Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Offers Conservation Innovation Grant for Developing and Adopting Innovative Conservation Approaches

The purpose of CIG is to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies, while leveraging the Federal investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. CIG projects are expected to lead to the transfer of conservation technologies, management systems, and innovative approaches (such as market-based systems) into NRCS policy, technical manuals,
guides, and references or to the private sector. CIG does not fund research projects. Projects
intended to formulate hypothesis do not qualify. CIG is to apply proven technology which has
been shown to work previously. It is a vehicle to stimulate the development and adoption of
conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a
likelihood of success, and to be candidates for eventual technology transfer or
institutionalization. CIG promotes sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, and facilities
among communities, governments, and other institutions to ensure that scientific and
technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users. CIG funds projects
targeting innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field
demonstrations.

A two-phase evaluation process will be utilized for applications submitted under this notice. The
first phase requires the applicant to submit a pre-proposal. Applications will be evaluated by
NRCS staff under the bulleted topics identified by the applicant (see section I.D). Applications
will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete
applications will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be mailed to the applicant.

NRCS will accept applications for single or multi-year projects, not to exceed 3 years, submitted to NRCS from eligible entities including federally recognized Indian tribes, State and local units of government, and non-governmental organizations and individuals. Applications are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

NRCS will request a full proposal package only from those applicants selected in the preproposal
process. Complete applications received by applicable deadlines will be evaluated by a
technical peer review panel based on the Criteria for Application Evaluation identified in the application instructions in section VI.B.

Applications with technically-based recommendations from the peer review groups will be forwarded to the Grants Review Board. The Grants Review Board will make recommendations
for project approval to the NRCS Chief who will make the final selections.