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INVESTING IN RESEARCH 



• Engineering, Products, and Processes: new 

 uses and new products from traditional crops, animals, 

 by-products, and natural resources; robotics, energy 

 efliciency, computing, and expert systems; new haz- 

 ard and risk assessment and mitigation measures; and 

 water quality and management 



• Markets, Trade, and Policy: optimal strategies 

 for entering and being competitive in overseas mar- 

 kets; new decision tools for on-farm and in-market 

 systems; choices and applications of technology; and 

 new approaches to economic development and viabil- 

 ity in the rural United States and developing nations. 



Grant Types 



In each of the six program areas, four 

 types of competitive grants should be 

 available: (1) principal investigator 

 grants. (2) fundamental multidisciplinary 

 team grants, (3) mission-linked multidis- 

 ciplinary team grants, and (4) research- 

 strengthening grants. 



Principal investigator grants should support indi- 

 vidual scientists orcoinvestigators working within the 

 same, or closely related, disciplines. Principal inves- 

 tigator grants are the foundation of the highly success- 

 ful competitive grants programs in the United States, 

 and they are the major way to attract and retain 

 talented scientists and their students into areas of 

 research. 



Fundamental multidisciplinary team grants should 

 support collaborating scientists from two or more 

 disciplines focusing on basic science or engineering 

 questions. It is often at the juncture of disciplines that 

 new discoveries and research strategies are made. 



Mission-linked multidisciplinary team grants 

 should support multidisciplinary research focusing on 

 more applied problems of national significance and 

 should be linked to, among others, the Cooperative 

 Extension Service (CES), the Agricultural Research 

 Service (ARS), and industry. Funding through this 

 grant type will facilitate the application of knowledge 

 and the transfer of technology to the user through joint 

 research-extension studies. 



Research-strengthening grants should competi- 

 tively support institutions through program grants and 

 individuals through fellowships to increase the U.S. 

 research capacity. 



Attention to Multidisciplinary Research 



The expanded competitive grants program 

 should give major emphasis to supporting 

 both fundamental and mission-linked 

 multidisciplinary research teams. Up to 

 50 percent of the funding awarded for 

 USD As competitive grants should sup- 

 port multidisciplinary research. 



The significance of multidisciplinary research to 

 the success of the competitive grants program cannot 

 be overemphasized. Many fundamental scientific and 

 technological questions — and certainly the more ap- 

 plied problems — are multifaceted. To deal with their 

 inherent complexity and diversity, it is necessary to 

 establish multidisciplinary grants and make them a 

 major feature of the expanded program. 



Strengthening Institutions and Human Resources 



Research-strengthening grants to institu- 

 tions and individuals should be a key 

 component of an expanded competitive 

 grants program. 



Research-strengthening grants are essential for two 

 reasons. Grants to institutions improve the research 

 capability at institutions and in departments that aspire 

 to, but have not attained, nationally recognized re- 

 search and development (R&D) capabilities. Fellow- 

 ships increase the training and experiences available to 

 pre- and postdoctoral fellows in agricultural, food, and 

 environmental research. Expanding the number of 

 women, underrepresented minorities, and disabled 

 individuals in the research system must be integral to 

 the entire program. The research-strengthening grant 

 is a major way to provide those oppnrtuniiies. The 

 grants are not in tended to be used for buildings or major 

 capital expenditures. 



Size and Duration of Support 



The size and duration of USD A competi- 

 tive grant awards should be increased 

 substantially. The average size of a grant 

 should be at least $100,000 per year per 

 principal investigator; the duration of a 

 grant should be at least 3 and as many as 

 5 years. 



