NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

BASIC INFORMATION

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to the extent permitted by law, will no longer make grants or otherwise fund programs or activities that improperly discriminate on the basis of race or sex, including discrimination in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Instead, USDA will prioritize merit and efficiency. USDA recognizes programs and initiatives will have the greatest impact when these programs and initiatives put American farmers, ranchers, and foresters first by:

• solving the most pressing challenges they face;
• protecting America's food, fuel, and fiber supply to enhance national security;
• supporting production of healthy and safe food for consumers;
• expanding and developing domestic markets; 
• training the next generation of agriculturalists; and
• fueling innovation to keep American farmers at the forefront of productivity.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to advancing these principles and encourages applicants to actively engage farmers, ranchers, and foresters when applying for funding opportunities to ensure relevancy and adherence to them. NIFA also encourages agricultural leaders to engage in the peer review panel process to ensure American producers are better served through research, education, and extension activities.

Projects submitted under this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) should align with USDA Secretary's Memorandum 1078-020 Directive on Departmental Research and Development Priorities:

1. Increasing Profitability of Farmers and Ranchers
2. Expanding Markets and Creating New Uses of U.S. Agricultural Products
3. Protecting the Integrity of American Agriculture from Invasive Species
4. Promoting Soil Health to Regenerate Long-Term Productivity of Land
5. Improving Human Health through Precision Nutrition and Food Quality

NIFA seeks comments on all NOFOs and uses comments to help meet the requirements of Section 103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613(c)(2)). Applicants may submit written comments to Policy@usda.gov.

PART I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority

Section 1417(j) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 3152(j)), authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to promote and strengthen secondary education and 2-year postsecondary education to help ensure the existence of a qualified workforce to serve the food and agricultural sciences system and promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, 2-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences to promote excellence in education and encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agricultural sciences..

B. Purpose and Priorities

The purpose of the SPECA program is to award grants to:

1. Enhance curricula in agricultural education;
2. Increase faculty teaching competencies;
3. Interest young people in pursuing higher education in order to prepare for scientific and professional careers in the food and agricultural sciences;
4. Promote the incorporation of agriscience and agribusiness subject matter into other instructional programs, particularly classes in science, business, and consumer education;
5. Facilitate joint initiatives by the grant recipient with other secondary schools, institutions of higher education that award an associate degree, and institutions of higher education that award a bachelor's degree to maximize the development and use of resources, such as faculty, facilities, and equipment, to improve agriscience and agribusiness education;
6. Support other initiatives designed to meet local, State, regional, or national needs related to promoting excellence in agriscience and agribusiness education; and
7. Support current agriculture in the classroom programs for grades K–12.

Project Category. Each project must support academic instruction with a primary focus in at least one of the following three K-14 Grade Levels:

1. K-8 grade levels: Projects with a specific focus on any of the academic grades, kindergarten through 8.
2. Secondary School: Projects with a specific focus on any of the academic grades 9 through 12.
3. Junior or Community College: Projects with a specific focus on associate degree level (2-year postsecondary) activities.

All SPECA proposals submitted will be reviewed using the same evaluation criteria and may receive separate funding considerations based on the project categories described above. Projects with a target audience of baccalaureate, graduate, doctoral students, or professional development of teachers should refer to other Education Grant Programs offered through NIFA that are supportive of such activities.

Educational Need Areas. When preparing a SPECA-funded project, the rationale for choosing a particular Educational Need Area below must be explained in the context of how the project can contribute to the development of a cadre of students who will either pursue higher degrees in the food and agricultural sciences or be prepared to enter the food and agricultural sciences workforce.

Educational Need Areas for the SPECA program are:

1. Curriculum Development, Instructional Delivery Systems, and Expanding Student Career Opportunities. To promote new and improved curricula and materials to increase the quality of, and continuously renew, the nation's K-14 academic programs in the food and agricultural sciences. Projects should stimulate the development and facilitate the use of exemplary education models and materials that incorporate the most recent advances in subject matter research, research on teaching and learning theory, and instructional technology. Projects must include strategies for the adoption and integration of curricula, materials and other products generated.

