The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking peer reviewers for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP), a competitive grants program which recently announced a request for applications for $30 million in grants for projects supporting direct farm-to-consumer markets and local food enterprises and improving access to fresh, healthy, and local food throughout the country.
Qualifications
The call for reviewers, which AMS posted on May 13, 2014, seeks reviewer candidates with “knowledge of the operational aspects of direct-to-consumer and regional/local marketing venues, a background in local agriculture and agricultural retail, or farm-to-table marketing experience.”
Ineligibility, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality
Applicants for FY2014 FMLFPP grants are not eligible to serve as reviewers. Peer reviewers will not evaluate proposals for which they – or their organizations – have a conflict of interest. Selected reviewers must sign a confidentiality agreement and are prohibited from sharing information about the process, the applications, and the outcomes during and after the application review period.
Review period, review process, and time commitment
- Reviewers must be available for the application review period: July 9 through July 28.
- A mandatory half-day training webinar is planned for the week of June 18th (exact date TBD).
- Reviewers will be organized into teams of 3 and follow a pre-set scoring rubric.
- Reviewers are responsible for reviewing 20 to 30 proposals, each requiring 1 to 3 hours to complete, and participate in a group review online to reach a consensus score and develop comments for applicants.
- Following the completion of the process, reviewers will receive a stipend
How to Apply to be a Reviewer
Complete and email the Reviewer Application Form (.xls) and a copy of your resume to: USDALFPPQuestions@ams.usda.gov
Deadline for peer reviewer applications is next Wednesday, May 21.
AMS will contact selected reviewers beginning June 6.
For the original USDA announcement, click here.