- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The Pew Charitable Trust's antibiotic resistance project works to promote antibiotic stewardship in both human medicine and animal agriculture. Pew seeks to support research studies that can help inform strategies and efforts to reduce the use of antibiotics without harm to animal health, and guide future scientific studies.
Through two forthcoming Request for Proposals, Pew is committed to supporting research that will survey the existing scientific literature and address three key questions.
Is Antibiotic Use Effective to Prevent Disease in Food-Producing Animals?
- First, what scientific evidence is available to show the impact of different practices on disease prevalence and the need to use medically important antibiotics in food animals? The research should focus on one or more of the major food-producing animal species in the U.S.
- Second, what key data gaps exist in the scientific evidence, and how do they impede the ability to make animal management decisions that are grounded in science?
- And third, what research is needed to fill those gaps?
What Practices Reduce Antibiotic Use in Food Animals?
- First, what scientific evidence is available to show a demonstrated animal health benefit from different preventive uses of medically important antibiotics?
- Second, what key data gaps exist in the scientific evidence, and how do they impede the ability to make a determination about the efficacy of preventive uses of antibiotics?
- And third, what research is needed to fill those gaps?
UC ANR has expressed interest in the Pew Charitable Trust's antibiotic resistance funding opportunity. In response, the Pew will distribute the full RFP with additional details on timing, evaluation and proposal criteria, terms and conditions. Upon receipt, the full RFP will be made available on the OCG Calendar of Funding Opportunities.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) brings together State agencies and departments to coordinate activities that support sustainable communities, emphasizing strong economies, social equity and environmental stewardship.
In 2017, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 109, which created a climate change research program within the SGC. The legislation allocates $11 million in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund revenues to the SGC to develop a research program to support “research on reducing carbon emissions, including clean energy, adaptation, and resiliency, with an emphasis on California.”
Statutory language directs that the SGC Climate Change Research program will:
- Be guided by a Research Investment Plan that outlines research needs. The Research Investment Plan will be developed prior to awarding grants;
- Award grants on a competitive basis; and
- Be open to eligible institutions, including the University of California, California State University, federally-funded national laboratories, and private, non-profit colleges and universities.
The goal of the Climate Change Research program is to advance research to support low-income and disadvantaged communities, including equitable outcomes in the implementation of the State's climate change policies and investments.
The Research Investment Plan will guide the development and implementation of this program. The draft Research Investment Plan for the Climate Change Research Program is available for public comment at the following link: http://sgc.ca.gov/pdf/Climate_Change_Research_Program_Workshops-2017-11-14.pdf
The SGC will convene a webinar and three workshops to gather public input on this plan.
- Online Webinar - Register Here
Friday, November 17th | 11:00 am until noon
- Oakland Workshop - Register Here
Monday, November 27th | 2:00 to 3:00 pm
- Fresno Workshop - Register Here
Tuesday, November 28th | 2:00 to 3:00 pm
- Los Angeles Workshop - Register Here
Wednesday, November 29th | 2:00 to 3:00 pm
This request for information/ comment period provides ANR academics with an opportunity to influence the SGC Climate Change Research program agenda. It also gives academics an opportunity to learn about the program and engage the sponsor as potential applicants to the funding program.
The SGC will also accept written public comments through Friday, December 15, 2017. Revisions will be made to provide greater clarity on the SGC's vision for the program and to reflect public comments that are received. Please submit comments via email to: research@sgc.ca.gov
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
Grants.gov subscriptions allow users to receive a daily email listing all new grant opportunities, notifications of new opportunities matching saved search criteria, and alerts and newsletters containing updates about system enhancements and training resources.
Grants.gov has redesigned its ‘Opportunity Subscription Management' feature, giving users more control over their email subscriptions. New features include:
- One-Click Access: Subscribe to a funding opportunity – including forecast, synopsis and package – with a single click. Tracking changes to a specific grant has never been easier. Subscribe from the View Grant Opportunity page or from the Subscribe to Opportunities page. Also, easily save your search from the Search Grants page.
- View & Manage Subscriptions: Review subscriptions to opportunities and update saved searches at any time. Unsubscribe from selected notifications without affecting other subscriptions to opportunities and/or saved searches.
- Get Updates on Specific Opportunities: Subscribe once and get notified of any change related to the opportunity. When a forecast or synopsis is modified or deleted, subscribers receive an email notification nightly. When a package is added, modified or deleted, subscribers receive an email notification immediately.
- Grants.gov Alerts & Newsletter: Receive timely updates about system enhancements and subscribe to a regular newsletter featuring news and resources for the federal grant community. Users can subscribe during registration or from the subscription page (when logged in).
These upcoming improvements to Grants.gov will impact active subscriptions that provide you with notice regarding new funding opportunities.
After November 18, a Grants.gov account will be required for anyone who wants to receive email notifications about funding opportunities. Please register today so that your ongoing subscriptions to new and/or specific opportunities will not expire. (If you have an inactive Grants.gov account, you can simply log in to reactivate it.) Any subscriptions to saved search criteria will need to be recreated on or after Monday, November 20, 2017.
For more information on the Grants.gov ‘Opportunity Subscription Management' feature, please see: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/outreach/grants-gov-notices/subscription-enhancements.html?utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inactive&utm_content=subs
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are pleased to announce Science Breakthroughs 2030: A Strategy for Food and Agricultural Research, a new study to identify ambitious scientific opportunities in food and agriculture made possible by incorporating knowledge and tools from across the science and engineering spectrum.
As part of this effort, the NAS, Division on Earth and Life Studies will host webinars to identify the next big directions for food and agriculture sciences. Webinar topics scheduled for November 2017 will include water resources and management, sensors in food and agriculture, and integrating agriculture in to the built environment.
Integrating Agriculture into the Built Environment Part I - Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 am PST
The committee will hear from Peter Groffman of Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies on Microbial Ecosystems and Urban Agricultural.
Integrating Agriculture into the Built Environment Part II - Friday, November 10 at 11:00 am PST
The committee will hear from Michael Hamm of Michigan State University on Frontier Opportunities and Challenges with Developing Regional Agriculture Systems and Ed Harwood of Aerofarms on Toward a Vertical Farm Future.
Those interested in participating in the webinars must register to attend. Please click the webinar title above to complete registration. All webinar recordings will be posted afterwards: http://nas-sites.org/dels/studies/agricultural-science-breakthroughs/events/
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
Dear Colleagues,
The EPA has released Local Foods, Local Places, a new toolkit to equip communities to pursue local food enterprises. The toolkit includes step-by-step instructions for community-led workshops that allow local officials, community groups, businesses and citizens to explore the benefits of using farmers markets, community kitchens and other food-related enterprises to revitalize communities and develop action plans for pursuing those goals. The toolkit also utilizes best practices and case studies.
Since launching Local Foods, Local Places in 2014, EPA, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Region Authority, has conducted Local Foods, Local Places workshops for 77 communities from among nearly 800 applications. This new toolkit equips more communities to conduct their own workshop in preparation for growing their local food economy to support downtown revitalization.
Across the country, more communities are investing in local foods. According to USDA, the number of farmers markets has grown from about 1,750 in 1994 to more than 8,600 in 2016, a fivefold increase. Local food systems are a growing business opportunity. Locally produced food sales were estimated at $12 billion in 2014 and are expected to exceed $20 billion by 2019. When local food production is harnessed to help spur downtown revitalization, it helps communities achieve multiple goals, including improving the environment and public health and saving natural and economic resources by making efficient use of existing buildings and infrastructure.
To access the toolkit: https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/local-foods-local-places-toolkit
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