Examples of eligible projects in this Need Area may include, but are not limited to, the following strategies: 

           a. The development of innovative course content, including innovative ways to integrate scientific research experiences into K-14 curricula such as STEM labs, school gardens or other activities that provide experiential learning opportunities to students.

           b. The use of new approaches to the study of traditional subjects or the introduction of new subjects in food and agricultural sciences.

           c. Hands-on learning experiences and methods to extend learning beyond the classroom and provide students with opportunities to solve complex problems in the context of real-world situations.

           d. Opportunities for students to complete apprenticeships, internships, career mentoring experiences, or other participatory learning experiences.

           e. Creating career placement or higher education academic counseling activities to encourage graduates to pursue postsecondary food and agricultural sciences degrees.

2. Facilitating Interaction with other Academic Institutions. To promote K-14 focused activities that form linkages between secondary, 2-year postsecondary, and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions to maximize the use of resources supporting outstanding education in the food and agricultural sciences. Activities should focus on ensuring completion of secondary degrees, enrollment into postsecondary programs and/or transfer to a 4-year institution. Partnerships, collaborative arrangements, and shared resources between institutions (including course credit sharing arrangements) are encouraged. Examples of strategies include:

           a. Development and use of articulation agreements, 2+2 or 2+2+2 arrangements (policies and programs designed to foster credit transfer between high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions), advanced placement credit transfer, or the sharing of faculty and facilities.

           b. A project that focuses on developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-institutional practices proven to recruit and retain K-14 level students with a focus on cultivating those students to pursue a postsecondary food and agricultural sciences degree.

           c. A project that will result in establishing and implementing programs or procedures (articulation agreements, electronic exchange of coursework, etc.) to disseminate curricula, instructional methods, or training practices to faculty across the state or region.

Additional Information

1. SPECA-funded projects must engage more than a single course or an individual instructor.
2. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with an agency or research facility, including a USDA agency, to leverage grant funds and/or contribute towards overall goals and objectives.
3. If organized by the program, the Project Director (PD) will be required to attend one NIFA SPECA PD meeting during the performance period of the award. Reasonable travel expenses must be included as part of the project budget. While budgets should account for this travel, NIFA may consider virtual or hybrid meetings.

Leadership Skills Development:
The development of leadership skills, knowledge, and qualities are necessary to prepare students for agricultural and related careers in the private sector, government, and academia. Teaching applications must demonstrably incorporate a leadership development component to equip students with technical and leadership abilities upon graduation. Specific activities may include:
1.    Developing practical applications to increase understanding of leadership roles, including critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills; ethics and professionalism; and working in teams.
2.    Connecting the academic classroom experience with daily leadership roles and organizational activities.
3.    Providing opportunities for mentoring and shadowing; and
4.    Organizing leadership academies, workshops, trainings, etc.
 

C. Program Key Information

The following key program information only pertains to the funding year for FY 2026.

PART II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funding

The amount available for SPECA in FY 2026 is approximately $750,000. USDA is not committed to fund any particular application or to make a specific number of awards.

The Automated Standard Application for Payments, operated by the Department of Treasury, Bureau of Fiscal Service, is the designated payment system for awards resulting from this NOFO.

B. Application Restrictions

NIFA will evaluate applications using the criteria described in Part V of this NOFO. Applications for FY 2026 is limited to the following application types: 

New Application: New applications will be evaluated using the criteria described in Part V of this NOFO and are subject to the due dates herein (see Appendix III for definition).

Resubmitted Application: Resubmitted applications must be submitted as a New proposal. Applicants must include their responses to the previous review panel summary within the Narrative document, even when submitting as New. After submitting a Resubmission, applicants must notify NIFA Program staff by email and provide the following information: 1. Application Title, 2. New grant number, and 3. Previous grant number. NIFA Program staff contact information can be found under the Program Contacts section in Appendix I: Agency Contact. 

C. Project and Grant Types

The following describes the types of applications that are eligible for funding:

1. Project Types. Applicants within this NOFO must propose Education projects: 
2. Application must distinguish between a Regular Proposal or a Collaborative Proposal
   1. Regular Proposal
      1. Applicants may request up to $50,000 (total, not per year) for a Regular proposal.
      2. Applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds with other project partners. 
   2. Collaborative Proposal
      1. Applicants may request up to $150,000 (total, not per year) for a Collaboration Proposal.
      2. Applicant executes the project with assistance from at least one additional partner. The partners must share grant funds (see explanation of required fund distribution percentage among partners in the definition section of this NOFO).

