(a) The regulations of this part apply only to capacity building grants awarded to the 1890 land-grant institutions and Tuskegee University under the provisions of section 1417(b)(4) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended (NARETPA) (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(4)) and pursuant to annual appropriations made available specifically for an 1890 capacity building program. Section 1417(b)(4) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, who has delegated the authority to theDirector of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to make competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities, to colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, for a period not to exceed 5 years, to design and implement food and agricultural programs to build teaching and research capacity at colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments. Based on and subject to the express provisions of the annual appropriations act, only 1890 land-grant institutions and Tuskegee University are eligible for this grants program.
(b) To the extent that funds are available, each year NIFA will publish a Federal Register notice announcing the program and soliciting grant applications.
(c)
(1) Based on the amount of funds appropriated in any fiscal year, NIFA will determine and cite in the program announcement:
(i) The program area(s) to be supported (teaching, research, or both);
(ii) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, teaching projects and research projects;
(iii) The targeted need area(s) in teaching and in research to be supported;
(iv) The degree level(s) to be supported;
(v) The maximum project period a proposal may request;
(vi) The maximum amount of funds that may be requested by an institution under a regular, complementary, or joint project proposal; and
(vii) The maximum total funds that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year, including how funds awarded for complementary and for joint projects will be counted toward the institutional maximum.
(2) The program announcement will also specify the deadline date for proposal submission, the number of copies of each proposal that must be submitted, the address to which a proposal must be submitted, and whether or not Form NIFA-711, “Intent to Submit a Proposal,” is requested.
(d)
(1) If it is deemed by NIFA that, for a given fiscal year, additional determinations are necessary, each, as relevant, will be stated in the program announcement. Such determinations may include:
(i) Limits on the subject matter/emphasis areas to be supported;
(ii) The maximum number of proposals that may be submitted on behalf of the same school, college, or equivalent administrative unit within an institution;
(iii) The maximum total number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution;
(iv) The maximum number of proposals that may be submitted by an individual in any one targeted need area;
(v) The minimum project period a proposal may request;
(vi) The minimum amount of funds that may be requested by an institution under a regular, complementary, or joint project proposal;
(vii) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, regular, complementary, and joint project proposals;
(viii) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, projects in each announced targeted need area;
(ix) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, each subject matter/emphasis area;
(x) The maximum number of grants that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year, including how grants awarded for complementary and joint projects will be counted toward the institutional maximum; and
(xi) Limits on the use of grant funds for travel or to purchase equipment, if any.
(2) The program announcement also will contain any other limitations deemed necessary by NIF for proper conduct of the program in the applicable year.
(e) The regulations of this part prescribe that this is a competitive program; it is possible that an institution may not receive any grant awards in a particular year.
(f) The regulations of this part do not apply to grants for other purposes awarded by the Department of Agriculture under section 1417 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended (7 U.S.C. 3152) or any other authority.