Slots: 1
Deadlines
Internal Deadline: Friday, July 14, 2023, 5pm PT
LOI: 30 days prior.
External Deadline: October 24, 2023
Recurring Deadlines: October 22, 2024
Award Information
Award Type: Cooperative Agreement
Estimated Number of Awards: NIOSH anticipates funding approximately 10-12 awards through this announcement.
Anticipated Award Amount: $15-18 million total costs (direct and indirect costs) in FY 2022.
NIOSH intends to commit approximately $80-100 million in total costs (direct and indirect) over the entire project period (up to 5 years).
Who May Serve as PI: Standard requirements.
Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OH-22-002.html
Process for Limited Submissions
PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template
Materials to submit include:
- (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
- (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)
Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.
Purpose
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AgFF) occupations have long been recognized as some of the most dangerous in the country. The AgFF sector has a workforce over 2 million strong, and many of these laborers are at significant risk due to a combination of factors. AgFF workers encounter numerous physical, chemical, and biological hazards during their daily routines. Physical hazards may include the dangers associated with the use of tractors and other heavy equipment, working in extreme temperatures, or coping with large livestock. Chemical hazards may include inadvertent exposure to pesticides and herbicides during their application or to potentially hazardous commodities during the production or harvesting processes (such as in green tobacco sickness). Biological hazards may include the threat of exposure to zoonosis for those who are in nearly continuous contact with swine, poultry, or other animal vectors. Furthermore, many laborers in these industries are foreign born and therefore encounter language and cultural barriers that might exacerbate these threats. Additionally, factors such as limited access to health care and worker training resources may also intensify these hazards. Finally, the seasonal nature of some crops might also create an economically driven, forced migration that may generate unintended second-order effects in the workforce in areas such as housing, diet, and social support systems.
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide support for Centers for Agricultural Safety and Health (Ag Centers) to address the significant and varied morbidity and mortality burden in U.S. AgFF occupations. Ag Centers conduct research and outreach activities as a means of building and expanding upon existing scientific evidence and transferring evidence-based research findings to appropriate stakeholders for adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up and sustainability. The overarching goal of the Ag Centers is to reduce adverse outcomes in AgFF worker health and safety.
Healthy People 2030
The United States Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. The vision, mission, and goals are found in Healthy People 2030, a PHS-led national activity to achieve better health in the United States by the year 2030. This funding announcement is linked to the goals of Healthy People 2030, that are intended to prevent work-related diseases, injuries, and deaths while improving worker health, safety, and well-being.
According to the Healthy People 2030, more than 160 million people participate in the U.S. labor force, and their work has an intrinsic connection to their safety and health. Decades of public health surveillance and research have demonstrated that work-related injuries adversely affect employers, workers, and communities. Workplace settings vary widely in size, sector, design, location, processes, culture, and resources. In addition, workers themselves have different ages, genders, education levels, cultural backgrounds, health practices, vulnerabilities, and levels of access to preventive health care. This translates into great diversity and disparity in the safety and health risks for each industry sector and the need for tailored interventions.
Public Health Impact
Ag Centers are expected to have a significant and sustained impact on reducing morbidity and mortality in the AgFF workforce. Despite safety advances in many areas of this sector, and recently documented decreases in adverse health outcomes for this workforce, AgFF workers are still disproportionately affected in comparison to workers in other industrial sectors. Because of the diversity of activities in agriculture, forestry, and fishing jobs, Ag Centers must be sensitive to regional work practices and how these practices can be modified and improved to increase protections for the worker population. Ag Centers should also attempt to facilitate the use and adaption of new approaches or best practices in similar segments of the workforce or regions of the country through collaboration and coordination with fellow centers, academic institutions, nonprofit entities, industry, and labor organizations.
Relevant Work
In 1990, Public Law 101-517 directed NIOSH to establish a program of improving the health and safety of agricultural workers and their families. Details in the Senate appropriations language of PL 101-517 included the innovative call to establish “centers for agricultural occupational safety and health.” Beginning in 1990, NIOSH established and maintained these centers through a series of competitive FOAs, including PAR-11-022, PAR-06-057, RFA-OH-03-002, and RFA-OH-01-004.
Ag Centers conduct high quality research and subsequently disseminate their findings and recommendations to appropriate audiences and stakeholders through outreach and education activities. The centers identify practical solutions to complex problems while cultivating collaboration and partnerships. Ag Centers are distributed throughout the nation to be responsive to agricultural safety and health issues unique to different regions. Links to the Ag Centers currently funded by NIOSH are provided at NIOSH Ag Centers.
Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.