The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, is soliciting research proposals in the area of Product Quality Research covering these applied and basic science topics for FY 2025:
Research ideas should be novel, applicable to the industry, and have a high potential impact. Basic research proposals should provide key learning to industry challenges. Collaboration is strongly encouraged where relevant. Budgets for research trials will be evaluated based on the scope and methodology of the submitted proposal.
**The line item for student and support staff funding must be 12 months or less.
Two information sessions will be held Thursday, May 9 at 2:00 pm MST and Friday, May 10 at 10:00 am MST. Similar content will be covered in both meetings, please select the time that is most convenient for your schedule. Register for the information sessions HERE.
Proposals must meet the submission deadline and follow the guidelines in this RFP to be considered. Accepted projects will be funded (or funded in part) by the Beef Checkoff.
Research objectives should be clearly defined, and proposals should clearly state their relevance and potential benefit to the beef industry. Leveraged funding through collaborations with industry, foundations, government, and other sources with matching funds is encouraged. In addition, collaboration with additional researchers or institutions is encouraged where appropriate.
PIs may submit more than one proposal. A CV is not required.
Questions related to this RFP should be directed to Jessica Lancaster ([email protected]).
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, has moved to an online portal, BeefGrants, for managing the grants process and to facilitate the submission and review of grant materials. All portal users will need to set up an account. Please visit HERE to register and apply for a grant.
The following fields will be required in BeefGrants. Word counts apply for some fields.
Publication of all research is expected regardless of the outcome, however financial support for manuscript publication is considered separate from research contracts. Once your project is completed and final report is submitted, please reach out to NCBA staff to receive more information on the new publishing guidance.
PIs should review completed Product Quality projects to avoid submitting an idea that already has been covered. Completed project summaries are available HERE.
We understand that PIs do not know the nature of ongoing research projects. However, a list of ongoing projects cannot be made available due to contracting sensitivities. Please understand this limitation and use your best judgment to submit proposals that are both novel and relevant. If you have questions please feel free to reach out.
Project deliverables will include, at minimum, a final technical report with a full listing of research results and implications, and an abbreviated executive summary highlighting key points from the full technical report. Final technical reports must follow a standard outline and be thorough and interpretive in nature.
Deliverables also will include a final statement outlining all project expenditures from the institution’s business office.
Funds cannot be spent beyond the project end date established in the project contract. Deliverables will be due on or before the project end date established in the contract.
Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of independent industry experts and applicants will be notified of funding decisions listed above. Proposals will be evaluated for: clearly defined hypothesis and objectives, experimental design/methods and convincing evidence that the proposed research will change the concepts, methods, or technologies that drive this field.
We are aware that academic institutions have financial obligations for administering the research grants awarded to their faculty members. However, overhead costs, principal investigator salaries, tuition and equipment purchases will not be considered as part of the funds made available for this research.