Following is an approximate timeline for key steps in the FY 2022 Commodity Boards Initiative for NIFA and eligible commodity boards to jointly fund Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) topics. This timeline is approximate, subject to change, and intended solely to provide a general sense of the timing for key milestones in the process.
| DATE | EVENT OR ACTION | INTERVAL |
|---|---|---|
| November 12, 2021 | Notice of FY 2022 Program and Timeline Published | |
| January 11, 2022 | Deadline for Commodity Boards to submit topics for inclusion in FY2020 AFRI Requests for Applications (RFAs) | 60 days |
| January 25, 2022 | NIFA notifies Commodity Boards of decision to include or not include suggested topics in upcoming RFAs, sends a Co-funding Agreement to Commodity Boards for accepted topics | 14 days |
| February 22, 2022 | Commodity Boards return signed Co-funding Agreement | 28 days |
| March 8, 2022 | Commodity Boards deposit required funds in escrow account | 14 days |
| Approximately March 2022 | AFRI RFAs updated for FY 2022 | |
| Varies | Grant Applications Submission Deadlines | As listed in RFA |
| Varies | Deadline for grant applicants to provide letters of support from Commodity Boards | 60 days after respective grant application deadline |
| Varies | NIFA informs Commodity Boards of peer panel review and decisions regarding projects they supported | Approximately 21 days after peer panel review of grant applications |
| Varies | Commodity Board transfers funds from escrow account to NIFA Deposit Account | 5 days after NIFA notification to Commodity Board of peer panel review and decisions regarding proposals they supported |
