Allocation of Funds

Congress, at the request of the Small Fruits Industry Consortium (stakeholders supporting the NCSFR through Education & Outreach), appropriates funds to USDA CSREES and USDA ARS for the Center. These funds support small fruits ARS scientists, the Small Fruits Initiative, and research conducted primarily by scientists in the ARS and Agriculture Experiment Stations of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, since the Center is dedicated to solving problems in the Northwest region.

Funds appropriated to ARS are part of a recurring base budget. The funds from CSREES must be re-appropriated each year. The NCSFR operates under the expectation that each year approximately the same amount of funds as the previous year will be received from USDA to support the Center. Research project funding is made on an annual basis, generally with a three year horizon for full development of projects.

Request For Proposals (RFP)

The NCSFR solicits and receives proposals from small fruit crop researchers of the Ag experiment stations of Oregon, Idaho and Washington; USDA-ARS and other research organizations and institutions. The Center seeks proposals in the following areas: Genetics, Production/Physiology, Pest Management, Wine, and Berry/Grape Processing. The RFP is mailed in June, proposals are due at the end of August and are submitted to the NCSFR administrative office.

ARS and CSREES currently fund projects for up to $35,000 for one year. Projects may receive funding for a period of up to three years upon successful review of annual proposals. If a multi-year project is funded for one year, there is no guarantee that funds will be available for subsequent years. Considerations for funding renewal are based in part on an evaluation of the quality and quantity of research progress and availability of funds. In some years, highly-ranked proposals have received funding for more than one year, with multi-year funding released in the first year.

Timeline

Request for proposals (RFP) for small fruit research follow this annual time line:

Year 1
Research priorities set Annual Conference*

Year 2

• RFP’s mailed out to small fruit researchers and department heads - June 1
  
• Deadline for researchers to submit proposals - - August*
  
• Peer review process - October/November*
  
• Preliminary decisions/announcement made on proposals GMC at Annual Conference*
  
• Final decisions/announcement made on proposals - Mid December*

Year 3

• Funding available on approved projects (for more information contact your Experiment Station Director) - Late Spring/Summer*

Year 4

• Research progress or final reports/abstracts for Pre-proceedings due Mid-October*
  
• Research progress or final reports for Annual Proceedings due Mid-October*
  
• Research progress or final report/oral presentations for conference - November/December*

* Date to be announced annually