AAES Internal Funding & Grants

INTENT & PURPOSE OF FUNDS

AAES funds have been established to enable researchers to conduct innovative fundamental and applied (mission-oriented) research that supports the advancement of Alabama’s agriculture and forestry industries. The overarching goal for AAES funding is to facilitate improvements in the quality of life, health, and well-being of citizens and communities (including schools and workplaces) of Alabama and beyond.

AAES program funding opens each year during mid to late Spring. This is followed by the release of a formal request for application (RFA), application forms, and supporting on-campus informational presentations. Interested faculty can select from one of six funding initiatives.

• Agricultural Research Enhancement, Exploration and Development (AgR-SEED): 2-yr., $50,000 max.

The Agriculture Research Enhancement, Exploration, and Development (AgR-SEED) program seeks to fund researchers who want to develop projects that can be competitive at the national level. These funds should be used to collect critical preliminary data, then expanded in scope and developed into a larger, competitive proposal.

• Production Agricultural Research (PAR): 2-yr., $50,000 max.

The Production Agriculture Research (PAR) program seeks to support faculty members who are addressing agriculture-related issues that are highly relevant to the State of Alabama. These proposals/programs should be highly applied in nature and offer needed solution(s) that can be adopted by stakeholders/end-users in a relatively brief period of time. Therefore, it is highly advisable for applicants to demonstrate the applied nature of their project by collaborating closely with early adopters of these solutions and/or technologies.

• AAES Equipment Funding Program (Equipment): Range – $5,000 to $50,000 dollars. (NOTE: This program requires a 50% cost share.)

The AAES Equipment Grant program seeks to provide an opportunity for faculty members to purchase equipment/instruments in their laboratories, or to facilitate the purchase of research data. While this program is not a substitute for other equipment grant programs supported by the various federal agencies, it will give faculty members an opportunity to purchase small-sized equipment that is not supported by the funding agencies but is critical for faculty work. As noted, use of program funds to purchase data critical to certain disciplines is allowed (50% matching requirement still applies). However, program funds cannot be used for infrastructure upgrades.

• Mid-Career Faculty Advancement & Support (FAST) Grant: $10,000 max request

The AAES Mid-Career Faculty Advancement & Support (FAST) grant program seeks to support midcareer faculty who wish to advance their research and career trajectory. FAST offers recipients a 1-year financial award to help them remain actively engaged in an established research program during this critical stage of their investigative career.

• Professional Enhancement for Emerging Researchers (PEER) Grant: 1-yr., $10,000 max (Post-Doctoral); $5,000 max (Grad. Student)

The Professional Enhancement for Emerging Researchers (PEER) program seeks to provide opportunities for post-doctoral fellows and senior graduate students to develop independent proposals in collaboration with their advisors as part of their professional development. These funds cannot be used to support ongoing research activities that are funded by other sources. The proposal needs to be new and independent.

• Good-to-Great Research Improvements in Transition (GRIT) Grant: 1-yr., $7,500 max

The Good to GREAT Research in Transition (GRIT) program seeks to support faculty members improve upon the quality of previously submitted grant proposals (i.e., proposals that received “good” reviews but were not selected to receive an award from an external funding agencies). These funds are meant to provide faculty members with an opportunity to improve upon their initial proposal and prepare it for successful resubmission. (I.e., Recipients apply GRIT funds to secure/strengthen research data or correct a noted deficiency from their initial panel review.) 

Additional Requirements:

• The Principal Investigator and Co-PI (s) MUST have an AAES appointment, an approved Hatch project (or pending approval), or serve as Auburn’s Official Station Representative for a Hatch/Multistate project.
• Investigators can serve as Lead P.I or Co-I

If Successfully Selected for an AAES Grant Award:

• Recipients must submit at least (1) external funding request (i.e., federal grant) during the first 12-month period of their award.
• Submit a 12-month progress report at the end of Year One, and a project completion report at the end of Year Two.

Refer to the RFA for more information about eligibility, requirements, deadlines, evaluation, and procedures.