OH Conservation Innovation Grant | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The OH Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) is a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) discretionary grant opportunity designed to speed up the real-world adoption of innovative conservation practices and technologies in Ohio. The central idea is to leverage federal conservation investments to achieve measurable environmental benefits while keeping agricultural production viable. Rather than funding basic or lab-based research, this program focuses on getting proven or emerging conservation strategies used more widely by supporting practical, on-the-ground projects that demonstrate how those strategies work at field scale and how they can be replicated by others.

Projects funded under this opportunity are expected to help move conservation technologies, management systems, or innovative approaches into broader use, either by being incorporated into NRCS technical manuals and guidance (so they can be recommended and implemented more broadly) or by being transferred into the private sector for wider adoption. The grant emphasizes application and demonstration: it is intended to take ideas that already show promise and prove they can be implemented effectively at a larger scale, including through pilot projects and field demonstrations. “Innovation” here can include new tools, new management approaches, or even market-based systems that encourage conservation outcomes, as long as the work is oriented toward adoption and measurable conservation impacts.

Traditional research is generally not supported, with one specific exception: on-farm conservation research. If a proposal includes research, it must be conducted on working farms, use farm-scale equipment, and be built around a clear conservation question with a statistically valid study design. That means appropriate replication, sound experimental controls where relevant, and statistical analysis of results. Even then, NRCS will only support on-farm research that directly stimulates innovative approaches to natural resource management tied to agricultural production, reinforcing the program’s emphasis on practicality and real-world impact.

Eligible applicants are broad and include Indian Tribes, state and local governments (including counties, cities/townships, and special districts), public and private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, certain public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (other than IHEs), individuals, and small businesses. Projects may be single-year or multi-year, but they cannot exceed three years in length, and proposals must come from eligible entities in Ohio.

From a funding standpoint, the opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.912, aligned with agriculture, environment, and natural resources activities. The award ceiling is $75,000, with an expectation of about five awards. The opportunity was posted April 1, 2016, created April 1, 2016, and had a closing date of May 1, 2016 (the original and current closing dates are the same), indicating a defined, time-limited application window for that cycle.

Applications go through a structured review and selection process. First, NRCS screens submissions for completeness and compliance; incomplete or noncompliant proposals are removed from consideration and applicants are notified. Proposals that pass screening are evaluated by a technical peer review panel using the evaluation criteria referenced in the solicitation instructions. After technical review, proposals and peer review findings are forwarded to the State Review Board, which makes recommendations to the NRCS State Conservationist. The State Conservationist makes the final funding selections, meaning the final decision combines technical scoring with state-level priorities and judgment about expected conservation outcomes and adoption potential.

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Previous opportunity: Conservation Status of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly

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