About the Track
The Pioneer Track will support highly innovative and unique projects that have a potential of significant agricultural impact leading to tangible results. The pioneer research project should aim to develop a new direction, concept, or solution in the specific area of agricultural sciences. Research projects must have clear practical benefits to both nations.
The eligibility and instructions for proposal application and evaluation are identical to BARD guidelines.
Track Goal
The program is to dedicated to support applied research with a higher award level per grant.
Advantages
A program dedicated to support applied research with a higher award level per grant.
Additional Guidelines for Pioneer Track
- BARD’s board of directors will annually announce the panels eligible to apply for the Pioneer Track.
- or the 2025 round of submission, BARD will receive applications in the following research areas: Crop Production, Crop and Soil Health and Crop Modeling and AI for Agriculture and Aquaculture.
- A maximum of five projects will be funded in 2025, as follows: up to one each in Crop Production and Crop and Soil Health, up to one in Crop Modeling and AI for Agriculture and up to two in Aquaculture.
- The maximum budget for each project will be $600,000 for 3 years.
- Collaboration, as well as research topics, must be new and unrelated to existing studies funded by BARD or submitted in the 2025 general submission.
- The potential for follow-up development effort(s) should be clear in the proposal and will be a significant criterion in the evaluation of the potential impact of the proposal.
- Projects will be selected first and foremost based on innovation, scientific merit, the potential impact on current agricultural knowledge or practices, and the multidisciplinary collaboration arrangements as described in the proposal.
- Research teams will be required to deliver an annual progress report.
Submission deadline: September 16 2024, (same as standard BARD research track).
Applicants for the Pioneer Track must meet all the requirements described in BARD research application guidelines.