Sponsor

Agrivita Canada

Program

2021 Call for Letters of Intent 

Description

The Canadian AgriSafety Applied Science Program of Agrivita Canada aims to stimulate and support applied science and innovation targeting sustainability and productivity in Canadian agriculture by improving environmental, occupational, and workplace health and safety for farmers, their families and agricultural workers.

This call for letters of intent (LOI’s) seeks proposals for applied science projects in the priority areas of A) Viruses and Infectious Diseases, B) Farm Stress and Mental Health, C) Inhalation Exposures, D) Injuries and Accidents, E) Indigenous Agriculture, F) Under-represented Populations (Seasonal Workers, Women, Youth), and G) Climate Change, Green Technologies and Safety. Based on occupational hygiene principles and the hierarchy of control, the AgriSafety Program seeks LOI’s for applied science projects aimed at addressing gaps in research-to-practice in these priority areas. However, highly innovative and topical projects in other areas will be considered.

Projects will explore solutions to environmental, occupational, and workplace health and safety issues, and develop products and procedures needed to achieve sustainability and productivity in the agricultural sector.

The AgriSafety Program, with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) through the Canadian Agriculture Strategic Priorities Program (CASPP) currently provides support for applied science projects from 2019-2024. Agrivita is now seeking to compile a suite of proposals aimed at another round of applied science projects to be included in an Agrivita-led application to AAFC in 2021, for potential funding April 1, 2022.

Through an extensive national consultation process, Agrivita Canada has identified priorities for applied science and innovation in health and safety in key areas of Canadian agriculture. These priorities cross-cut the fifteen topics detailed in the Six Steps to Safety Report. This report can be found on the Agrivita website on the Six Steps to Safety Report [1] page. Agrivita is now seeking LOI’s for potential projects to address these priority areas. 

Proposed Project Elements

1. Directly address one or more of the priority areas of A) Viruses and Infectious Diseases, B) Farm Stress and Mental Health, C) Inhalation Exposures, D) Injuries and Accidents, E) Indigenous Agriculture, F) Under-represented Populations (Seasonal Workers, Women, Youth), and G) Climate Change, Green Technologies and Safety.
2. Utilize an applied science approach that seeks to develop practical solutions to current problems, and produces tangible, measurable outputs and outcomes.
3. Address one or more of the Six Steps to Safety based on a modified Hierarchy of Control for agriculture (explained in the Six Steps to Safety Report).
4. Have a clear rationale based in current knowledge and science. 
5. Aim to positively impact environmental, occupational, and workplace health and safety in agriculture in Canada.
6. Have an identified Project lead/co-lead and team with demonstrated capabilities for their proposed project.
7. Letter of Intent from university-based, industry-based, and not-for-profit based organizations/teams are welcome.

Eligibility

For eligibility criteria, please review the program guidelines on the Agrivita website on the Six Steps to Safety Report [1] page.

Maximum Project Value

Up to $500,000.

Note: proposed projects must be able to contribute 50% or more matching dollars from other sources such as private sector, foundations and government agencies. Budget requests from the Program may be up to $500,000 over four years, with an equivalent amount of matching dollars provided by the Project team from other sources. Matching dollars do not need to be secured in order to submit a LOI, but anticipated sources should be identified in preparation for confirmation at a later stage. 

Indirect Costs

Overhead is allowable on the AgriSafety portion of the budget, up to a maximum of 15%.

Project Duration

Up to four years.

Special Notes

Please note, Agrivita Canada will be the lead applicant for the AAFC application.

COVID-19: Please note that research activities carried out in the context of COVID-19 need to adhere to the University of Guelph COVID-19 research principles, policies, guidelines and processes as they may be updated from time to time and communicated on the Office of Research web-page [2]

How to Apply

Instructions for Letter of Intent

Please submit a two page letter that includes the following information:

1. Title of project
2. Team lead/co-leads, including titles/roles, credentials, organization(s) (Include a brief statement of capabilities to undertake such a project)
3. Additional team members, affiliations, expertise
4. Research Summary:
   • What is your applied research objective?
   • Briefly describe your proposed approach/method/strategy.
   • What are your anticipated outputs/outcomes? How will your proposed project impact environmental, occupational, and workplace health and safety issues?
5. Relevance to AgriSafety Program:
   • How does your proposed project fit the identified Priority Areas?
   • Which of the identified applied science projects, or broader Topic Areas 1-15 from in the Six Steps to Safety report does the proposed project address? (If none, please explain).
   • Which step(s) in the Hierarchy of Control does your proposed project address?
   • How will this project positively impact sustainability and productivity in Canadian Agriculture?