Who is eligible to apply for FWC invasive plant
management research funds?
Only government agencies and public and private accredited
universities are eligible for receiving Section research funds that
exceed $25,000 for each research project for each fiscal
year. Private environmental firms, NGOs, and others are
limited to a total of $25.000 or less for one or more research
project for each fiscal year.
How to apply for Section research funds
A call for pre-proposals is issued in February of each
year for the next fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) along with
Section research interests for the coming year. To obtain a
copy of this call for pre-proposals and bureau research
interests, contact Don C. Schmitz at the Florida Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Invasive Plant Management
Section, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 705, Tallahassee, FL 32399 or
e-mail at (Don.schmitz@myfwc.com).
General Application Guideline
Pre-proposals should be no more than two pages in length and
should contain the following elements:
- Date, Project Title, & Contact Information - Be sure to
include the name(s) of the investigator(s) or applicant(s), the
affiliation, address, phone number, fax, and e-mail.
- Need for the Research - Relate the proposed work to invasive
plant management in Florida and set forth one or more specific
objectives. Extensive references to background literature are not
necessary. Invasive species targeted in the project should be
among those listed as Category I or II by the Florida Exotic Pest
Plant Council (FLEPPC) (see their web site for the species list at
www.fleppc.org).
- Methods - Succinctly outline the specific activities that will
accomplish the research objective (s), i.e., the proposed methods
for data collection and analysis. Collaboration or partnering
with other agencies or organizations is encouraged.
- Deliverables - A mid-point status report and a fiscal-year
final report are required; simply state that they will be provided.
The status report indicates progress toward the objectives and
includes any preliminary results. The final report should
include analysis of results, discussion, and recommendations as
appropriate. Notation of presentations made and reprints of
published results from funded projects are welcomed.
- Schedule - Provide a brief timeframe for the proposed
work. Keep in mind that Section-funded projects are intended
to be short-term. If the proposed tasks cover more than one
fiscal period, group them by year. Also, take into account
that actual activity time may be shortened within a given year due
to the time necessary for establishing a formal contract or
contract task assignment.
- Budget - Briefly summarize a proposed budget. Section
funds available for these projects vary from year to year and can
be committed only on a yearly basis; thus, projects are evaluated
annually for new and continued funding. For proposals
spanning more than one fiscal period, group the costs by
year. The Section does not fund capital outlay expenses,
tuition fees, or faculty salaries; university administrative
overhead is limited to 10%. Keep in mind that the Section has
limited funds; cost sharing is encouraged. A typical maximum for a
year's university-based research is $35,000.
During the month of April, all pre-proposals will be evaluated
in a two-step process. In the first phase, review comments
are solicited from bureau-wide staff and from other interested
parties, while members of a research review committee (five Section
administrators) individually rank the pre-proposals by project
topic according to their sense of program priority needs. For
the second step, the committee reviews the rankings and reviews
comments as a group, agrees on priorities, and correlates
highest-ranking projects to funds available.
The deadline for submission of research pre-proposals for FY
12-13 is April 25, 2012.
Electronic submission is strongly encouraged: Send a Word
document file to Don.Schmitz@myfwc.com
Send paper copies to:
Don C. Schmitz
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Invasive Plant Management Section
3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 705,
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: 850-617-9422
Early submissions are acceptable.
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