Documented Impacts of Collaboration Proposals must include, but are not limited to the following:

1. An assessment of significant progress toward addressing the regional or national challenge of increasing the number of food and agricultural sciences graduates.
2. Expansion of the number of students who enroll in post-secondary courses in food and agricultural sciences.
3. Enhanced retention rates of students exposed to project activities.
4.  Demonstrate the effectiveness of this project to the food and agricultural sciences community through a comprehensive project evaluation, using the indicators and methods defined in this NOFO.

D. Ethical Conduct of Funded Projects

In accordance with sections 2, 3, and 8 of 2 CFR Part 422, institutions that conduct USDA-funded extramural research must foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct, and maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures. In the event an application to NIFA results in an award, the Authorized Representative (AR) assures, through acceptance of the award, that the institution will comply with the above requirements. Award recipients must, upon request, make available to NIFA the policies, procedures, and documentation to support the conduct of the training. See Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research for further information.

PART III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA's About Grants provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.

The following entity(ies) may apply to this NOFO: Organizations.

Eligibility Requirements

 Applications may only be submitted by: (1) public secondary schools 20 U.S.C. 7801(45), (2) public or private nonprofit junior and community colleges, (3) institutions of higher education (20 U.S.C. 1001), or (4) nonprofit organizations (Attach IRS 501(c)(3) status under R&R 'Other Project Information' Field 12 Other Attachments).   

School boards are not eligible as legal recipients of the award.

USDA will not accept applications for grants and cooperative agreements submitted for dangerous gain-of-function research, as defined in Section 8 of E.O. 14292.

Submissions of duplicate or predominantly overlapping applications are not allowed. An eligible applicant may submit multiple applications on behalf of multiple institution's project directors whereas they are not essentially duplications of the same project or portions of the same project to multiple programs.

For additional information or clarification please contact the SPECA Program inbox at sm.if.speca@usda.gov . NIFA will disqualify both applications if an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA's Grants Overview provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process. 

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

This funding opportunity announcement has no matching requirement. NIFA will not factor matching resources into the review process as an evaluation criterion. While not required, cost share is encouraged. 

PART IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION

A. Method of Application

Applicants must apply to this NOFO electronically; no other method or response is accepted. The electronic application for this NOFO and additional resources are available on Grants.gov and Grants 101. Steps to Obtain Application Materials provides instructions on how to obtain an electronic application. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contains detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. The NIFA Grants Application Guide is contained in the specific funding opportunity package. When applying for a NIFA award, it is important to reference the version of the guide that is included in the specific funding opportunity application package.

Steps to Obtain Application Materials:

Help and Resources:

B. Content and Form of Application

The NIFA Grants Application Guide is part of the corresponding application package for this NOFO. The NOFO overrides the NIFA Grants Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. Applicants that do not meet the application requirements, to include partial applications, risk being excluded from NIFA's review. NIFA will assign a proposal number to all applications that meet the requirements of this NOFO. Applicants must refer to the proposal number when corresponding with NIFA. Key Application Instructions outlines key instructions for applicants.  

Key Application Instructions:

C. Funding Restrictions

Indirect Cost (IDC) is not to exceed 30 percent of the recipient's Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA)

7 U.S.C. 3310 limits the recovery of IDC for the overall award to 30 percent of the TFFA under a research, education, or extension grant. The maximum allowable IDC amount recoverable under the award, including the IDC charged by the subawardee(s), if any, is the lesser of the following and is determined by calculating the amount of IDC using:

1. the sum of an institution’s negotiated indirect cost rate and the indirect cost rate charged by subawardees, if any; or
2. 30 percent of TFFA.

If the result of number one is the lesser of the two amounts, the grant recipient is allowed to charge the negotiated IDC rate on the prime award and the subaward(s), if any. Any subawards would be subject to the subawardee’s negotiated IDC rate. The subawardee may charge its negotiated IDC rate on its portion of the award, provided the sum of the IDC amount charged under the award by the prime awardee and the subawardee(s) does not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.

If the result of number two is the lesser of the two amounts, then the maximum IDC allowed for the overall award, including any subaward(s), is limited to 30 percent of the TFFA. That is, the IDC of the prime awardee plus the sum of the IDC charged by the subawardee(s), if any, may not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.

In the event of an award, the prime awardee is responsible for ensuring the maximum indirect cost allowed for the award is not exceeded when combining IDC for the Federal portion (i.e., prime and subawardee(s)) and any applicable cost-sharing. Amounts exceeding the maximum allowable IDC are considered unallowable. See sections 408 and 410 of 2 CFR 200.

