2025 Multi-Partner Dairy Sustainability Research to Action Initiative:
Cornell University and NGO Joint Call for Proposals
Cornell University | Clean Air Task Force |
Environmental Defense Fund | The Nature Conservancy
Key Dates
- Jan. 27, 2025: Information and networking session
- A recording of the information session may be viewed with a Cornell NetID or by requesting access.
- Feb. 28, 2025: (optional) LOI submissions due by 5 p.m. ET
- Mar. 12, 2025: LOI feedback returned to applicant teams
- Apr. 18, 2025: Full Proposals due by 5 p.m. ET
- May 16, 2025: Funding decisions announced
- Jun. 2, 2025: Funds become available
- Sept. 1, 2025: Latest project start date
Overview
Cornell Atkinson, Clean Air Task Force (CATF), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) welcome competitive proposals for joint collaborative research or workshops focused on dairy sustainability and livestock methane reduction. Proposals should have achievable one-year impact goals and should ideally involve collaborators from more than one of the participating NGOs.
Cornell Atkinson will facilitate connections between Cornell faculty and the relevant NGO teams along the priority areas identified below and as helpful to support joint proposal development.
The NGO partners should be actively involved as collaborators throughout the entire project lifecycle. This includes their participation from the initial stages of proposal development and research question formation, through the execution and project adjustments, to the creation of deliverables and final products. Their engagement is particularly vital in the final deployment and utilization of the research and outcomes, ensuring impact across various pathways such as corporate practices, public policy, public opinion, and product development.
Multi-NGO + Cornell collaborations are encouraged, with total funding levels available to the Cornell teams adjusted based on the number of participating NGOs:
- $50,000 for projects involving one NGO
- $100,000 for projects involving two NGOs
- $150,000 for projects involving three NGOs
The goal is to stimulate cross-collaboration between Cornell University, CATF, EDF, and TNC on the priority areas outlined below. These priority areas directly emerged from the collaborative workshop held in the fall of 2024 at Cornell and included participants from all four organizations.
Priority Areas
- General Impact of Animal Health on Environmental Intensity of Dairy Operations
- Milk Quality, Reproductive Performance, Transition Cow Health
- Calf Limit-feeding: Environmental Analysis
- Farm of the Future: Trials on Regenerative Agricultural Practices
- Nutrient Management
- Nutrient Management Plans: Policy Mapping and Analysis
- Manure Management BMPs: Education, Advising, Awareness
- Whole System Nutrient Optimization: Assessment, Analysis, Pilot
- Biogas
- Small Scale Biogas: Economic and Policy Analysis
- Nutrition/Feed Additives
- Standard research approach for methane-reduction feed additives: White Paper & Policy Brief
- Methane technology modeling in CNCPS: Research, Modeling, Pipeline
- Bovaer Adoption: Economic Analysis, Barriers to Adoption
- Measurement
- Reconcile and calibrate methane measurement approaches: Research, Synthesis, Applications for Use
- Other Areas of Interest
- Projects outside the specified priority areas but related to Dairy System Sustainability may also receive funding through this RFP if they demonstrate substantial NGO commitment, have a strong and capable team, and present a workplan that aligns with a robust theory of change
Guidelines for Letter of Intent (LOI) Submissions
Letters of intent are recommended from one of the co-principal investigators in advance of submitting a proposal.
LOI reviews are intended to result in stronger proposals rather than to exclude any projects from advancing to the proposal stage.
Please use this online LOI form to submit your letter before 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, March 7, 2025. LOI sections include:
- Lead collaborator names and bios
- Project title (max 150 characters)
- Describe the central challenge you aim to address through this project
(guidance: up to 1,200 characters with spaces) - Describe the project aims, rationale, activities, and pathway to impact
(guidance: up to 1,200 characters with spaces) - Priority area alignment
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Please use this online proposal form to submit your proposal before 5:00 P.M. ET on Friday, April 18, 2025.
Proposal Guidelines (required – 3 pages maximum)
- The Co-Principal Investigators representing Cornell and NGO partners should submit a brief three-page proposal narrative as a PDF via the online form hyperlinked above.
- Save proposal as file name: “2025-DairyNGO-YourLastName.PDF”
Format Requirements:
- PDF format
- 11-point font
- 1-inch margins
- Single-spaced
Required Sections:
- Problem Statement
- Specific priority area in dairy sustainability and livestock emissions to be addressed
- Scope and logic of proposed project and solution
- Project Overview
- Project goals and objectives
- Methodology and approach
- Expected solutions or innovations
- Project Outputs & Timeline
- Quarterly milestones and deliverables
- Specific, measurable outcomes
- Key project phases and deadlines
- Implementation Strategy
- How will the project put Research into Action via practices, public policy, public opinion and/or product innovation
- Critical assumptions and dependencies
- Risk management approach
- Collaboration Plan
- Partner role and responsibilities
- Collaboration communication and coordination plan
- Long-term Impact & Sustainability
- Sustainability plan for collaboration beyond funding period
- Scaling and implementation strategy
- Future development opportunities
Evaluation Criteria:
- Partnership strength
- Technical merit
- Implementation feasibility
- Potential impact
- Value for investment
References (optional)
A single page of references may be added after the two-page narrative. Any other items provided may be viewed or omitted at the discretion of the evaluation panel.
Proposal Budget and Justification (required)
(Use template Cornell Atkinson – Multi-NGO Dairy Sustainability Joint Research Proposal Budget Template.xlsx | Save budget as “2025-DairyNGO-YourLastName.XLSX”)
- Proposers may request funding up to $150K (total budget at Cornell direct costs for one year. Total amount dependent on total # of NGOs meaningfully engaged in the scope of work per RFP.
- The Excel budget template is available for download and should be submitted as a separate file when you submit your proposal. Please also include a budget justification at the end of your proposal for any expenditure for which the purpose of the expenditure is not clear. The budget justification does not count against your proposal page count.
- Funds may be used to cover: personnel (excluding faculty salary), travel, supplies, and equipment.
- For Cornell researchers: Cornell Atkinson will transfer allocated funds to an account in the Cornell proposer’s department. These funds have no indirect cost recovery associated with them.
Funding and Financial Details
- Funds may be used to cover: personnel, travel, supplies, and equipment.
- Cornell Atkinson will transfer allocated funds to an account in the Cornell proposer’s department.
- The project must start by September 1, 2025. Funds must be utilized within 12 months after that.
Project Selection Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Intellectual merit and significance
- Fit with Cornell Atkinson, CATF, EDF, and TNC priorities, including dairy sustainability and livestock methane reduction
- Team strength and composition
- Clearly defined deliverables, metrics, and timeline
- Budget justification
- Pathway to impact and level of real-world impact
- Likelihood of sustained collaborative work and/or potential for external funding
Awardee Responsibilities
Awardees will be responsible for submitting regular progress reports and a final report upon project completion, detailing outcomes, challenges, and the potential for future funding or research extensions.
We look forward to seeing innovative and impactful proposals that can advance the field of dairy sustainability and livestock methane reduction while fostering collaboration between
Cornell, CATF, EDF, and TNC.
Points of Contact
- Cornell Atkinson: Patrick Beary (pbeary@cornell.edu)
- CATF: Fernanda Ferreira (fferreira@catf.us)
- EDF: Joe Rudek (jrudek@edf.org)
- TNC: Nadia Alsadi (nadia.alsadi@TNC.ORG)