(a) General. Program-specific eligibility requirements appear in the subpart applicable to each program and in the RFAs.

(b) Foreign entities—(1) Awards to institutions. Unless specifically allowed, foreign commercial and non-profit institutions are not considered eligible to apply for and receive NIFA awards.

(2) Awards to individuals. Unless otherwise specified, only United States citizens, non-citizen nationals of the United States, and lawful permanent residents of the United States are eligible to apply for and receive NIFA awards.

(c) Responsibility determination. In addition to program-specific eligibility requirements, awards will be made only to responsible applicants. Specific management information relating to an applicant shall be submitted on a one-time basis, with updates on an as-needed basis, as part of the responsibility determination prior to an award being made under a specific NIFA program, if such information has not been provided previously under this or another NIFA program. NIFA will provide copies of forms recommended for use in fulfilling these requirements as part of the pre-award process. Although an applicant may be eligible based on its status as one of these entities, there are factors that may exclude an applicant from receiving Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits under a NIFA program (e.g., debarment or suspension of an individual involved or a determination that an applicant is not responsible based on submitted organizational management information).

(d) Certification of NLGCA status. NIFA will make publically available (e.g., Federal Register) the process through which institutions may apply for designation as a NLGCA. The public notice will, at a minimum, include NLGCA criteria, instructions on how to request designation, information about how NIFA will respond to requests, and termination of NLGCA status.

(e) Center of Excellence. (1) To be considered as a center of excellence, a center of excellence must be one of the following entities that provides financial or in-kind support to the center being proposed:

(i) State agricultural experiment stations;

(ii) Colleges and universities;

(iii) University research foundations;

(iv) Other research institutions and organizations;

(v) Federal agencies;

(vi) National laboratories;

(vii) Private organizations, foundations, or corporations;

(viii) Individuals; or

(ix) A group consisting of two or more of the entities described in paragraphs (e)(1)(i) through (viii) of this section.

(2) Only standard grant and coordinated agricultural project (CAP) grant applicants may be considered for center of excellence designation.