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2017 UC ANR Competitive Grants Program/High Risk, High Rewards recipients announced

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce funding decisions for the 2017 UC ANR Competitive Grants Program/High Risk, High Rewards Program. As in past years, the number of requests received exceeds funding available. With 45 competitive grant proposals requesting over $7 million and six high-risk high-reward proposals requesting over another $500,000, we are pleased to be able to support around 25 percent overall.

I want to thank the Strategic Initiative Panels for their work in screening Letters of Intent and the Technical Review Panels for their efforts reviewing proposals for technical merit, feasibility and Extension prior to the review by Program Council. Program Council then reviewed proposals against all the criteria and had the difficult task of making recommendations to me how best to distribute the finite resources available. I commend the principal investigators and their teams for their submissions. While each submission represented important work, not all proposals could be funded.

I am particularly pleased to see that funded proposals represent each of the Strategic Initiatives and have as principal investigators advisors, specialists, academic administrators and Agricultural Experiment Station
(AES) faculty from each of the AES campuses, our county academics, and our UC ANR statewide programs. The partnering in each of the proposals illustrates one of the principles of our ANR Promise.

The Strategic Initiative Leaders will be sending review comments out to all applicants over the next few weeks.

Congratulations to all of the awardees. The list of funded proposals is below and also posted on the 2017 funding opportunities web page.

Title

PI

Award amount

Pathways to Your Future: Destination UC

 

Shannon Horrillo

 

$200,000

Massive tree mortality in the Sierra Nevada: Consequences for forest health

Jodi Axelson

 

$200,000

Reducing nitrate leaching to the groundwater by accounting for the soils' capacity to supply N through mineralization

Daniel Geisseler

 

$199,978

Advancing urban irrigation management to enhance water use efficiency

Amir Haghverdi

 

 $199,975

 

The California Master Beekeeper Program: Development of a continuous train-the-trainer education effort for CA beekeepers

Elina Niño

 

$199,949

Silent straws: understanding water demands from woody encroachment in California's oak woodlands

Lenya Quinn-Davidson

 

$199,937

Impact of a warmer and drier future on rangeland ecosystems and ecosystem services

Jeremy James

 

$199,831

Closing the adaptive management loop for sustainable working rangelands

Leslie Roche

 

$199,502

Developing a culturally relevant civic science approach to improving scientific literacy for Latino youth

Steven Worker

 

$194,768

Creating cyst nematode suppressive soils by managing indigenous populations of the hyperparasitic fungus Dactylella oviparasitica*

James Borneman

 

$100,000

Smart Farming: Monitoring the health of chickens*

Maja Makagon

 

$81,293

Recruiting the next generation of extension professionals

Jennifer Heguy

 

$11,030

*High-risk/High-reward

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Posted on Monday, December 4, 2017 at 1:52 PM

ANR invites 51 proposals for competitive and high-reward grants

ANR invites 51 proposals for competitive and high-reward grants

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the letters of intent (LOIs) for which principal investigators have been invited to submit full proposals to ANR's Competitive Grants Program and High-Risk/High-Reward Grants Program. The list of 51 approved projects can be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Divisionwide_Programs/2017_Funding_Opportunities_Grants.

This year ANR received a total of 108 letters of intent — 97 for the Competitive Grants Program and 11 for the High-Risk/High-Reward Grants Program. Strategic Initiative leaders and their respective panels reviewed all letters of intent thoroughly to address the appropriateness of the proposals in addressing the goals and criteria outlined by each funding opportunity.

ANR Competitive Grants Program

The purpose of the ANR competitive grants program is to address high-priority issue areas identified by at least one of the strategic initiatives: Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD), Healthy Families and Communities (HFC), Sustainable Food Systems (SFS), Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE), and Water Quality, Quantity and Security (Water).

