Methods
Grant Program

The Center may use grants to provide funding for research on new products, technologies, or knowledge that will improve the efficiency, profitability, or quality of the sheep industry, and for the production and commercialization of new and innovative products or processes.

1.    Eligible grant purposes

Grant purposes must be consistent with the statutory purposes of the Center and the goals stated in the strategic plan.  Grants will be used to contribute to basic production research and efforts to commercialize new services and products; new processes that can be utilized in the production of sheep products, and new enterprises or cooperatives that can add value to sheep products through processing or marketing.  They include but are not limited to the following:
 

A.    Contributions to production research such as: sheep disease prevention and control; predator control, and genetic and reproductive performance.

B.    Technology research, investigations, and basic feasibility studies in any field or discipline for the purpose of generating principles, facts, technical knowledge, new technology, or other information that may be useful to the sheep industry in the development and commercialization of new products, processes, or services.

C.    The collection, interpretation, and dissemination of principles, facts, technical knowledge, new technology, or other information that may be useful to the sheep industry in the development and commercialization of new products, processes, or services.

D.    Providing grants to small businesses and cooperatives for purposes of generating, evaluating, developing, and commercializing new products, processes, or services.

E.    Sponsoring of special industry meetings, seminars, or workshops.

2.    Ineligible  purposes      Grant funds may not be used to:

A.    Pay more than 50 percent of project costs except as expressly approved by the Board.

B.    Pay more than 7.5 percent of the award for overhead.

C.    Duplicate research in progress or completed.

D.    Pay costs of preparing the application package for funding under this program.

E.    Pay costs incurred prior to the effective date of the grant made.

F.    Fund political activities.

G.    Fund any activity that does not benefit the sheep industry.

 

3.    Eligible entities
 

A.    An eligible entity means any entity that promotes the betterment of the U.S. sheep industry and that is a public, private, or cooperative organization; an association, including a corporation not operated for profit; a federally recognized Indian Tribe; or a public or quasi-public agency.  Applicant must have credentials demonstrating expertise in project content.

B.    Recipients must agree to account for the amounts using generally accepted accounting principles.