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Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety
and Health Center
1260 Mayo
(Del Code 8807A)
420 Delaware St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
612-625-8836
umash@umn.edu

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NIOSH Agricultural Safety and Health Centers

UMASH Pilot Projects Request for Proposals

The Upper Midwest Agriculture Safety and Health Center is requesting applications for small grants ranging from $5,000 to a maximum of $20,000 to address health and safety issues related to agricultural workers and their families. This announcement is open to investigators working in academic, government, community, industry or health care settings who have the knowledge, skills, and ability to carry out the proposed work. The UMASH is specifically interested in projects that address concepts outlined in the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) for agriculture, and integrates the philosophy of a One Health model (further reading: http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/, http://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/ ) into agricultural safety and health, and address issues important to the agriculture industry in the Upper Midwest.

The UMASH pilot project program will consider proposals that meet one or more of the following criteria:

1. Develop innovative ideas in agricultural safety and health research, education, and outreach that have high probability of obtaining additional funding.
   
   
2. Enhance existing programs/projects to include agriculture workers and their families.
   
   
3. Conduct exploratory activities to characterize emerging issues related to the health and safety of agriculture workers and their families.
   
   
4. Creates new partnerships to address health and safety of agriculture workers and their families by bringing together multidisciplinary expertise to initiate new and innovative activities, e.g. a symposium or conference to develop a new program

At the conclusion of the project, a final report summarizing project activities, including symposia and conferences, and results must be received within one month of the end of the grant funding period. The investigators must also present the results of their project at an annual Symposium held by the UMASH. Costs to attend the meeting must be included in the budget.  

It is anticipated that these projects will be completed in one year or less, with a start date prior to July 1, 2012.

Application Instructions

Application Deadline: April 4, 2012

Download Application Forms:

• RFP (pdf)
• Sample Budget (Word)
• Compliance Form (Word)

Application:  To apply for these grants, the following materials must be received by April 4, 2012:

• Abstract: A 250 word abstract that includes a summary of the proposal (below).
  
  
• Proposal: A short, single-spaced proposal, (three pages maximum using 11 point or larger Arial font) for items 1-5 below, outlining the proposed research project. Required elements include:
  
  
  1. Hypotheses and specific aims.
  2. Significance and how the project is important to agriculture in the Upper Midwest
  3. Innovation; what new knowledge or ideas this project will help develop
  4. Approach; must be concise, but sufficiently detailed to evaluate the potential success of the project
  5. Anticipated results and plans for developing future opportunities
  6. Timetable
  7. References
     
• Application/Budget Form [Download Budget Form (Word)]
  

  
  Projects must be for one year or less with a start date prior to July 1, 2012.
  
  Eligible Expenses: If there is clear justification of the need for expenditures and a clear explanation of their direct relevance to the proposed research, these awards may be used for any category of research-related expenses, with the following limitations.

• Faculty salary support may not exceed 5% for each faculty member.
• Travel to professional meetings will not be funded with the exception of travel to the annual meeting of the UMASH Symposium to present results from the research project.
• Indirect costs are not permitted.
  
  
• Budget Justification: Should not exceed one page; a description of each item listed in the budget should be included with an indication of its relation to the proposed work.
  
  
• Biographical sketch: A short (no more than two pages) biographical sketch or resume for key personnel detailing qualifications to conduct research. Provide: (a) name, degrees, title, institution; (b) positions and honors in chronological order; (c) selected peer-reviewed publications; (d) current other support (percentage effort on each type of support) Forms located at the following can be used, if you wish: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html
  
  
• Human or Animal Subjects: Statement addressing plans for use of human or animal subjects in research. IRB approval must be received prior to distribution of funds. The IRB must be registered with the DHHS Office of Human Research Protections and have completed a Federal-wide Assurance.
  
  
• Letters of Support: Required if the project is dependent on the cooperation of any organization, health care facility, business or other institution.
  
  
• Compliance Form:  Completed Compliance and Signature Form [Download Form (Word)]

Submission Instructions:

To facilitate review and distribution applications will be accepted in electronic format only. Submit all application materials no later than April 4, 2012 to balex@umn.edu.

Application Review Criteria

Review criteria for proposals submitted to the Pilot Program include the following:

Technical Score (50%), including an assessment of:

• Overall merit:  The proposed project must be original, innovative, and feasible within the resources requested. The applicant must also demonstrate appropriate understanding of the proposed project.
  
  
• Purpose: The significance and innovative characteristics of the proposed work must be clear.
  
  
• Specific objectives and goals: Specific goals of the project must be listed and defined.
  
  
• Methods: The methods proposed for carrying out the proposed activities must be clearly defined and described.
  
  

Programmatic Score (50%):
The programmatic score will be based on the following criteria. It is not expected that the pilot projects will meet all areas, but the degree to which they meet specific or multiple areas is important.

• Builds capacity among new investigators: The funds provided by this program  are intended to encourage new investigators in the field of agricultural safety and health, particularly those who will develop innovative work. This includes investigators needing initial support for innovative research areas who lack support from other traditional sources, trainees undertaking additional research opportunities, and scientists and community members in other fields who could may contribute substantially to the field of agricultural safety and health.
  
  
• Is likely to lead to further activities that will address the NIOSH NORA objectives for agriculture: Greater weight will be given to projects that have the potential for being developed into proposals for more substantial funding, based on preliminary results from this research grant.
  
  
• Has a high potential for making an impact on the health of agriculture workers: Translational research ideas or research-to-practice (R2P) is encouraged.  Proposals that meet NIOSH NORA objectives will, likewise, receive higher priority for funding. The NORA Agriculture Priorities will be used to evaluate the relevance of research proposals. Research topics that address issues of special relevance to the Upper Midwest will also be given special consideration.
  
  
• Involves multiple partners: Proposals for pilot funding that seek to involve multiple interested parties, such as employees, organized labor, employers, state officials, academics, etc. are encouraged. Proposals that initiate promising collaborations are particularly encouraged.
  
  
• Budget: The budget should be appropriate to complete the scope of the work proposed.
  
  

Questions? Contact: 
Dr. Bruce H. Alexander
Phone: 612-625-7934
Email: balex@umn.edu

The NIOSH-funded UMASH Pilot Research Training Program (1 U54 OH010170-01) must be acknowledged in all associated publications. In addition, the following statement must be included in all publications arising from this research: “The contents of this effort are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or other associated entities.”