ANR Competitive Grants Program 2017 Cycle:

  • Full proposals due June 19
  • Technical peer review: mid-June – early September 2017
  • Strategic Initiative review and recommendations: end of September 2017
  • Program Council review and recommendations: October/November 2017
  • Announcement of funded grants: November/December 2017

High-Risk/High-Reward Grants Program

Given the complexity of societal problems, high-risk research is necessary to achieve gains for real progress in addressing present and emerging challenges. This program will provide funds to initiate and complete research and proof-of-concept efforts that serve as the basis for larger funding opportunities. These projects must be of a high-risk/high-reward nature that are best conducted in a controlled, research setting and, if successful, lend themselves to subsequent larger funding opportunities and/or intellectual property development.

Proposed projects must be within the scope of the ANR Strategic Vision. All ANR academics with PI status are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted using the same timeline as outlined for the traditional competitive grants program, but reviewed separately due to the nature of the proposal.

For questions about ANR's competitive grants program or high-risk/high-reward grants program, please contact Melanie Caruso at mmcaruso@ucanr.edu.

Wendy Powers
Associate Vice President

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

 

 

Posted on Monday, May 1, 2017 at 3:09 PM

ANR invites proposals for Competitive Grants, introduces new grant opportunities

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that the request for proposals for ANR's 2017 competitive grants program is now released and can be found at http://ucanr.edu/compgrants2017.

In addition to releasing our competitive grants call, I would like to share information on a couple of newly developed funding opportunities: “high risk/high reward grants program” and “opportunity grants program.” Below are descriptions of the three different funding mechanisms.

ANR Competitive Grants Program

The purpose of the ANR competitive grants program is to address high-priority issue areas identified by at least one of the strategic initiatives: Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD), Healthy Families and Communities (HFC), Sustainable Food Systems (SFS), Sustainable Natural Ecosystems (SNE), and Water Quality, Quantity and Security (Water).

ANR Competitive Grants Program 2017 Cycle:

  • Application submission cycle
    • Letter of Intent (LOI) due March 20
    • LOI decisions April 26
    • Full proposals due June 19
  • Technical peer review: mid-June – early September 2017
  • Strategic Initiative review and recommendations: end of September 2017
  • Program Council review and recommendations: October/November 2017
  • Announcement of funded grants: November/December 2017

Through this program, ANR will continue to invest in short-term, high-impact research, education and outreach projects that address high-priority issues that are consistent with the Strategic Vision, encourage collaboration among academics from diverse disciplines and across initiatives, strengthen the research-extension network and demonstrate relevance and likelihood of impact on significant agricultural, economic, environmental and social issues in California and beyond.

For questions about ANR's competitive grants program, please contact Melanie Caruso at mmcaruso@ucanr.edu.

High Risk/High Reward Grants Program

Given the complexity of societal problems, high risk research is necessary to achieve gains for real progress in addressing present and emerging challenges. This program will provide funds to initiate and complete research and proof-of-concept efforts that serve as the basis for larger funding opportunities. These projects must be of a high risk/high reward nature that are best conducted in a controlled, research setting and, if successful, lend themselves to subsequent larger funding opportunities and/or intellectual property development.

Proposed projects must be within the scope of the ANR Strategic Vision. All ANR academics with PI status are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted using the same timeline as outlined for the traditional competitive grants program, but reviewed separately due to the nature of the proposal.

High risk/high reward grants will be limited to no more than $100,000 per project. Proposal format and duration is available at http://ucanr.edu/highrisk2017.

For questions about the High Risk/High Reward grants program, please contact Melanie Caruso at mmcaruso@ucanr.edu.

ANR Opportunity Grants Program

This opportunity grants program will provide small amounts of resources to initiate and complete critical short-term research, outreach or training efforts. These projects must be time-sensitive in nature and take advantage of a unique opportunity where a small pilot project to collect initial data or an immediate, crucial outreach effort must take place in a timely manner to address an issue of importance.

Proposed projects must be within the scope of the ANR Strategic Vision. All ANR academics with PI status are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted at any time, as the opportunities arise.  Proposals will be submitted to the Associate Vice President and reviewed by the ANR Strategic Initiative Leaders and two ANR Vice Provosts. Because we recognize that these are time-sensitive projects, the review process will take no more than one month.

