Study of PFAS in Michigan Agricultural Systems

Eligibility

Qualified researchers at universities and colleges, including community and Tribal colleges, are eligible to be principal investigators.  At least one principal investigator is required to be from a Michigan institution of higher education. Project team members are not limited to researchers at these organizations. For example, project team members may include people from non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, Tribal agencies, or other relevant organizations. An individual may not be a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than two applications.

Equal Opportunity

The State of Michigan and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, marital status, partisan considerations, or a disability or genetic information that is unrelated to the person’s ability to perform the duties of a particular job or position.

To file a complaint of discrimination, please contact: MDARD Office of Legal Affairs, 525 West Allegan, Lansing, MI 48909, or call 517-284-5729.
You may also contact the Michigan Department of Civil Rights at:

Letter of Intent

In one page or less, submit a letter describing the expected project title, project partners, research priority classification(s) (as listed above), and a 1-2 sentence project summary.  If the research will address priorities aside from those provided, please describe the research priority and why it is of importance for Michigan agriculture. Letters of Intent will be accepted beginning March 23, 2026, and continuing through April 20, 2026. No Letters of Intent will be accepted after 11:59 pm EDT on April 20, 2026. Note: if invited to submit a complete proposal, the exact title, project partners, or other details can be edited as needed when preparing the proposal preparation below.

Proposal Preparation

The Project Narrative should be a maximum of five pages, and each section should be clearly delineated in your narrative. Please use 1-inch margins and 11 point or larger font. The literature cited and team qualification sections do not count towards the page limit. Please use the provided cover page and budget/budget justification template, neither of which count towards the page limit. Proposals are due on June 1, 2026, by 11:59 pm EDT and should be submitted as a single assembled PDF to MDARD-research@michigan.gov.

Project Narrative

The Project Narrative must include each of the following sections. Sections 1 – 5 count toward the five-page narrative limit. 

1. Rationale, Problem Statement and Literature Review: Describe the need for the proposed research being sure to highlight the novelty of the topic area, how your research fits into the current body of science including what gaps in understanding it aims to address, and how the project addresses priorities listed in the grant opportunity announcement.
2. Objectives and Hypotheses: Provide the key objectives and related hypotheses, research questions, or predictions associated with those objectives. Measurable, hypothesis-based objectives are typically preferred.
3. Study Design and Methodology: Explain the overall study design and subsequent methods, techniques, and analyses used to meet the objectives. The investigator should demonstrate the technical qualities of the proposed approach with enough detail so that the review panel can adequately assess the features of the proposed work. Be sure to describe any collaboration between universities and the public and/or private sector. Please include specific information on why you chose the method you selected, how many sites/replicates will be collected, project location, how the data will be collected, what statistical analysis or other data calculations will be used, etc.
4. Timeline: Create a timeline or schedule for meeting various objectives of your choosing.
5. Broader Impacts and Relevance for Michigan: This section should focus on the larger benefits of this research to society and especially to the agricultural community in Michigan, including Michigan commodities, agricultural practices, and natural systems. Ideally this section will make a connection between the outcomes of the proposed research and efforts by MDARD and/or MPART.  Also in this section, be sure to include the education and outreach strategies that your team will use for the dissemination of information to both technical and non-technical audiences.
6. Literature Cited (does not contribute to 5-page limit): Provide all literature references above.
7. Team Qualifications (does not contribute to 5-page limit): Provide a one- or two-page biosketch for each PI that includes relevant information to support the success of the project. Specific details should be added at the investigator’s discretion- this could include publications, presentations, other forms of outreach and service, honors, past funding, past positions, etc.

Budget and Budget Justification (does not contribute to 5-page limit)

Use the budget template provided for overall budget details and submit a budget justification for the project along with each subaward for any co-PIs following the guidance below.

1. Personnel: provide the percentage of time budgeted for PIs, Postdoctoral or Research Associates/Technicians, and other Technical Support; provide appropriate description for graduate or undergraduate students (i.e., summer or academic semester support, summer stipend, or hours and hourly wage, etc.).  Fringe benefits must provide the basis for calculation.
2. Non-Expendable Equipment: provide concise description and estimated cost per piece of equipment.
3. Expendable Supplies: provide a description of any materials, supplies, publication costs, and consumable equipment needed to support the project
4. Travel: Include details for sampling, project meetings, and/or conferences.
5. Other Costs: Include any subawards for co-PIs in this section. Be sure to provide a separate budget and budget justification for co-PIs. This may also include laboratory analysis or other external contractor support.
6. Indirect Costs: Maximum allowable indirect costs are 10% of modified total direct costs, or the total of all costs (A, C-E) except for non-expendable equipment (B).

Proposal Evaluation:

Experts from state management agencies and appropriate content experts will review the proposals.  Proposals that do not adhere to the above criteria may not be considered for review or funding. Investigators will be notified by July 13, 2026, of final funding decisions.

Proposals will be evaluated using the criteria listed below.

Scores for all reviewed proposals will be ranked from highest to lowest. Projects recommended for funding will have a high rank, not be duplicative of a stronger proposal submitted under this call, increase the diversity of research topics and/or universities funded, and/or fit the available funding pool until that pool is exhausted