Southern SARE Research and Education Grant

Southern SARE’s Research and Education Grants are the flagship grants of the program. They were the first grants offered when the program was launched in 1988, and were the only sustainable ag grants available to researchers and educators until additional grant programs were added to SSARE in 1994.

SSARE offers two grant programs within the Research and Education Grant category: Research Grants and Education Grants. Currently, the Call for Proposals is only open for Research Grants.

Research Grants are competitive research grants for teams of interdisciplinary researchers that encourage a systems approach in sustainable agriculture.

Most agricultural field research is component research – analyzing a part of a system in isolation to the other system’s components to seek a solution to one problem. While good information has been gained from well-conducted component research, one of the shortcomings of a component view is that sometimes a solution to a problem creates new problems to be solved. In addition, component research provides results that often only offer short-term solutions to long-term problems.

Education Grants accommodate organizations, institutions and individuals who are interested in education-based projects, rather than research-driven projects.

Research Grant proposals must meet the following basic requirements in order to be considered for funding:

• Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainable agriculture.

• Projects must involve a systems research approach to sustainable agriculture.

• Emphasis in Research Grants is placed on farmer participation, particularly for the production projects, on the relevance to sustainable agriculture, and on the strength of a holistic approach. At least three (3) cooperating farmers must be involved in the project, each with a unique and detailed role.

• The project’s central purpose must be research-based with an educational/outreach component to extend the project findings to the public, with specific applicability for and potential adoption by farmers.

Researchers from public and private institutions, such as 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities or other colleges and universities; government agencies, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service or USDA-ARS; non-governmental organizations; community-based organizations; agribusiness; and individuals such as ag consultants are eligible to apply for Research and Education Grants.

Education Grant proposals must meet the following basic requirements in order to be considered for funding:

• Project outcomes must focus on developing sustainable agriculture systems or moving existing systems toward sustainable agriculture.

• The project must clearly articulate what is being taught, to whom and how the project will accomplish those goals.

• The results must be realistic, acceptable to farmers, logical, and capable of leading to the actions and benefits described in the proposal.

Education Grants strictly fund education and outreach activities related to sustainable agriculture whose outcomes are intended to benefit farmers and farming communities. There is no research involved in education grant projects.

Research Grants require a two-step application process: a pre-proposal application process and a full proposal application process for those invited by the review committee to submit a full proposal. Grant Calls for Proposals open in February and are awarded February the following calendar year.

Research Grant project maximums are $400,000, limited to three (3) years.

Education Grants require a two-step application process: a pre-proposal application process and a full proposal application process for those invited by the review committee to submit a full proposal. Grant Calls for Proposals open in February and are awarded February the following calendar year.

Education Grant project maximums are $50,000, limited to two (2) years.

Proposals are submitted online at: projects.sare.org

You must make an account to apply.

• 2023 Call for Pre-Proposals

• Information Page