Proposals will be no more than three pages in length and must include a justification indicating why it is critical that this project be addressed in a short timeframe, description of the project (study design, educational framework/audience, training program, etc.) and detailed budget.  Opportunity grants will be limited to no more than $10,000 per project. All projects, including the final report, must be completed within 12 months of initiation. Furthermore, no extensions will be allowed. All projects will require a final report with stated outcomes/impacts or anticipated outcomes/impacts.

ANR will provide a limited pool of funds for this grants program on an annual basis. The exact amount will be determined and announced annually based upon resource availability. The pool of funding will be managed to ensure that some resources are available year-round for timely projects.

For questions about opportunity grants, please contact AVP Wendy Powers at wendy.powers@ucop.edu.

Sincerely,

Wendy Powers
Associate Vice President

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

Posted on Friday, January 20, 2017 at 8:29 AM

New phone numbers for staff in ANR building in Davis

Everyone who moved into the new ANR building located at 2801 Second Street in Davis has a new phone number. Before calling them, please check the ANR directory for their new phone numbers. Email addresses remain unchanged.

Staff gather in the break room for 7 a.m. breakfast with Bill Frost.
The following units have relocated to the new building:

  • 4-H Foundation
  • 4-H Youth Development Program
  • Academic Personnel Unit
  • Business Operations Center
  • Communication Services and Information Technology
  • Contracts and Grants
  • Development Services
  • Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
  • Facilities Planning and Management
  • Risk & Safety Services
  • Integrated Pest Management Program
  • Master Gardener Program
  • Program Planning and Evaluation Unit
  • Program Support Unit
  • Research and Extension Center Administrative Office
  • Staff Personnel Unit
  • Western IPM Center
  • Youth, Families and Communities Administrative Office

If you haven’t been in the new building, Steve Heindl gives a virtual tour of the transition from roller skating rink to LEED-certified offices at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ht47V3GZEY&feature=youtu.be.

 

View or leave comments for ANR Leadership at http://ucanr.edu/sites/ANRUpdate/Comments.

This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.

ANR Building modular addition project approved

Dear Colleagues,

Last week, Senior VP Dan Dooley approved the initial phase of a project to design, estimate cost, and build a modular building adjacent to the existing ANR Building on Hopkins Road in Davis. The building will house the Research and Extension Centers - Administrative Office (REC-AO), Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), Risk Services, the Statewide IPM Program (IPM), and Communication Services and Information Technology (CSIT).

The need for this facility is driven by a number of factors. First, to reduce facilities costs, UC Davis authorities have been relocating units housed in off-campus leased space to campus facilities. For CSIT, that was going to mean relocation to at least three different structures on campus and the loss of studio, technology infrastructure, and other production facilities. As the lease for the space CSIT currently occupies was to expire late this summer, the need to relocate that unit has been compelling. Additionally, elements of IPM have been in separate locations, one of which is significantly sub-standard.

More importantly, establishing a single location for major administrative, support and programmatic units of ANR will prove essential to improving administrative efficiency and to capitalizing on our new administrative structure and on new common collaborative tools and technologies to support it.

ANR plans to support this project primarily with funds that are restricted to use on capital projects and facilities. Moreover, the planned 18,000 sq ft facility, estimated to cost approximately $2.8 million, will provide a permanent home to key ANR units and, within a relatively short period of time, save both ANR and the UC Davis campus significant lease, improvement, relocation and infrastructure expenses. This project will be funded without impacting current operating budgets and resources, academic recruitments, or funding for our Strategic Initiatives.

While no construction on this project will begin before we have a state budget, we must move ahead with the project planning to be ready when we do. This project will use modular construction technologies that provide functional space at low cost and very short construction times. The UC Davis facilities staff has conducted preliminary analysis of this project and agrees on its potential long-term benefits to both ANR and UCD.

REC-AO, EH&S, Risk Services, IPM, and CSIT will remain in their current locations until they can relocate to the new building projected to be ready by early 2012.

We have long wanted to expand the ANR Building and the current construction economy and significantly improved modular construction technologies make this project possible, affordable and desirable.

Kay Harrison Taber
Associate Vice President – Business Operations

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This announcement is also posted and archived on the
ANR Update pages.

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