(a) The regulations of this part only apply to competitive Higher Education Challenge Grants awarded under the provisions of section 1417(b)(1) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended (NARETPA)(7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(1)), to strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention. Section 1405 of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3121) designates the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the lead Federal agency for agricultural research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. Section 1417 of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3152) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, who has delegated the authority to theDirector of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to make competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities, to colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, for a period not to exceed 5 years, to administer and conduct programs to respond to identified State, regional, national, or international educational needs in the food and agricultural sciences.

(b) To the extent that funds are available, each year NIFA will publish a Federal Register notice announcing the program and soliciting grant applications.

(c)(1) Based on the amount of funds appropriated in any fiscal year, NIFA will determine and cite in the program announcement:

(i) The targeted need area(s) to be supported or, if the entire scope of a particular targeted need area is not to be supported, the specific special interest(s) within that targeted need area to be supported;

(ii) The degree level(s) to be supported;

(iii) The maximum project period a proposal may request;

(iv) The maximum amount of funds that may be requested by an institution under a regular, complementary, or joint project proposal; and

(v) The maximum total funds that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year, including how funds awarded for complementary and for joint project proposals will be counted toward the institutional maximum.

(2) The program announcement will also specify the deadline date for proposal submission, the number of copies of each proposal that must be submitted, the address to which a proposal must be submitted, and whether or not Form NIFA-711, “Intent to Submit a Proposal,” is requested.

(d)(1) If it is deemed by NIFA that, for a given fiscal year, additional determinations are necessary, each, as relevant, will be stated in the program announcement. Such determinations may include:

(i) Limits on the subject matter/emphasis areas to be supported;

(ii) The maximum number of proposals that may be submitted on behalf of the same school, college, or equivalent administrative unit within an institution;

(iii) The maximum total number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution;

(iv) The minimum project period a proposal may request;

(v) The minimum amount of funds that may be requested by an institution under a regular, complementary, or joint project proposal;

(vi) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, regular, complementary, and joint project proposals;

(vii) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, projects in each announced targeted need area;

(viii) The proportion of the appropriation reserved for, or available to, each subject matter/emphasis area;

(ix) The maximum number of grants that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year; and

(x) Limits on the use of grant funds for travel or to purchase equipment, if any.

(2) The program announcement also will contain any other limitations deemed necessary by NIFA for proper conduct of the program in the applicable year.

(e) The regulations of this part do not apply to grants awarded by the Department of Agriculture under any other authority.