Irrigation Innovation Consortium launches FY20 call for proposals

Contact for reporters:
Jennifer Dimas
jennifer.dimas@colostate.edu
(970) 491-1543

The Irrigation Innovation Consortium (IIC), a collaborative, public-private organization focused on accelerating the development and adoption of water and energy-efficient irrigation technologies and practices, has opened its call for FY20 proposals.

Proposals must be submitted by Oct. 16, 2019, at 5 p.m. Mountain Time and will be ranked using a competitive process. Requests for funding should not exceed $50,000 per year per institution and must be accompanied by a non-federal financial commitment of at least 1:1 match.

All IIC funded projects must include participation by industry partners as well by at least one of the five IIC Consortium universities: Colorado State University, California State University, Fresno State, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Kansas State University, and Texas A&M University. Integrated projects involving multiple universities and partners will be given priority over a proposal from a single institution. Projects should fit within one or more of IIC’s priority research topics:

  • Water and energy efficiency;
  • Remote sensing and big data applications to improve irrigation water management;
  • System integration and management;
  • Acceleration of irrigation technology innovation and adoption.

New pitch option for industry added to encourage public-private partnerships and collaboration

New to this year’s call for proposals, the IIC has added a streamlined pitch option to encourage the irrigation industry to put forward ideas for innovative, technical research project concepts applicable to landscape and/or agricultural irrigation systems. Industry representatives should submit their pitch ideas by Sept. 30, 2019. Selected pitches will be invited to present their idea in a video interview. The IIC’s Research Steering Committee will finish vetting and selecting successful pitches by Oct. 25, 2019, and work with industry partners to form a project team and complete a fully fleshed out proposal, work plan, and budget by Dec. 5, 2019.

“The IIC is particularly focused on fostering irrigation technology development and application in the precompetitive space, defined by the IIC’s matching funding partner Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) as an area of research where outcomes offer no particular advantage relative to peers and may potentially positively impact all parties,” said IIC Executive Director Jay Ham.

Apply now

Visit https://irrigationinnovation.org/proposals/ for more information and to apply for funding by submitting a research proposal or an industry pitch.

For questions or more information, contact Reagan Waskom, IIC executive committee, Reagan.Waskom@colostate.edu or (970) 491-6308 or Jay Ham, IIC executive director, Jay.Ham@colostate.edu or (970) 488-0524.