If the applicant does not have a negotiated rate and NIFA is the cognizant agency, the applicant may request an IDC rate. Applicants are not required to complete the IDC package during the application process and need only to calculate a rate to serve as a basis for requesting IDC. If awarded, the applicant will be required to submit a complete IDC proposal package to obtain a negotiated rate.

Organizations that do not have a current negotiated (including provisional) rate may elect the de minimis rate (2 CFR 200.414(f)). The Uniform Guidance offers the option of electing to charge a de minimis rate of 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC), which may be used indefinitely. As described above and in 2 CFR 200.403, costs must be charged consistently as either indirect or direct costs but may not be double-charged or inconsistently charged as both. If elected, this methodology must be used consistently for all Federal awards until such time as a non-Federal entity chooses to negotiate for a rate, which it may do at any time.

See NIFA Indirect Costs for information including additional resources and NIFA Indirect Cost Guidance Chart.

Successful applicants must not use grant funds awarded under the authority of this NOFO to renovate or refurbish research, education, or extension space; purchase or install fixed equipment in such space; or to plan, repair, rehabilitate, acquire, or construct buildings or facilities.

PART V. APPLICATION REVIEW REQUIREMENTS

A. NIFA's Evaluation Process

NIFA evaluates each application in a two-part process. First, we screen each application to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements set forth in this NOFO. All administrative requirements must be met in order for the application to proceed to the next level of review. Second, a scientific peer-review process will be used to technically evaluate applications that have met the administrative requirements using a review panel (see NIFA Peer Review Process).

NIFA selects reviewers for the review panel based upon their training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors:

1. The level of relevant formal scientific, technical education, or extension experience of the individual, as well as the extent to which an individual is engaged in relevant research, education, or extension activities.
2. The need to include experts from various areas of specialization within relevant scientific, education, or extension fields.
3. The need to include other experts (e.g., agricultural producers, range or forest managers/operators, researchers, educators, evaluators, and consumers) who can assess relevance of the applications to targeted audiences and to program needs.
4. The need to include experts from a variety of organizational types (e.g., colleges, universities, industry, state and Federal agencies, and private profit and non-profit organizations) and geographic locations.
5. The need to maintain a balanced composition with regard to the reviewer's area of expertise, geographic area, and entity type, as appropriate.
6. The need to include reviewers who can judge the effective usefulness of each application to producers and the general public.

After each peer review panel has completed its deliberations, the responsible program staff of NIFA will recommend that your project is either approved for support from currently available funds or declined due to insufficient funds or unfavorable review.

NIFA reserves the right to negotiate with the PD/PI and/or the submitting organization or institution regarding project revisions (e.g., reductions in the scope of work, funding level, period, or method of support) prior to recommending any project for funding.

After the review process has been completed, NIFA sends copies of reviews, not including the identity of reviewers, and a summary (if applicable) of the review panel comments to the PD.
 

NIFA takes extreme care to prevent any actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may influence the review or evaluation (see NIFA Peer Review Process for Competitive Grant Applications).

B. Evaluation Criteria

NIFA will use the following criteria to evaluate and score applications to this funding opportunity.

C. Organizational Management Information

Applicants must submit specific management information prior to an award and update the information as needed. Applicants may only need to provide an update if there was a change in previously provided information under this or another NIFA program. NIFA provides the requisite forms during the pre-award process. Although an applicant may be eligible for award under this program, there are factors that may exclude an applicant from receiving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under this program (e.g., debarment or suspension of an individual, or a determination that an applicant is not responsible).

D. Application Disposition

Applicants may withdraw at any time before NIFA makes a final funding decision. NIFA will retain all applications, including withdrawn applications and unfunded applications.

PART VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION

A. General

Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to responsible and eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. The date specified by the NIFA awarding official as the effective date of the grant must be no later than September 30 of the federal fiscal year in which the project is approved for support and funds are appropriated for such purpose, unless otherwise permitted by law. The project need not be initiated on the grant effective date, but as soon thereafter as practical so that project goals may be attained within the funded project period. All funds granted by NIFA under this NOFO may be used only for the purpose for which they are granted in accordance with the approved application and budget, regulations, terms and conditions of the award, applicable federal cost principles, USDA assistance regulations, and NIFA General Awards Administration Provisions, 7 CFR Part 3430, subparts A through E.

The award document will provide pertinent instructions and information as described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions).

