Be a Grant Reviewer for USDA Competitive Grants

Grant reviewers help decide who receives USDA competitive grants. As requests for applications are made available throughout the year, the USDA recruits members of the public with subject expertise to serve on panels to prioritize projects for funding.

The quality of the review process depends on the expertise of the reviewers. Reviewers who understand sustainable agriculture ensure that projects that address sustainability are recognized for their full worth.

Each program receives far more applications than can be funded. Reviewers ensure that the most important projects get resources. Congress and the public are more likely to support programs that yield successful, high-impact results; by identifying projects with high potential, reviewers can help ensure that key programs are successful and continue to get support.

If you or your organization is considering applying for a USDA grant in the future, you may consider first serving on a review panel to better understand the process and criteria. Just keep in mind you generally cannot apply for a grant in the same year that you are a reviewer for that grant.

What Would I Have to Do?

Each program has its own grant review process, but grant reviewers in all of the programs generally will:

1) Read and submit written comments on grant proposals – A grant reviewer will submit electronic reviews for up to 20 proposals, depending on the program. USDA estimates that it takes at least 2 hours to comment on a proposal, and possibly more, again depending on the program.

2) Participate in a panel review meeting – Reviewers meet over the phone or in person (in Washington DC or at regional locations) and rank and recommend proposals for funding. At the meeting, each reviewer provides an oral review of the proposals s/he was assigned to review.

How do I Sign Up?

Get in touch with your National Program Leader for the program you’re interested in.

Farmers Market Promotion Programs (FMPP) –

Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) – Tracey Kennedy, Tracey.Kennedy@wdc.usda.gov, 202-690-1428.

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)* – National Program Leaders and Program Area Contacts are named for each of the different research areas within AFRI in the 2010 RFA.  NIFA has not yet posted a document with updated guidelines for reviewers for 2010.  Programs that may be of particular interest to sustainable agriculture researchers, educators, and extension agents include, but are not limited to:

To find more programs and for the 2010 RFAs, click here.

For a chart of programs and all associated program leaders and managers, click here.

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP)* – S. Sureshwaran, ssureshwaran@nifa.usda.gov, 202-720-7536.

Community Food Projects* – Dr. Elizabeth Tuckermanty, etuckermanty@nifa.usda.gov, 202-205-0241.

Organic Ag Research and Extension Initiative (OREI)* — Dr. Mary M. Peet, mpeet@nifa.usda.gov, 202-401-4202.

* Special Instructions for National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Grants — To be considered as a reviewer for these NIFA programs (not including SARE, see below), in addition to contacting the National Program Leader, send an e-mail message with the name of your department, institution, organization, or business and 4-5 keywords about your area(s) of expertise to newreviewer@nifa.usda.gov.

Sustainable Ag Research and Education (SARE) – SARE reviews are made by regional Technical Committees, who often serve for multiple grant cycles, depending on the region and the type of grants the committee is reviewing (Farmer-Rancher, Research and Education, Professional Development Program, Graduate Student). Reviewers are chosen for specific committees based on their expertise. As in other grant programs, reviewers serving on a specific committee cannot apply for that type of grant in that year; however, a reviewer on the committee for Farmer-Rancher grants could apply for a Professional Development grant.

To express interest in serving on one of your region’s SARE Technical Committee, or to get more information about the details of the committees, contact your regional coordinator.

Bill Wilcke
Regional Coordinator, North Central Region SARE
Phone: 612-625-8205
Email: wilck001@umn.edu

Jeff Jordan
Program Director, Southern Region SARE
Ph: (770) 412-4787
jjordan@uga.edu

Vern Grubinger
Regional Coordinator, Northeast Region SARE
Phone: 802-257-7967 x13
vernon.grubinger@uvm.edu

Phil Rasmussen
Director, Western Region SARE
435.797.3394
philip.rasmussen@usu.edu>