Description
The United States Department of Agriculture�s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announces the availability to participate in the Scientific Cooperation Exchange Program (SCEP) with the People�s Republic of China (PRC) for fiscal year (FY) 2012. The objective of SCEP is to promote bilateral scientific exchanges designed to promote agricultural cooperation, development, and trade. SCEP supports mutual exchanges of U.S. and Chinese research teams to visit the SCEP partner country for up to 15 days in order to transfer knowledge and technology in agriculture. USDA and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of PRC consult with the research teams to design multi-city program agendas that initiate or strengthen linkages between our academic, public, and private institutions. Neither USDA nor MOA guarantee that all meeting requests will be honored and reserves the right to make changes to proposed dates and agendas. A U.S. research team may consist of up to five members. The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a U.S. citizen and all team members must be employed by a U.S.-based public, private, or academic institution. The U.S. team is responsible for the international airfare between the United States and China. MOA will cover all in-country program related expenses, including lodging, transportation, meals, translations, and cultural activities. USDA does not provide any funding to support U.S. teams. Priority will be given to innovative proposals that address food security, climate change, food safety, animal and plant health, biotechnology and other emerging technologies, food processing and product development, non-food product development, and sustainable plant and animal management. This notice identifies the SCEP deadline, legislative authority, eligibility requirements, funding and cost share requirements, reporting requirements, program purpose and priorities, focus areas and recommended topics, proposal requirements, application and submission information, application review, evaluation, and notification process, agency program contact information, mailing address, and frequently asked questions.