Overview
Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) – Genome Alberta: Accelerating Agriculture Innovation One Health Solutions Competition seeks to address the priority issues of Chronic Wasting Disease, Feral Pigs, African Swine Fever, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Livestock through a One Health approach, which recognizes the intrinsic link between people, animals, and the environment, and how the health of one is dependent on the others.
This funding investment aims to support research projects that utilize genomic-enabled technologies, which offer collaborative, effective and cost-efficient approaches, to provide solutions to One Health challenges and benefit to Alberta producers.
Eligible projects addressing the priority issues must align with the One Health theme and demonstrate tangible impacts for Alberta’s agriculture sector and producers.
Funding for this call is provided by the governments of Canada and Alberta under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Funding Highlights
Statement of Interest deadline: July 12, 2024
Full Application deadline: September 20, 2024
Project Envelope Range: $500,000-$2,000,000 (max funding request $600,000 per project)
Total Funding Available: $5,000,000
Target Timelines
Competition Launch: June 11, 2024
Statement of Interest (SOI) Due: July 12, 2024
Invitation of selected SOIs for Proposal Development: August 9, 2024
Full Proposals Due: September 20, 2024
Notice of Award (NOA) to Applicants: December, 2024
Public Announcement of Successful Projects: January, 2025
Objectives
The funding call aims to support research initiatives leveraging genomic-enabled technology to provide solutions to Alberta producers through a One Health lens. Specifically, the call for proposals targeting: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), African Swine Fever (ASF) and feral pigs, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
Parameters
Project Eligibility
Eligible Applicants:
Funding will be available to qualified researchers from or under contract with organizations that directly and/or indirectly participate in the service and development of the Alberta livestock or crop industry, provided that such organizations are in good standing and not in default under any other agreements or programs with RDAR. Eligible applicants include but are not limited to:
a) marketing boards and commissions established under the Marketing of Agriculture Products Act;
b) educational institutions including universities, colleges, and technical schools;
c) government organizations and agencies (at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels);
d) incorporated not-for-profit agricultural associations representing Alberta’s agriculture producer; and
e) for-profit companies operating in Alberta and contributing to research benefitting Alberta’s crop and livestock producers.
Eligible Locations
Research projects can be conducted either within or outside Alberta. The following are important considerations if the proposed research will be conducted outside of Alberta:
a) it is strongly recommended that at least one project team member be located in Alberta;
b) the research work proposed must result in economic benefit to the Alberta crop and livestock industry; and
c) the benefits gained by Alberta will be equivalent to those which would accrue if the work had been conducted within Alberta.
Eligible Research Areas
Projects funded through this competition must have an omics focus addressing a One Health approach to the targeted priority research areas and demonstrate a tangible impact on end-users in Alberta. Projects must demonstrate that their deliverables have the potential to benefit Alberta and that necessary individuals and resources are in place to enable this, such as inclusion of an Albertan end-user, lead, co-lead, or key co-applicant in the Project.
Projects are solicited in the in the areas of:
- Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), including but not limited to genomics-based monitoring & surveillance, genetic CWD resistance/resilience, vaccine development, and interspecies transmission of CWD.
- Feral Pigs and African Swine Fever (ASF), including but not limited to population genetics, control of reproduction, detection, monitoring, and characterization of pathogens carried by feral pigs.
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), including but not limited to genomic surveillance, molecular diagnostics, genomics-informed antimicrobial treatment, and host resilience.
- Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), including, but not limited to virus identification and surveillance, understanding cross-species transmission, vaccine development and evaluation, and environmental surveillance and management.
- Other urgent and emergent areas of one-health importance may be considered if accompanied by a strong case and ability to deliver solutions to Alberta’s producers.
Funding Available and Term
- Up to CDN $5 Million is available for this program.
- RDAR will contribute up to 60% of total project costs, with a maximum contribution of $600,000 per project.
- The remaining 40% can be contributed either in cash or in-kind from other sources.
- The project duration will be capped at three (3) years without the possibility of extension.
Application Process
The competition documents will be submitted in a two-step process:
- Submission of a Statement of Intent (SOI)
- Submission of a Full Proposal
Genome Alberta and RDAR will review the SOIs. Additional subject expertise may be consulted. SOIs will be screened for optimal alignment with competition objectives and criteria outlined in the guidelines. Full Proposal applications will undergo a confidential, independent review process by an expert review panel, Genome Alberta and RDAR. Applications will be evaluated against the eligibility and evaluation criteria outlined in the Guidelines.
Statement of Intent
The Statement of Intent Form is available below in the Documents and Resources section. Applicants must submit the completed and signed SOI form on or before 11:59 pm on July 12, 2024 directly to Tian Zhao [tzhao@genomealberta.ca] with the email subject line:
“AAIOH – [Last name] – SOI”
Applicants will be notified as to whether their SOI will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Full Proposal Submission
Full Proposals are submitted through RDAR’s Agriculture Research Grant Organizer (ARGO) portal; Successful SOI applicants will receive an email invitation with a link to access the Full Proposal form on the ARGO.
The applicant will submit project information regarding the project background, project objectives, anticipated outcomes and deliverables, methodology, novelty and uniqueness, research adoption extension and commercialization, team contributions roles and responsibilities, ability to complete, budget, GANTT chart, and long-term impact as well as additional documentation required.
Documents & Resources
Information Webinar – FAQ document
Statement of Interest Form
Link to Guidelines for Funding
Link to RDAR Funded Projects
Link to Genome Alberta Project Portfolio
Funding Contact
Tian Zhao, Program officer
