Washington, DC, USA
January 19, 2016
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking reviewers to evaluate grant applications submitted under the 2015 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP). This competitive grant program provides funds to state departments of agriculture to solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops through collaborative, multi-state projects.
The SCMP projects will address regional or national level specialty crop issues including: food safety; plant pests and disease; research; crop-specific projects addressing common issues; and marketing and promotion. Applications are developed by teams of multi-state partners and submitted to AMS by participating state departments of agriculture.
Prospective reviewers should have knowledge and expertise in at least one facet of the specialty crop sector. The reviewer application form is available on the SCMP website and contains a list of areas of expertise required for reviewing the applications.
Reviewers must commit approximately six weeks for the SCMP review process starting in March. Reviewers will be organized into teams of three, including a designated team leader. Individuals will review up to 10 applications, each requiring one to three hours for completion. Criteria for evaluating applications are pre-determined and outlined in the SCMP Request for Applications. After individual reviewers complete their evaluations, they will participate in a group review by teleconference to reach a consensus score with comments that summarize the strengths and weaknesses of their assigned applications.
Selected reviewers will receive a general orientation about the program and the review process by conference call. Team leaders will receive additional training. No travel is involved. Reviewers will receive a stipend.
Participating state departments of agriculture, as well as any multi-state partner named on a 2015 SCMP application, are not eligible to serve as reviewers. Reviewers will not evaluate applications for which they – or their organizations – have a conflict of interest. Reviewers must sign a confidentiality agreement to refrain from sharing information about the process, the applications, and the outcomes during and after the evaluation.
AMS will be accepting peer reviewer applications until February 5, 2016.
For more information visit the SCMP website: www.ams.usda.gov/scmp. If you are interested in being a SCMP reviewer, email a completed SCMP Reviewer Application Form, a Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality Statement, and résumé to janise.zygmont@ams.usda.gov. The subject line of your email message should read 2015 SCMP Reviewer Application.
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