EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation

Program Description

The Agriculture Department’s Strengthening Awards program was established in FY 1992. The goal of this EPSCoR-like program is to increase the amount of agricultural research at academic institutions within states that have had limited success in obtaining competitive funds from USDA. To encourage the widest participation of institutions, all academic institutions within a USDA EPSCoR state can apply to the Strengthening Awards Program, which is operated as a component of the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRICGP).

USDA EPSCoR states are those states whose funding ranks no higher than the 38th percentile of all states, based on total funding for the previous three-year period (excluding strengthening set-aside funds).

The USDA EPSCoR program is not a separate line item in the USDA budget, and the USDA has not requested funds for USDA EPSCoR. Congress has regularly mandated that at least 10% of the NRICGP research funds be awarded to USDA EPSCoR states.

Award Components

Four types of competitive awards are made: 1) Research Career Enhancement Awards (Sabbatical Awards), 2) Equipment Grants, 3) Seed Grants, and 4) Strengthening Standard Research Project Awards.

Proposals must be related to the program priorities of the NRICGP, which address critical issues facing agriculture today. Postdoctoral fellowships and New Investigator awards are also available to applicants from EPSCoR institutions.

EPSCoR States

26 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.