Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative Extension Disaster Education Network

The Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative Extension Disaster Education Network program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The program operates under Assistance Listing Number 10.304 and is authorized under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977. Its goal is to strengthen the Cooperative Extension System's ability to maximize the resilience of the U.S. food and agriculture sector to biosecurity risks, weather events and disasters, cyber threats, and other shocks through the Extension Disaster Education Network. EDEN is a national collaborative network of Cooperative Extension System professionals focused on all-hazards management of domestic disasters and capacity building for professionals who provide education and technical assistance to farmers, youth and families, small businesses, and communities. The program will fund one Extension Project that provides coordination support and strategic administrative leadership for EDEN. The project must address all 11 elements of the Scope of Work: Executive Committee support; Advisory Boards and Liaisons support; administrative logistics for programming; project management; website administration; communication; annual meeting administration and coordination; task force support and administration; partnerships and public engagement; evaluation and assessment; and timely and responsive support. Activities include coordinating meetings, maintaining EDEN information and systems, supporting committees and advisory boards, administering subawards or contracts, managing the EDEN website, supporting communications and professional development, coordinating the annual meeting, representing EDEN in partnership activities, and conducting project evaluation and reporting. Approximately $382,400 is available for the program in fiscal year 2026, with one award anticipated. The award will be a cooperative agreement with a 12-month initial project period tentatively running from November 1, 2026, through October 31, 2027. Continued funding may be provided in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 if performance is satisfactory, appropriations remain available, and continued support is in the best interest of the Federal government and the public. The budget must address all elements of the Scope of Work. Funds may support personnel salaries, travel, supplies, and indirect costs. Required minimum allocations include $35,000 for Executive Committee support, $60,000 for Advisory Board and Liaisons efforts, $25,000 for administrative logistics support, $30,000 for project management, $15,000 for website expenses, $15,000 for communications expenses, and $8,000 for a subaward to the annual meeting host institution. Indirect cost recovery is limited to 10 percent of total direct costs. No matching contribution is required, although cost sharing is encouraged. Eligible applicants include State Agricultural Experiment Stations, state Cooperative Extension services, colleges and universities, other research or education institutions and organizations, Federal and private agencies and organizations, individuals, and other contractors or recipients, whether foreign or domestic, that further research, Extension, or teaching programs in USDA food and agricultural sciences. Duplicate or multiple submissions are prohibited, and NIFA will disqualify both applications if an applicant submits duplicate or multiple submissions. Competitive applications for dangerous gain-of-function research as defined in Executive Order 14292 will not be accepted. Applicants must propose an Extension Project and select Cooperative Agreement as the grant type. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using funding opportunity number USDA-NIFA-ES-011939. Required application materials include the SF 424 R&R Cover Sheet, SF 424 R&R Project/Performance Site Location forms, R&R Other Project Information Form, R&R Senior/Key Person Profile, R&R Budget, and Supplemental Information Form. The Project Summary must be 250 words or less and identify the project title, project director and co-project directors with affiliations, and a concise project description. The Project Narrative may not exceed 20 pages, excluding a permitted one-page table of contents, and must address the Introduction, Rationale and Significance, Scope of Work, Description of Approaches, Project Management Plan, Fiscal Oversight, and Project Performance Assessment. A Data Management Plan of no more than two pages is required. Directly germane appendices are permitted, and signed commitment letters of no more than two pages per key organization must be combined into one file when applicable. Unrequested attachments can result in disqualification. NIFA first conducts an administrative screening and then uses scientific peer review for applications meeting the administrative requirements. Five equally weighted evaluation criteria are used: All-Hazards Disaster Education and EDEN Competency; Approaches to Project Implementation; Project Management and Assessment; Key Persons and Capacity; and Fiscal Oversight and Budget. Review considers knowledge of EDEN, continuity with previously funded FADI-EDEN projects, the quality and feasibility of the response to all 11 Scope of Work elements, project management and evaluation capabilities, qualifications and time commitments of key personnel, partner roles, fiscal oversight, institutional resources, and whether the proposed budget is appropriate, achievable, cost-effective, and aligned with required Scope of Work investments. The NOFO identifies September 21, 2026, as the application deadline on its cover and in the Program Key Information table. An earlier Key Dates and Deadlines table on page 2 instead states July 24, 2026, at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, creating an internal inconsistency that applicants should verify with NIFA before submission. Program questions may be directed to SM.FADI.EDEN@usda.gov, and other NOFO or application questions may be sent to grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov. Grants.gov technical assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726 and 606-545-5035. The award recipient must provide progress reports to NIFA and the EDEN Executive Committee, a final technical report, updates required by the Scope of Work, and data requested through USDA-sponsored evaluation activities.

Address all 11 Scope of Work elements and connect activities to concrete Year 1 milestones and anticipated outputs. Demonstrate strong knowledge of EDEN and all-hazards disaster education and explain continuity with previously funded FADI-EDEN projects. Clearly justify personnel and partner roles, time commitments, collaboration methods, fiscal oversight, subaward or contract processes, and evaluation methods. Ensure the budget contains the dollar investments specified in the Scope of Work and complies with the indirect cost restriction. Conduct an administrative review before submission and include only attachments specifically permitted by the NOFO because unrequested additional narrative, figures, or tables can result in disqualification.