NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2020 – Rhode Island | USDA NRCS RI CIG 20 GEN0010772

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NRCS RI CIG 20 GEN0010772

The NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) opportunity for Federal fiscal year 2020 in Rhode Island is a competitive, discretionary grant program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It is designed to push conservation work beyond standard practice by supporting new or improved approaches that can be used alongside real-world agricultural production. In plain terms, the program is meant to help test, prove, and speed up the use of conservation ideas that are practical for farms and working lands, not just theoretical concepts.

The core purpose of CIG is to stimulate both the development and the adoption of innovative conservation technologies and methods. Projects funded through this program are expected to produce results that can be broadly transferred and used by others. That transfer might look like getting a successful approach into the hands of agricultural producers, integrating practices into NRCS technical manuals and guides, or helping move a proven innovation into the private sector so it can be scaled and delivered through commercial or industry channels. NRCS is emphasizing that these grants are not simply for planning; they are for work that demonstrates and validates innovations so they can be adopted more widely.

CIG funding generally supports pilot projects, field demonstrations, and on-farm conservation research. Pilot projects and demonstrations are meant to show how an innovation performs under field conditions and what it takes to implement it successfully. On-farm conservation research, as defined in this announcement, is specifically an investigation that answers a focused, applied conservation question using a statistically valid study design. The research must be conducted at the farm scale, using farm-scale equipment, and take place on farms, ranches, or private forest lands. This definition signals that NRCS is looking for rigorous, credible results that are still grounded in day-to-day agricultural operations.

For this Rhode Island FY 2020 opportunity, the funding opportunity number is USDA NRCS RI CIG 20 GEN0010772, and it falls under CFDA (now often referred to as Assistance Listing) 10.912. The activity focus is in agriculture, environment, and natural resources, matching the program's intent to improve conservation outcomes tied to working lands. The agency listed is USDA NRCS, and the funding instrument is a grant.

In terms of who can apply, eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity as long as the applicant meets any additional eligibility conditions that might be spelled out in the full announcement. That typically indicates a broad applicant pool, which can include organizations such as nonprofits, universities, government entities, and potentially other types of groups, depending on the program text. The key takeaway is that the opportunity is not narrowly limited to a single institution type.

The timeline for the FY 2020 Rhode Island competition shows a creation date of April 10, 2020, with an original closing date of June 10, 2020. This sets a roughly two-month application window. The award ceiling is listed as $150,000, meaning individual awards were expected to be no higher than that amount under this announcement. NRCS anticipated making about 2 awards in Rhode Island, which suggests a relatively small, competitive state pool and a focus on selecting a limited number of projects with strong potential for demonstration and broader adoption.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a targeted investment in applied conservation innovation. NRCS is looking for projects that can prove an approach works in real agricultural settings, document the results in a credible way, and create a clear path for the innovation to be adopted by producers or incorporated into NRCS guidance or private-sector tools and services.

• The Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in the agriculture, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NRCS’ Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2020 – Rhode Island" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.912.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 10, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 10, 2020. (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 $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for USDA NRCS RI CIG 20 GEN0010772

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