AFRI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

No, if you submitted a grant proposal prior to the original deadline that does not require revision, please do not submit a duplicate application. Your original application will be screened for administrative requirements to proceed to peer review.  

Yes, if you submitted a grant application that needs to be revised, feel free to revise and resubmit a new grant application. Your revised submission will be screened for administrative requirements to proceed to peer review.  

When completing the SF 424 for the revised application, select “Changed/Corrected Application” in Field 1 and include the previous Grants.gov Tracking ID in Field 4c. Please then contact the program team using the email address associated with the specific program you are applying to, including both the old and corrected Grants.gov Tracking IDs. Prior approval for revised/changed/corrected submissions is not needed. 

Yes, if you were unable to submit an application by the original deadline, feel free to submit your application prior to the extended deadline.   

Generally, AFRI seeks to fund agriculture and food research, education and extension projects. Each of the AFRI Requests for Applications may contain multiple programs, each with their own descriptions, which are described in Part I, C of the NOFO. The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program contains the most topics with numerous program area priorities in six AFRI priority areas specified in the 2018 Farm Bill, as well as some crosscutting programs that cover more than one priority area:

• Plant health, and production and plant products
• Animal health, and production and animal products
• Food safety, nutrition, and health
• Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment
• Agriculture systems and technology
• Agriculture economics and rural communities

AFRI Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) may contain multiple programs area priorities described in Part I, C of the NOFO. Each program area priority will have information on its specific funding priorities as well as provide Program Area Priority Contacts. Those contacts can answer your questions about the program area priority and its requirements. They can provide advice on general suitability of a proposed topic for the specific program area priority but cannot review your project or application.

We generally give this advice on being a Project Director for more than one application:

While it is not prohibited to do so (either in a specific program priority area or for specific AFRI NOFOs as a whole), AFRI programs discourage the same individual from submitting more than one application as lead/first Project Director. Because of the competitive nature of the AFRI program, it is often best to select one project and put the time into writing the strongest application that you can. However, there is similarly no prohibition against more than one grant being given to a single project director, but some program area priorities do have a limit on the number of grants an institution may receive.

For Co-PDs and collaborators, there is also no prohibition on being on more than one project.

All Co-PDs and PDs need remember to include all the pending applications in their Current & Pending form to confirm that they would have enough time to work on all of them if all the listed applications receive awards.

AFRI uses a peer review process for its grants. You can find general information about peer review at NIFA in this fact sheet and information specific to AFRI peer review guidelines is found in the AFRI Review Criteria (found in the Attachment list on AFRI NOFO Resources).