Conservation Innovation Grant | USDA NRCS OR CIG 17 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS OR CIG 17 01

The Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program, administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to speed up the development and real-world adoption of innovative conservation practices and technologies tied to agricultural and forestry production. The core idea is to leverage federal conservation investments by helping proven or emerging approaches move from isolated success stories into broader, scalable use. Projects are expected to produce practical results that can be adopted by producers and land managers and, where appropriate, translated into NRCS policy and technical materials (such as manuals, guides, and references) or transferred into the private sector. In practice, this means CIG is geared toward demonstration, implementation, and adoption rather than early-stage invention.

CIG funding supports on-the-ground conservation innovation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations that show how a practice or technology works under real operating conditions. The program emphasizes applying or demonstrating technology and approaches that have already shown promise, with the goal of increasing adoption and scaling up strategies that are ready for broader use. It also promotes collaboration and information-sharing across communities, governments, universities, and other organizations so that conservation advances are not locked within a single institution or region. While the program is not meant to fund traditional research, it does allow a limited exception for on-farm conservation research. That exception is narrowly defined as research conducted on working farms to answer a specific conservation question using statistically valid experimental design, including adequate replication and appropriate analysis, and using farm-scale equipment on actual fields. Even in those cases, NRCS focuses on research that directly stimulates innovative, practical natural resource management in conjunction with agricultural production.

This particular opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number USDA NRCS OR CIG 17 01, CFDA 10.912) is offered through NRCS in Oregon, and while applicants may come from anywhere in the United States and certain U.S. territories, the project itself must be implemented within the State of Oregon. NRCS will accept proposals for single-year or multi-year projects, with a maximum project period of up to three years. Applications are screened first for completeness and compliance, and incomplete or noncompliant proposals are removed from consideration, with applicants notified of elimination. Proposals that pass screening are evaluated using a three-tiered review process described in the notice.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; federally recognized Tribal governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits that are not small businesses). The grant instrument is a standard grant, and the funding activity categories include agriculture, environment, and natural resources. For this cycle, the award ceiling is $75,000, and the agency anticipated up to 50 awards. The original closing date listed for submission was April 28, 2017, and the opportunity record was created March 1, 2017.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conservation Innovation Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-03-01.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-04-28. (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 $75,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for USDA NRCS OR CIG 17 01

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