Research Grants Program

Back to Pest Management Grants

Overview

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) Research Grants Program provides funding for research projects that advance integrated pest management (IPM) knowledge in agricultural, urban, and wildland settings. Projects should focus on reducing impacts to public health or the environment from pesticides of high regulatory concern and/or considered high-risk.

Please see the Alliance Grants Program for funding opportunities that promote or increase the implementation, expansion, and/or adoption of effective, proven, and affordable IPM systems and practices.

Application Process and Current Status

The 2024 Research Grants solicitation period is now open. Proposal applications will be accepted through September 14, 2023.

The 2024 Research Grants Program is particularly seeking applications that address one or more of the following topic areas:

• IPM for underserved or disadvantaged communities;
• Decreasing the use of high-risk/high-volume pesticides (such as fumigants like 1,3-dichloropropene or sulfuryl fluoride);
• Advancement of urban IPM and safer, more sustainable pest management tools and strategies in urban settings;
• Advancement of IPM and safer, more sustainable pest management tools and strategies in agricultural settings, particularly in settings adjacent to or near a school(s);
• Meeting the IPM needs of small growers; and/or
• TWO or more of the three sustainability pillars noted below and referenced in the Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Roadmap:
  1. Human Health and Social Equity,
  2. Environmental Protections,
  3. Economic Vitality

The 2024 Research Grants proposal application materials are available here: 2024 Research Grants Materials.

Dates and Deadlines

• Early August 2023 – Solicitation period opens; DPR begins accepting proposal applications
• Thursday, September 14, 2023 – Final application deadline
• Thursday, February 8, 2024 (9:30 am PT) – Pest Management Advisory Committee (PMAC) Research Grants proposal review meeting
• Mid-April 2024 – Funding decision emails sent out
• Monday, July 1, 2024 – Earliest project start date pending full execution of the grant agreement
• Wednesday, June 30, 2027 – Latest project end date

Informational Videos

DPR staff have produced recorded videos on topics to assist applicants in successfully applying to our Grants Programs. These videos are available on YouTube and include sessions devoted to the following topics:

• DPR’s Grant Programs – Purpose and Priorities
  Reviews the basics about DPR’s grants programs and provides a broad overview of topics that applicants should keep in mind when applying
• Budgets and Budget Justifications
  Discusses the budget and budget justifications that applicants complete when applying to DPR’s grants programs
• Building a Strong Alliance Team
  Discusses how to build a strong Alliance Team for applicants applying to the Alliance Grants program
• Scope of Work, Objectives, Tasks, and Deliverables
  Discusses the scope of work that applicants complete when applying to DPR’s grants programs

If after reviewing these videos you have any further questions, contact DPR staff at DPRpmGrants.Solicitation@cdpr.ca.gov or consider scheduling an "office hour" with DPR staff to review specific questions. For more information on office hours, see below.

DPR-Hosted Office Hours

This year, DPR’s Grants Program is hosting "office hours" for potential applicants to be able to reserve 30-minute appointments to discuss various aspects of the Research and Alliance Grants Program proposal applications. Please note that discussion may not focus on any of the criteria or aspects that are competitively ranked by DPR staff and Pest Management Advisory Committee (PMAC) members when reviewing and ranking proposal applications. For example, DPR staff will be unable to provide guidance on topics such as choice of proposal topic, quality of ideas, or experimental plans. A list of competitively ranked criteria can be found in the "Ranking Considerations for Reviewers" section of the solicitation. These "office hour" appointments are intended to assist applicants with the more complex sections of the proposal application such as the budget and budget justification.

For information on competitively ranked criteria that will not be able to be addressed in "office hours" appointments, please consider reviewing the Alliance Grants Guidance Document, or the recorded applicant assistance informational videos described above.

To sign up for a 30-minute appointment, use the 2024 DPR Grants Program "Office Hours" form. Note that when requesting a scheduled appointment during "office hours," you will be prompted to include a specific set of questions or topics for discussion.

To maximize your appointment time, DPR staff highly recommend that you complete the sections of the proposal application for the Research Grants or Alliance Grants Program that you want to discuss in advance to the best of your ability, including the required Excel spreadsheet for budget calculations.

Funded Pest Management Research Grants (2013 - present)

Funded Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos Research Grants (2019 - present)

Alternatives to chlorpyrifos research projects were funded through a special one-time allocation from California’s General Fund. The funds were used to support research projects that advance safer, more sustainable pest management alternatives to chlorpyrifos with the goal of developing and fostering integrated pest management (IPM) practices that can be voluntarily adopted in lieu of using chlorpyrifos.

For questions, please contact:
Jordan Weibel
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
E-mail: Jordan.Weibel@cdpr.ca.gov