The eXtension Foundation (eX) is pleased to announce a funding opportunity for Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEP) for 2021. This opportunity is made available through a cooperative agreement (X8-83698001) with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish and administer a national sub-award program in support of pesticide applicator education, and training for certified applicators of restricted use pesticides. The National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC) will continue to support as an unfunded collaborator with eX to lead the professional development part of the project and to assist PSEPs in enhancing some of the educational products they develop as part of the expectations attached to the funding.
Requirements of sub-awardees for this program to receive funding are as follows:
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- agree to share one educational deliverable for the purposes of enhancing PSEP programs both regionally and nationally.
- submit progress reports every six (6) months using a standard online webform.
- attend a minimum of one 1-hour training webinars for the reporting system. Anticipated dates are: January 29, 2021 at 3 pm EST; May 6, 2021 at 1 pm EST; September 30, 2021 at 3 pm EST and December 2, 2021 at 3:00 pm EST.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for this funding applicants must be affiliated with a U.S. Land Grant University. Only one application per state or territory will be eligible for funding. Please contact psefmp-helpdesk@extension.org if you have any questions regarding eligibility.
Funding Period
The funding period for this subaward will be January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021.
Funding Available
Each PSEP will be eligible to apply for a base amount of $16,625.00 USD plus an additional 5% of the funds divided proportionally based on the percentage of the number of certified applicators in each state or territory. The number of certified applicators in a state or territory will be based on the most recent figures of certified applicators as supplied by the EPA. Additional amounts available to the state or territory will be listed in the budget section of the application. Payments to successful sub-awardees will be made January 3 – 15, 2021.
Key Dates:
Application System Opens: Monday, September 14, 2020 at 8 am EST
First round of reviews: September 28, 2020
Second round of reviews: October 26, 2020
Application Deadline: Friday, November 13, 2020 at 8 pm EST
Final round of reviews: November 23, 2020
Sub-award Notification Announcement: December 14, 2020
Funds distributed by: January 15, 2021
Application Review Process:
eX will use a multi-step approach in the receiving and review of applications for this program. Each application will be reviewed by eX and an advisory committee including representatives from NPSEC, AAPCO, AAPSE, PERC and the PSEP community for eligibility, compliance, completeness and potential collaboration.
Application Submission
In an effort to make the application process as streamlined and user friendly as possible, applicants will be able to download, sign, scan, and upload the sub-award agreement from the application site. Applications that have not been signed will not be considered for funding. The average time for completion of an application is 45 minutes.
Applications for this funding opportunity can be accessed at the following link on September 14, 2020 at 8:00 am EST: https://applyextension.smapply.io (Note: Link will not be active until September 14, 2020 at 8:00 am EST).
Online Application System Training:
PSEPs will receive an invitation for optional training via Zoom for September 14, 2020 at 11 am and 3 pm EST for the online application system. During training, eX will provide a step by step walk through of the application site, application and submission. For those who are unable to attend the training, it will be recorded and sent via email to view at your convenience. Additional training sessions will also be held the same week.
Applicants with any questions please send an email to psefmp-helpdesk@extension.org.
About eXtension Foundation
The United States Cooperative Extension System, with funding from Cooperative Extension directors and administrators, and USDA-NIFA, shares resources and tools through eXtension that enables the Extension workforce to scale up its local and national impact. eXtension is an integral part of the national Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) and is organized as a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization. Its Board of Directors represents the five regions of Cooperative Extension, ECOP, and USDA-NIFA.
About National Pesticide Safety Education Center
NPSEC seeks to strengthen the national system of university extension Pesticide Safety Education Programs by improving the quality, consistency, and accessibility of educational offerings, promoting collaboration and leveraging of educational resources and learning assessment tools, and increasing revenue generation. NPSEC does not receive any EPA funding under the EPA eXtension Foundation cooperative agreement.