WSARE Professional Development Program details and guidelines
Intent: The CSU Extension WSARE PDP is intended to increase knowledge of sustainable agriculture relevant to Colorado and drive practice change for CSU Extension Agents, CSU Faculty, farmers and ranchers through group educational and professional development events. Practice change may be new educational strategies with stakeholders or farming or ranching practice change. Examples include but are not limited to conferences, workshops, field days, webinars, and other virtual events.
Eligibility and Amounts: Applicants must be CSU Extension personnel or CSU faculty. Collaborations with NRCS, NGOs, farmers, ranchers and related sustainable ag stakeholders are encouraged. Applicants with educational events providing professional development for less than 15 Agents, farmers, ranchers, and/or Faculty may apply for mini grants up to $2000. Events providing professional development for 15 or more confirmed Agents, farmers, ranchers, and/or Faculty participants may apply for up to $5000. Please review the allowable and unallowable expenses prior to submitting your application.
Evaluation Required: All educational events and programs must be evaluated for changes in awareness, knowledge or attitudes and changes in decision-making, intentions or action among the target audience. An evaluation instrument for the event must be submitted with your application. The evaluation instrument should include information on the: type of educational activity conducted by mini grant (workshop, field day, tour, webinar, consultation, etc.), type of individuals who received training [ Extension, NRCS, Agency, Farmer/Rancher, Non-Profit, Other (e.g. consultants, industry)]. Participants should report any changes in KASA (knowledge, attitudes, skills, awareness) as a result of participating in the educational event and if they intend to use new knowledge and skills in existing or new programming or into new educational products and tools and share project materials and/or SARE and other sustainable ag resources with farmers and others.
Award Cycles and Application Process:
There are two award cycles annually. Applications are due in February or August and award status will be provided in the month following application, March or September. Expedited review is available after discussion but not encouraged. 303-678-6383
Step 1: Watch this video with guidance for a competitive application
Step 2: Download the application here and email to Adrian Card Adrian.Card@colostate.edu
Accessing Funds Awarded:
The PDP is a reimbursement-based award. Keep invoices and receipts related to your reimbursement. After the educational event, email Adrian.Card@colostate.edu with an invoice using this template, invoices and receipts as evidence of expenditures related to the project, and your summary of all evaluations collected. Funds will not be disbursed without receipt of evaluations summary.
Program Information contacts:
for more information regarding the program and the funding opportunities contact program co-PIs Adrian Card (Adrian.Card@colostate.edu) and Ioannis Minas (Ioannis.Minas@colostate.edu).
Colorado PDP program contacts:
Adrian Card, CSU Extension, Adrian.Card@colostate.edu 303-678-6383
Ioannis Minas, CSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Ioannis.Minas@colostate.edu 970-491-7216
WSARE Educational Resources and Grants Program
About Western SARE
SARE is built on a foundation of respect for agricultural producers – the idea that farmers and ranchers know best what does and does not work on the land. Indeed, farmers and ranchers initiate many SARE research projects and are involved in nearly all of them as consultants or research coordinators. The bottom line: SARE supports high quality research and education in sustainable agriculture with minimum overhead.
Learn more at https://western.sare.org/
