¶¶Òõ̽̽

The Institute is funded through a $14 million, 4-year grant to ¶¶Òõ̽̽ from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Funding will support the Institute and grant funding opportunities.

¶¶Òõ̽̽ Office of Engagement will work with USDA’s NIFA and a newly created Innovation Works (I-Works) Advisory Board to execute the Institute’s objectives and approve funding and resources for Institute partner applicants. Research collaboration will also take place with two other Institutes for Rural Partnerships at Auburn University and the University of Wisconsin.

The Institute will prioritize partnerships that have research potential, opportunities for student engagement and internships, and are most likely to make an impact in one or more of our priority focus areas. The Innovation Works (I-Works) Advisory Board will vet these partnership opportunities, review applications, and provide input toward awarding and approving funded projects. 

The Innovation Works (I-Works) Advisory Board was created to advise the Institute on its work and to help promote, review, and approve partnership opportunities that will provide nationally scalable economic development solutions. Board membership is comprised of community and business leaders, and key University leaders including Dr. Roy Beckford, Director of ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Extension in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Dr. Corine Farewell, Director of ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Innovations, and Dr. Kirk Dombrowski, V.P. for Research and Economic Development at ¶¶Òõ̽̽.

This grant is open to all organizations that work within the State of Vermont, and particularly those whose work positively impacts Vermont’s rural communities. We will accept applications from nonprofit organizations, for-profit enterprises, start-ups, local governments, and internal ¶¶Òõ̽̽ applicants. 

(Update 11/16/2023: Partnerships with external organizations are not required at the letter of intent phase of our application process).  

The best practice for requesting funding is to request the amount that will promote the greatest impact while also considering the organization’s current capacity. Project sustainability past the Seed Grant lifespan is a major component of proposal evaluation, so it is important to consider what the immediate needs are but not promise too much that the project’s sustainability would come into question.

All costs directly associated with the project are eligible. This includes personnel time, including graduate student and postdoctoral research support, devoted to the funded project.  Indirect costs of up to 1% are allowed on modified total direct costs.

Funding recipients will be asked to complete two reports over the yearlong period of performance: a 6-month report in September 2024, and a final closeout report in March 2025. It is the Institute’s intent to keep reporting streamlined and we will attempt to reduce burden on the awardee wherever we are able.

Funds will be distributed through a reimbursement model. Award recipients will submit invoices to the Leahy Institute for project expenses incurred and will be reimbursed from there.

If your partnership does not receive funding in this first cycle, there will be more opportunities to request support. The Institute for Rural Partnerships will host subsequent grant cycles over the coming years with different areas of focus. We will be publicizing future grant cycles in our Office of Engagement newsletter. to receive updates from the Institute for Rural Partnerships directly to your email inbox.

All dates for future funding rounds will be released in Spring 2024. to receive timely notices on future grant rounds.

Yes, you and your organization may apply again in subsequent funding rounds.

Yes. The purpose of the Letter of Intent is to introduce project ideas to the Leahy Institute advisory board. You may submit as many LOIs as you have project ideas, as long as each project aligns with the priority focus areas for the Leahy Institute.

The Institute seeks to cultivate reciprocal relationships among ¶¶Òõ̽̽ constituents and rural communities, in service to Vermont’s economy. ¶¶Òõ̽̽ students will engage in internships and service-learning projects that support partnership projects. Internships will be paid short term micro-internships, semester and summer internships, and new internship models. Intern cohort programs will provide programmatic support for intern hosts and professional skills training for groups of interns working across the state.

Student involvement, whether it is internships or service-learning projects, is not a requirement but is highly valued. Contact us at engage@uvm.edu for more information on student engagement.

Community partners can engage with ¶¶Òõ̽̽ students through:

• Service-learning courses led by ¶¶Òõ̽̽ faculty
• Short term micro-internships  (10-40 hour projects)
• Semester and summer internships
• Yearlong co-ops
• Participation in summer intern cohort workshops
• Innovative student engagement models proposed by partners

Each year, between 80-100 community-engaged Service Learning courses are offered at ¶¶Òõ̽̽. Students apply their coursework in real-world settings, and in ways that address priorities identified by their community partners. Faculty provide a structure for accountability to the project or service that benefits the community partners and helps students learn from their experience.

Students doing work as part of community-engaged learning partnerships may engage in:

• Direct service (i.e. working with people: tutoring, mentoring, planting gardens, etc.)
• Indirect service (i.e. sorting food, measuring trees, collecting GPS data, etc.)
• Consultant-type services (i.e. producing deliverables: marketing plans, policy papers, educational campaigns, engineering designs, etc.)
• Research (i.e. data collection & analysis: interviewing staff, volunteers or clients; studying comparable organizations elsewhere; statistical analysis of existing data sets, etc.)

Service Learning courses are facilitated and overseen by the Community Engaged Learning Office.