Research and IPM

Grants Programs: Pierce's Disease Research

Request for New Proposals, 2008 - 2009
Deadline: January 16, 2008

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Pierce’s Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter (PD/GWSS) Board and the University of California (UC) Pierce's Disease Research Grants Program are accepting proposals for Biological and Economic research projects on Pierce's disease and its vectors. 

• Biological Research Proposals: Projects are being sought that will contribute to finding solutions to this serious disease of grapevines and that are relevant to California conditions.  All proposals received will be considered to be submitted to both programs. Thus, each proposal must have two versions of the same budget, one under the format for each program. Proposals will be evaluated by a unified process.  However, the CDFA program and the UC program will separately identify those projects that each program will support. 
• Economic Research Proposals: Projects are being sought that will contribute to an understanding of the economic impact of PD/GWSS on agriculture.  All proposals received will be considered to be submitted to CDFA only.

Proposals are due via electronic submission on Tuesday, January 16, 2008. Research contracts will be awarded for one to three years, beginning with fiscal year 2008-09 (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009).  For projects awarded two or three years of funding, receipt of a subsequent year of funding will be contingent upon satisfactory progress being made during the prior year.

General information

• Proposal submissions should be consistent with the research recommendations provided in the report “PD/GWSS Research Scientific Review: Final Report” released in August of 2007 by the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pierce’s Disease Research Scientific Advisory Panel (see Attachment A).
• Funding preference will be given to projects deemed likely to yield results that expedite and/or directly yield applicable industry solutions or provide insight into the economic impacts of PD/GWSS and its possible solutions.  Multi-disciplinary team projects are encouraged.
• Researchers are responsible for obtaining all required governmental permits for working with live plant pests.  For more information, please visit the following websites:
  • California permits
  • Federal permits
• Submitted proposals and progress reports will not be returned.  Confidential information and materials should not be submitted.
• Periodic progress reports and a final report will be required for each funded project.  Similar to federal grant programs, funded researchers may be required to post project information, including progress reports, data, and gene sequences, on designated websites (see Attachment B for more information).  In addition, funded researchers are expected to attend and report on their progress at the annual Pierce’s disease research symposium.  (The proceedings from prior symposia are available at Pierce's disease research symposium).
• This RFP document is available online at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/pdcp/Research.html

Timeline

Eligibility and Conflict of Interest

• Any individual or group affiliated with a university or governmental agency that has appropriate research capabilities is eligible and is encouraged to submit proposals.  For the UC Program, the organization must be able to meet CSREES certification requirements (see “Additional Forms Required by the UC Program” on page 8 of the RFP).

Funding

• The CDFA Pierce’s Disease Research Program is funded by a special assessment paid by the California winegrape industry.
• The UC Pierce's Disease Research Grants Program is funded by a special grant to the University of California from the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).  Availability of funds is contingent on inclusion of the special grant in the federal fiscal year 2008 budget for CSREES.

Format and Content of Research Proposals, Implementation Project Proposals, and Progress Reports

See guidelines.

Definitions of Participant Responsibilities

• Principal Investigator (PI): The Principal Investigator is the person with overall responsibility for the scientific conduct of the project and for expenditures of funds.  Each project has only one PI.
• Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): A Co-Principal Investigator is a person who receives research support or material of significant value from the project.  A project may have more than one Co-PI.
• Cooperator: A Cooperator is a person who provides advice, materials, or data to the project, makes arrangements for advancement of project activities, uses results developed in the project, and/or carries out research in parallel to the project research and which is mutually beneficial.  A Cooperator does not receive research support or material of significant value from the project.  A project may have more than one Cooperator.

