance of the project to the team’s research and Extension programs and goals
c. Expected outcomes and impacts: A brief description of the potential outcomes and impacts to stakeholders and to the faculty members’ programs
d. Methodology: A description of the plan to integrate research and Extension toward commercialization and enterprise development, project objectives, hypotheses to be tested, and methods
e. Project timeline: A project timeline, including a final report due mid-August 2021 and a Phase II Summit presentation in September 2021
f. Extramural funding strategy: A summary of specific private and/or public sponsor(s) and program(s) that will be targeted for funding (include web links if possible) using the outputs of this project, and the anticipated times of submission
g. Budget justification
h. Literature cited (does not count toward the page limit)
i. Evidence of industry support (does not count toward the page limit)
Selection Process
The Deans for Research and Extension are responsible for final award decisions. Proposals not adhering to the specified format or not submitted by February 20, 2020 will not be considered.
For More Information
If you have any questions, please contact Damian Adams (dcadams@ufl.edu), Saqib Mukhtar (smukhtar@ufl.edu), or Linda Smith (lasm@ufl.edu). Contact Nancy Wilkinson (nwilkin@ufl.edu) with financial questions.
- Addressing Production and Market Challenges in Florida’s Oyster Aquaculture Industry
Frank Asche (PI), Professor, Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, School of Forest Resources and Conservation - Stakeholder Engagement and On-Farm Research to Assess Industrial Hemp Commercialization Potential in South Florida
Zachary Brym (PI), Assistant Professor, Tropical REC & Agronomy - The Future of Urban Agriculture in Florida
Catherine Campbell (PI), Assistant Professor, Family Youth and Community Sciences - Establishing a Vanilla Industry in Florida through Integrated Research, Economics, and Extension
Alan Chambers (PI), Assistant Professor, Tropical REC & Horticultural Sciences - An Integrated Research and Extension Team to Break the Chokepoints in Commercial Production of Blackberries, an Important Emerging Crop in Florida
Zhanao Deng (PI), Professor, Gulf Coast REC & Environmental Horticulture - An Integrated Research, Extension and Economics Approach to Popularize the HLB Tolerant Australian Finger Lime Fruit
Manjul Dutt (PI), Research Assistant Scientist, Citrus REC & Horticultural Sciences - Florida Superfoods – Ginger, Turmeric, and Camellia Tea
Paul Fisher (PI), Professor & Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture - New Cultivars, Agricultural Practices, and Market Development for Sweetpotato Production in Florida
Zane Grabau (PI), Associate Professor, Entomology and Nematology - Pongamia: An Emerging Enterprise for Citrus Growers Seeking an Alternative Crop
Sandra Guzman (PI), Assistant Professor, Indian River REC & Agricultural and Biological Engineering - How Much Does Your Landscape Cost to Maintain? Increasing Consumer Awareness and Developer Incentive to Promote Early Adoption of Sustainable Landscaping
Basil Iannone (PI), Assistant Professor, Forest Resources and Conservation - Research and Extension on the Craft Brewery and Distillery Markets for Emerging Florida-Grown Crops
John Lai (PI), Assistant Professor, Food and Resource Economics - Specialty Pumpkins: Needs Assessment, Production Systems, and Processing for Emerging Products and Markets
Geoffrey Meru (PI), Assistant Professor, Tropical REC & Horticultural Sciences - Scutellaria, a Florida Native Ornamental with Potential Anti-Cancer Properties - An Emerging Enterprise
Satya Nadakuduti (PI), Assistant Professor, Environmental Horticulture - Facilitating the Development of a Marine Baitfish Aquaculture Industry in Florida
Andrew Ropicki (PI), Assistant Professor, Food and Resource Economics - Breeding New Values for Leafy Vegetables in Protected Agriculture Using Lettuce as a Model
German Sandoya Miranda (PI), Assistant Professor, Everglades REC & Horticultural Sciences - A USDA-Organic Transitions Support Team for Fresh Market Carrots
Danielle Treadwell (PI), Associate Professor, Horticultural Sciences - Sheep and Goat Production Assessment and Production Chain Development
Marcelo Wallau (PI), Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Agronomy - Developing a Research-Extension Network to Advance the Emerging High Tunnel Vegetable Industry in Florida
Xin Zhao (PI), Associate Professor, Horticultural Sciences - Florida Malting Barley
Lincoln Zotarelli (PI), Associate Professor, Horticultural Sciences