Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program | USDA NIFA TCRGP 010673

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA TCRGP 010673

The Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program (TCRGP) is a competitive grant opportunity run by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to help strengthen the research capacity of Tribal Colleges and Universities that hold 1994 Land-Grant status. The program is aimed at building long-term institutional ability to do applied research that directly supports student educational needs while also tackling practical challenges faced by Tribal communities, reservations, and surrounding regions. Proposed projects can be in any area within the food, agricultural, or natural resource sciences, as long as they are designed to produce real-world benefits and help expand a 1994 institution's research footprint.

A central requirement of TCRGP is collaboration. Applicants must partner with at least one of the following: an 1862 Land-Grant Institution, an 1890 Land-Grant Institution, the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a Non-Land-Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA), or at least one forestry school supported under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Research Program. This collaboration requirement is built into the program structure and is not optional, reflecting NIFA's intent to connect 1994 institutions with complementary research infrastructure, expertise, and networks that can accelerate capacity-building and strengthen project outcomes.

Eligibility is limited to Tribal Colleges or Universities officially designated as 1994 Land-Grant Institutions under the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301, as amended). Only these institutions can submit applications, though awardees are allowed to subcontract parts of the work to other organizations that are not themselves eligible applicants, as long as those partners are necessary to carry out the project. Applications that do not meet eligibility rules by the deadline can be excluded or made ineligible for funding, so verifying 1994 status and meeting all RFA requirements is essential.

For FY 2024, there is no restriction on the number of applications a single eligible institution may submit, but there are practical limits on how many awards one institution can receive under this RFA. NIFA generally limits awards per institution by project type: typically one 1994 Research Capacity Center award, up to two awards under the New Discovery Research option, one award for Area of Expertise, up to two awards for Faculty/Community, and one Conference Grant. Even with multiple submissions allowed, NIFA generally caps total awards to any one institution at three under this funding round, so applicants should think strategically about which project types best align with their priorities and readiness.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include: the funding opportunity number is USDA NIFA TCRGP 010673, the instrument type is a grant, the opportunity is discretionary, and it falls under the agriculture funding activity category (CFDA/Assistance Listing 10.227). The listed award ceiling is $2,500,000, with an estimated 11 awards expected. The opportunity was created on 2024-05-28, and the original closing date shown is 2024-12-31. NIFA also indicates that a technical assistance webinar for this FY 2024 opportunity will be scheduled, with details to be posted later, which can be useful for first-time applicants or institutions refining collaboration plans and project structure.

Eligible applicants are the 35 designated 1994 institutions, including (among others) DinE College, Haskell Indian Nations University, Ilisagvik College, Navajo Technical University, Northwest Indian College, Oglala Lakota College, Salish Kootenai College, Sinte Gleska University, Sitting Bull College, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, United Tribes Technical College, and White Earth Tribal and Community College, as well as the other 1994 schools listed in the RFA.

• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.227.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA NIFA TCRGP 010673

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: