Higher Education Challenge Grants Program
Contract Overview
Solicitation details, issuing organization, response deadlines, documents, and interested companies for this government contract opportunity.
AI Contract Overview
The Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grants Program, administered by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under assistance listing 10.217, provides competitive funding to U.S. colleges and universities to strengthen institutional capacities in food and agricultural sciences. The program focuses on developing formal master's or doctorate-level education and first professional degrees in veterinary medicine to ensure a qualified workforce for U.S. food and agricultural systems. With approximately 5.7 million dollars in anticipated funding for Fiscal Year 2026, the program intends to make roughly 18 awards. Funding is available in three tiers: Standard awards at 150,000 dollars, Collaborative 1 (CG1) awards at 300,000 dollars, and Collaborative 2 (CG2) awards at 750,000 dollars. Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by October 15, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Proposals are evaluated on a merit basis using five equally weighted criteria: potential for advancing the quality of education, proposed approach and cooperative linkages, institutional capability and capacity building, adequacy of key personnel, and budget cost-effectiveness. Priority is given to projects demonstrating enhanced coordination among eligible institutions and those focusing on innovative, multidisciplinary curricula. Required application components include a 250-word project summary, a 20-page project narrative, a two-page mentoring plan, and documentation regarding conflicts of interest and current and pending support for key personnel. There is no matching fund requirement for this program.
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Full Description
The purpose of HEC, under assistance listing 10.217, is to strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, and student recruitment and retention. The HEC program is focused on developing and improving formal master’s or doctorate degree-level food and agricultural sciences education and first professional degree-level education in veterinary medicine, such as a doctorate in veterinary medicine (DVM).
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