Letter of Intent to Submit a Proposal

PIs are requested to provide by December 17, 2007, a Letter of Intent to Submit a Proposal. This document should be no longer than one page in length (11 point Arial font, one-inch margins). The purpose of the Letter of Intent is to assist the CDFA and UC programs in identifying suitable reviewers early enough to secure their commitments to serve, since almost all written reviews are to be completed by late March 2008.  Please provide the following information in your letter:

• PI name and title
• Co-PI(s) name(s) and title(s)
• Cooperator(s) name(s) and title(s)
• Proposed or tentative title of the proposal
• Principal objective(s) of the proposed research
• Experimental approach
• Name(s) of possible reviewer(s) of your proposal

Please submit your letter by December 17, 2007, as the attachment to an email addressed to mmcaruso@ucdavis.edu.  For this year, submission of Letters of Intent, though preferred, will not be a prerequisite to submitting a proposal in January.

Review Process and Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by ad hoc external reviewers and a review panel.  In addition, the PD/GWSS Board’s Research Screening Committee and the University of California’s Pierce’s Disease Research Grants Program Guiding Committee will review and make recommendations for funding of proposals by the respective programs. For the UC program, proposal budgets must be further reviewed and approved by CSREES before funds can be awarded.

Biological Research Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated in the following areas (100 points possible):

• Objectives of Proposed Research/Relevance - Are the objectives clearly stated, justified, worthwhile, and reasonable and consistent with priorities outlined in Attachment A?  Is the proposed research likely to contribute significantly to Pierce’s disease mitigation as envisioned by the investigator-assigned numbering of Attachment A?  Is the proposed project non-redundant with other research? (25 points)
• Experimental Procedures to Accomplish Objectives – Is the work plan reasonable, feasible and capable of meeting the stated goals and objectives? Is the work plan of good scientific merit? (35 points)
• PI, Co-PI(s) & Cooperators – Do they have appropriate backgrounds, expertise, experience and capabilities for the proposed tasks? Is the team missing any critical capabilities? (10 points)
• Research Capacity & Likelihood of Accomplishing Objectives – Assuming that requested PD program funds are awarded, will the investigators have the resources, including facilities, to achieve the objectives? (10 points)
• Research Timetable for Project – Are the milestones appropriate? Are they achievable? (10 points)
• Budget – Is the budget reasonable and appropriate, including support for collaborator activities? (10 points)

Economic Research Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated in the following areas (100 points possible):

• Objectives of Proposed Research/Relevance - Are the objectives clearly stated, justified, worthwhile, and reasonable and consistent with priorities outlined in Attachment A?    Is the proposed project non-redundant with other research? (25 points)
• Methodology and Procedures for Accomplishing Objectives (Workplan) – Is the workplan reasonable, feasible and capable of meeting the stated goals and objectives? Is the workplan likely to yield the targeted data and information (35 points)
• PI, Co-PI(s) & Cooperators –Do they have appropriate backgrounds, expertise, experience and capabilities for the proposed tasks? Is the team missing any critical capabilities? (10 points)
• Research Capacity & Likelihood of Accomplishing Objectives – Assuming that requested PD program funds are awarded, will the investigators have the resources, including facilities, to achieve the objectives? (10 points)
• Research Timetable for Project – Are the milestones appropriate? Are they achievable? (10 points)
• Budget – Is the budget reasonable and appropriate, including support for collaborator activities? (10 points)

Due Date for Submissions

Proposals should be submitted electronically via the internet no later than Tuesday, January 16, 2008.  Submit proposals online.

Additionally, for Biological Research Proposals, please submit one paper copy to each funding program.  For Economic Research Proposals, please submit one paper copy to the CDFA program only.  Paper copies should include all necessary institutional approvals and should be signed by all PIs, Co-PIs, and Cooperators.  The paper copies must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 18, 2008.  The mailing addresses are:

• For the UC Program:  UC Statewide IPM Program, Attention Melanie Caruso, Robbins Annex, University of California, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-8621.
• For the CDFA Program:  Pierce’s Disease Control Program, Attention  Doug West, California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1220 N Street, Room 325, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Proposals that are incomplete, late, or exceed the maximum page length (10 pages + title page, budget, current, planned, pending, and recent PD/GWSS research support, biographies, and citations; 11-point Arial font; one-inch margins) may be eliminated from consideration.

Questions

If you have questions about the research programs, please contact one of the following:

For questions about submitting online, please contact Melanie Caruso.

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