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 

Several federal statutes and regulations apply to grant applications and the projects outlined in this NOFO (some are listed here: Federal Regulations). Unless specifically noted by statute or award-specific requirements, NIFA Federal Assistance Policy Guide applies to all NIFA awards.

C. Expected Program Outputs and Reporting Requirements

Output and reporting requirements are included in the award terms and conditions. If there are any program or award-specific award terms, they will be identified in the Award Notice.

PART VII. OTHER INFORMATION

A. Use of Funds and Changes in Budget

Unless the terms and conditions of the award state otherwise, awardees may not in whole or in part delegate or transfer to another person, institution, or organization the responsibility for use or expenditure of award funds.

In accordance with 2 CFR 200.308, awardees must request prior approval from NIFA for the following program or budget-related reasons (the awardee is subject to the terms and conditions identified in the award):

1. Change in the scope or the objective of the project or program without prior written approval (even if there is no associated budget revision required);
2. Change in a key person specified in the application or the federal award;
3. Disengagement from the project for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project;
4. Inclusion of costs that require prior approval in accordance with 2 CFR 200 Subpart E (Cost Principles), or 2 CFR Part 300 Appendix IX, or 48 CFR, unless waived by the Federal awarding agency, 48 CFR Part 31, Contract Cost Principles and Procedures;
5. Transfer of funds budgeted for participant support costs to other categories of expense (2 CFR 200.456 Participant support costs);
6. Subawarding, transferring or contracting out of any work under a federal award, including fixed amount subawards (see 2 CFR 200.333, Fixed Amount Subawards), unless described in the application and funded in the approved federal awards. This provision does not apply to the acquisition of supplies, material, equipment, or general support services;
7. Changes in the approved cost-sharing or matching provided by the non-federal entity;
8. The need for additional federal funds to complete the project;
9. Salary rates of pay exceeding an Executive Level IV salary range (see "Rates of Pay for the Executive Schedule" under the "Executive & Senior Level Employee Pay Tables" header at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/) require prior NIFA approval. This rate does not include any fringe benefits, general and administrative (G&A), overhead, or other expenses. Requests for approval must include the salary rate of pay and a justification for the rate and be sent to the Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) to awards@usda.gov;
10. No more than 50 percent of the total dollars of this award may be subcontracted to another party(ies) without prior written approval of the ADO, except subcontracts to Federal agencies.
11. Transferring funds between the construction and non-construction work under a Federal award; and
12. A no-cost extension (meaning, an extension of time that does not require the obligation of additional Federal funds) of the period of performance, other than any one-time extension authorized by the Federal agency in accordance with paragraph 2 CFR 200.308(g)(2). All requests for no-cost extensions should be submitted at least 10 calendar days before the conclusion of the period of performance. The Federal agency may approve multiple no-cost extensions under a Federal award if not prohibited by Federal statute or regulation.

B. Confidential Aspects of Applications and Awards

When an application results in an award, it becomes a part of NIFA transaction records, which are available to the public. Information that the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Therefore, applicants should clearly mark any information within the application they wish to have considered as confidential, privileged, or proprietary. NIFA will retain a copy of an application that does not result in an award for three years. Such an application will be released only with the consent of the applicant or to the extent required by law. An applicant may withdraw at any time prior to the final action thereon.

C. Regulatory Information

This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with state and local officials. Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the collection of information requirements contained in this notice have been approved under OMB Document No. 0524- 0039.

D. Language Access Services

NIFA offers language access services, such as interpretation and translation of vital information, free of charge. If you need interpretation or translation services, please visit NIFA Language Access Services.

APPENDIX I: AGENCY CONTACT

APPENDIX II: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

• Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – AFRI
• Assistance Listing Number – ALN
• Authorized Departmental Officer – ADO
• Authorized Representative – AR
• Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 – AREERA
• Coordinated Agricultural Project – CAP
• Centers of Excellence – COE
• Data Management Plan – DMP
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture – NIFA
• Notice of Funding Opportunity - NOFO
• Research, Education, and Economics – REE
• Secondary, Two-Year Postsecondary, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program - SPECA
• United States Department of Agriculture – USDA

APPENDIX III: DEFINITIONS

(Refer to 7 CFR 3430 Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-formula Federal Assistance Programs – General Award Administrative Provisions for additional definitions) 

• New Application: An application not previously submitted to a program.
• Resubmitted Application: A project application that was previously submitted to a program, but the application was not funded.