Higher Education Challenge Grants (HEC) Program

Overview

The purpose of the Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program, under assistance listing 10.217, is to strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention, to respond to identified state, regional, national, or international educational needs in the food and agricultural sciences, or in rural economic, community, and business development.

Specifically, applications submitted to this grants program must state how the funded project will address the HEC Program Goals:

1. To strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention, to respond to identified State, regional, national, or international educational needs in the food and agricultural sciences, or in rural economic, community, and business development;
2. To attract and support undergraduate and graduate students in order to educate the students in national need areas of the food and agricultural sciences or in rural economic, community, and business development;
3. To facilitate cooperative initiatives between two or more eligible institutions, or between eligible institutions and units of State government or organizations in the private sector, to maximize the development and use of resources such as faculty, facilities, and equipment to improve food and agricultural sciences teaching programs, or teaching programs emphasizing rural economic, community, and business development;
4. To design and implement food and agricultural sciences programs, or programs emphasizing rural, economic, community, and business development, to build teaching, research, and extension capacity at colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments; 
5. To conduct undergraduate scholarship programs to meet national and international needs for training food and agricultural sciences scientists and professionals, or professionals in rural economic, community, and business development;
6. To increase the number and diversity of students who will pursue and complete a postsecondary degree in the food and agricultural sciences;
7. To enhance the quality of instruction for baccalaureate degrees, master’s degrees, and first professional degrees in veterinary sciences, to help meet current and future workforce needs in the food and agricultural sciences; and
8. To conduct graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs to attract highly promising individuals to research or teaching careers in the food and agricultural sciences.

HEC is a NIFA-administered competitive grants program focused on improving formal, baccalaureate, or master’s degree level food and agricultural sciences education, and first professional degree-level education in veterinary medicine such as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). HEC projects provide funding to eligible applicants to help ensure a competent, qualified, and diverse workforce will exist to serve the food and agricultural sciences system. At the same time, HEC-funded projects improve the economic health and viability of communities through the development of degree programs emphasizing new and emerging employment opportunities. Finally, HEC projects address the national challenge to increase the number and diversity of students entering the food and agricultural sciences (i.e., having a food and agricultural sciences workforce representative of the nation’s population).

The HEC projects are expected to: (a) produce measurable impacts aligned with HEC program goals, (b) promote innovative educational practices within the food and agricultural sciences that improve how students learn, and (c) include a rigorous evaluation component to assess that project outcomes are met. Institutions must demonstrate capacity for, and a significant ongoing commitment to the teaching of the food and agricultural sciences generally, and to the specific need and/or discipline(s) for which a grant is requested. Projects should encourage academic institutions, in partnership with organizations and employers, to work collectively to identify and address a state or regional challenge or opportunity facing the food and agricultural sciences education and workforce community. Additionally, projects should encourage broad participation of students traditionally underrepresented in the food and agricultural sciences. An application must convince a peer panel of a compelling educational challenge; clearly indicate how the methodology is both unique and with merit; offer significant promise of adoption by others; and include a plan for how the project impacts will be sustained once grant funds end.

There is no limit on the number of applications that may be submitted by an applicant institution. However, each institution or group that is successful in their application will only be given two awards per year through this program. Also, each institution or organization may only receive one CG2 grant per annual HEC grant program competition. Each academic (or other) unit within the institution or organization, such as a college, school of agriculture, etc., can only have one active CG2 grant at any given time.

Maximum Award Amount(s):
Planning Activity – Approx. $30,000; 
Standard – Approx. $150,000; 
Collaborative 1 (CG1) – Approx. $300,000; 
Collaborative 2 (CG2) – Approx.$750,000 (See full application for details.)
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Grand Duration:
Planning Activity – Up to 36 months; 
Standard – 36 to 48 months; 
Collaborative 1 (CG1) – 36 to 48 months; 
Collaborative 2 (CG2) – 36 to 48 months