Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 12 116
Apply for PAR 12 116
- The Food Drug Administration in the agriculture consumer protection food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Innovative Food Defense Program (R18)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.103 Food and Drug AdministrationResearch.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 16, 2013 and posted on Mar 14, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 2014 This FOA has multiple receipt dates. The first application receipt/due date is June 15, 2012,by 500 PM local time of applicant organization. The second application receipt/due date is June 15, 2013, by 500 PM local time of applicant organization. The third and final application receipt/due date is June 15, 2014, by 500 PM local time of applicant organization.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $300,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) State governments City or township governments County governments.
- U.S. Territory or Possession
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Opportunity Summary:
The Innovative Food Defense Program (IFDP) (R18) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intended to strengthen how governments prevent, prepare for, and respond to intentional contamination of food (food defense). The core goal is practical: fund the creation of tools, templates, training materials, and other usable resources that can be easily replicated and adopted by other jurisdictions. Rather than focusing on one-off, local-only projects, the program is geared toward products and approaches that can be shared broadly and that directly help State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) agencies build, improve, or modernize their food defense programs.
A central theme of the opportunity is the close connection between food safety and food defense. Food safety typically addresses unintentional contamination (accidental hazards, process failures, naturally occurring pathogens), while food defense addresses intentional adulteration (deliberate acts meant to harm the public or disrupt the food supply). FDA highlights that these areas overlap heavily in real-world operations: many of the same inspection systems, surveillance approaches, laboratories, communication channels, and emergency response frameworks are used in both. Because of that overlap, the IFDP emphasizes integration, encouraging applicants to design solutions that align food defense with existing food safety infrastructure. This integration aligns with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which recognizes that coordinating prevention and response across safety and defense improves efficiency, avoids duplicating resources, and supports a more effective response during an incident.
The funding mechanism is a grant under the R18 activity code, and the program sits within the broad activity areas of agriculture, consumer protection, and food and nutrition. The opportunity anticipated making about three awards in total, supported by an estimated total funding amount of $300,000. Individual awards were expected to range from as little as $1 up to a maximum (ceiling) of $100,000. No cost sharing or matching requirement was listed, meaning applicants were not required to provide non-federal funds to receive an award.
Eligible applicants were governmental entities, specifically State governments, county governments, and city or township governments, as well as federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. U.S. territories or possessions were also included in the eligibility information, reflecting the program's intent to strengthen food defense capacity across the full SLTT landscape. This eligibility framing reinforces that the program is meant to build public-sector capability and produce resources that public agencies can deploy and share.
Administratively, the opportunity was posted on March 14, 2012, with multiple application receipt dates across three years. The first due date was June 15, 2012; the second was June 15, 2013; and the third and final due date was June 15, 2014, each with a 5:00 PM local time deadline for the applicant organization. The opportunity ultimately closed on June 15, 2014, and was archived on July 15, 2014. The funding opportunity number was PAR 12-116, and it was associated with CFDA number 93.103 (Food and Drug Administration Research).
For applicants seeking official details, FDA directed interested parties to the full announcement in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts under PAR 12-116. A grants management contact was provided for access issues: Jennerfer Torres Hernandez, Grants Management Specialist, at Jennerfer.Torres_Hernandez@fda.hhs.gov.
Innovative Food Defense Program (IFDP) (R18) - FAQs
What is the Innovative Food Defense Program (IFDP) (R18)?
The Innovative Food Defense Program (IFDP) (R18) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) focused on strengthening how governments prevent, prepare for, and respond to intentional contamination of food (food defense).
What is the main goal of the IFDP?
The program aims to fund the creation of practical, usable resources (such as tools, templates, and training materials) that can be replicated and adopted by other jurisdictions, helping State, local, Tribal, and territorial agencies build, improve, or modernize food defense programs.
What kinds of products or deliverables does IFDP support?
IFDP emphasizes deliverables like tools, templates, training materials, and other resources designed to be shared broadly and reused by multiple jurisdictions, rather than one-off projects that only benefit a single locality.
How does IFDP define "food defense" in this opportunity?
In this opportunity, food defense refers to preventing and responding to intentional adulteration or deliberate contamination of food, including acts intended to harm the public or disrupt the food supply.
How is food defense different from food safety, according to FDA?
Food safety generally addresses unintentional contamination (such as accidental hazards, process failures, or naturally occurring pathogens), while food defense addresses intentional adulteration (deliberate acts). The opportunity notes that, in practice, the same systems often support both.
Why does the program emphasize integrating food safety and food defense?
FDA highlights that real-world operations often rely on shared infrastructure for both food safety and food defense, including inspection systems, surveillance approaches, laboratories, communication channels, and emergency response frameworks. The IFDP encourages solutions that integrate food defense with existing food safety programs to improve efficiency and avoid duplicating resources.
How does IFDP relate to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)?
The opportunity aligns with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) by emphasizing coordinated prevention and response across food safety and defense, supporting efficiency and a stronger incident response.
What is the grant mechanism or activity code for IFDP?
The funding mechanism is an R18 grant (activity code R18).
What broad activity areas does the IFDP fall under?
The opportunity sits within broad activity areas that include agriculture, consumer protection, and food and nutrition.
How many awards were anticipated under this opportunity?
The opportunity anticipated making about three awards in total.
What was the estimated total funding amount?
The estimated total funding amount across the opportunity was $300,000.
What was the expected award size per recipient?
Individual awards were expected to range from as little as $1 up to a ceiling of $100,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement was listed. Applicants were not required to provide non-federal funds to receive an award.
Who was eligible to apply for the IFDP?
Eligible applicants were governmental entities, including State governments, county governments, and city or township governments, as well as federally recognized Native American Tribal governments. U.S. territories or possessions were also included.
Is this opportunity intended for public-sector or private-sector applicants?
Based on the eligibility information provided, the opportunity is framed for governmental (public-sector) entities and is intended to strengthen public-agency capability across State, local, Tribal, and territorial jurisdictions.
When was the opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on March 14, 2012.
What were the application due dates?
There were multiple application receipt dates across three years: June 15, 2012; June 15, 2013; and June 15, 2014.
What time were applications due on the receipt dates?
Applications were due by 5:00 PM local time for the applicant organization on each listed due date.
When did the opportunity close?
The opportunity closed on June 15, 2014.
When was the opportunity archived?
The opportunity was archived on July 15, 2014.
What is the funding opportunity number for IFDP?
The funding opportunity number is PAR 12-116.
What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is associated with CFDA number 93.103 (Food and Drug Administration Research).
Where can applicants find the official full announcement?
FDA directed interested parties to the full announcement in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts under PAR 12-116.
Who is the grants management contact listed for access issues?
The grants management contact provided for access issues was Jennerfer Torres Hernandez, Grants Management Specialist, reachable at Jennerfer.Torres_Hernandez@fda.hhs.gov.
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Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (PAR 12 116) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Building the Capacity of State, Local, Territorial, and Tribal Food Regulatory Agencies to Undertake Examinations, Inspections, and Investigations and other Related Food Safety Activities Under Section 702 of the FD Apply for RFA FD 12 027 Funding Number: RFA FD 12 027 Agency: Food Drug Administration Category: Agriculture Consumer Protection Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $100,000 |
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