Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) FY 2013 Virginia

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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture, is announcing availability of Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in Virginia. NRCS Virginia anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2013 will be up to $400,000. Applications are requested from eligible governmental or non-governmental organizations or individuals for competitive consideration of grant awards for projects between 1 and 3 years in duration. Individual grants will not exceed $75,000. 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 into NRCS policy, technical manuals, guides, and references, or to the private sector. CIG does not fund research projects and projects intended to test hypotheses do not qualify for a CIG award. CIG is used to apply or demonstrate previously proven technology. It is a vehicle to stimulate development and adoption of conservation approaches or technologies that have been studied sufficiently to indicate a high likelihood of success, and that are a candidate 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 that target innovative on-the-ground conservation, including pilot projects and field demonstrations. Funds will be awarded through a two-phase, statewide competitive grants process that will include: (1) a pre-proposal process; and (2) a full proposal process. The full proposal process will only be open to applicants whose pre-proposal applications are selected to advance to full proposals. Both phases are described in this announcement, but only pre-proposals are being solicited at this time. This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for CIG projects. 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 request a full proposal package only from those applicants selected in the pre-proposal phase. See Full Announcement for additional information.

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