Non Technical Summary
The Sun Grant Program's primary objectives is to foster regional research to advance fruition of the bioeconomy and to administer region-focused competitive grants on biofuels, bioproducts, and bioenergy, as well as support program leadership provided through regional Sun Grant Centers. The objective of the Sun Grant Program is to address national energy needs and establish a national bioeconomy through coordinated regional research, education, and Extension activities focused on agricultural- and forest-based biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower. The Sun Grant Program is structured to address bioresource needs and priorities at local and regional levels. National research priorities are addressed in the context of regional feedstock resources and biogeographical and environmental conditions identified through regional stakeholder input. With over ten years of experience administering regional competitive grants through a peer-review process, the proposing Sun Grant Centers are well positioned to effectiely advance this mission. The outcomes of Sun Grant Program activities include: advances in public knowledge, workforce development, discoveries resulting in valuable contributions to the creation of a national bioeconomy, and sustainable rural economic development.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	0199	1060	30%
123	0699	1060	30%
205	5399	2020	10%
402	5310	2020	10%
511	7410	2020	10%
605	6199	3010	10%

Knowledge Area
511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources; 402 - Engineering Systems and Equipment;

Subject Of Investigation
6199 - Economy, general/other; 5399 - Structures, facilities, and equipment, general/other; 0199 - Soil and land, general; 5310 - Machinery and equipment; 0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general; 7410 - General technology;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 1060 - Biology (whole systems); 3010 - Economics;

Goals / Objectives
The primary goal of the Sun Grant Program (SGP) is to address national energy needs and establish a national bioeconomy through coordinated regional research, education, and extension activities focused on agriculture and forest-based biofuels (ground-based transportation and aeronautical), bioproducts (chemicals and materials), and biopower. The five Regional Sun Grant Centers seek to further advance the science and technology needed to expand the use of biomass and biobased feedstock materials to produce advanced biofuels, chemicals, materials, and other biobased products.The primary responsibilities of the Sun Grant Program have been to oversee and administer projects that were reviewed and awarded on a competitive basis by each Sun Grant Regional Center (at least 75% of NIFA funds), support internal Regional Center (21% of NIFA funds) projects that were awarded during this and previous fiscal years, and to administer any additional funds that were yet to be obligated by the Sun Grant Program as per the categories and distribution indicated above.The Sun Grant Directors collect and review project progress reports and final reports from the Principal Investigators of the awarded Sun Grant projects. These reports are used to determine the technical progress of each project and are used to quantify and describe the impact of the project portfolio in each region. Metrics include the number of students supported, the number of presentations and publications disseminated, the number of patents, and others. Moreover, the Sun Grant Regional Directors work with their University's Grants & Contracts Administration and the project subawardees on project expenditures and invoicing back to SDSU for more rapid reporting on expenditures of Sun Grant funds. The Sun Grant Association (SGA) leadership team, consisting of the SGP Regional Directors, meets via Zoom web conference monthly to appraise the team of updates in their respective regions, plan for operating their competitive and internal grants programs, and expend the funds provided by NIFA.Objective 1. Implement and manage a coordinated competitive grants program that targets the unique challenges and opportunities specific to the five individual regions.Each Regional Center will prepare and distribute their RFAs to potential applicants in their designated region, including Colleges & Universities, State Agricultural Experiment Stations, Research Foundations, private companies, and others. The Centers will assemble diverse panels of scientific experts, outside reviewers, and advisors to review and provide recommendations of the proposals. Proposals will be reviewed based on scientific and technical merit, qualifications of project personnel, adequacy of facilities, project budget, and project relevance.Objective 2: Contribute to regional research, development, and outreach needs by establishing internal grant programs within the five individual research centers.Each Regional Center will also prepare and distribute their RFAs to potential applicants in their respective University. The Centers will assemble diverse panels of experts and administrators to review and provide recommendations of the proposals. Proposals will be reviewed based on scientific and technical merit, qualifications of project personnel, adequacy of facilities, project budget, and project relevance.Objective 3: Utilize innovative and traditional outreach methods to disseminate information and knowledge generated by the SGP's internal and external competitive grants program.Directors meet monthly via video conference to determine plans for dissemination of competitive and internal project outcomes. Regional Centers share documentation of the Sun Grant activities a through a cloud-based shared file system.

Project Methods
The funds provided through USDA/NIFA will be equally divided among the five Sun Grant regions. As specified in the Farm Bill authorization, and in the RFA, of the funds received by each of the five Sun Grant Centers, 75% will be distributed through the regional competitive grant program, 4% will be used to administer the regional competitive grants program, and 21% will be used to develop bioenergy research leadership and programs at the Sun Grant Centers. Each of the Sun Grant Centers will implement a distinct regional competitive grants program, addressing national bioenergy priorities in a manner that is best adapted to their respective regional conditions. Each region has held stakeholder workshops in the past and utilizes an advisory committee, which provides guidance for best addressing national priorities in the region's context. Each Sun Grant Center will develop a regional solicitation, ensure that there is wide dissemination of this bioenergy research funding opportunity through the academic community, conduct a rigorous peer-review selection process, oversee the grants that are awarded, and report and disseminate the research findings that result. While the regional competitive grants programs are purposefully developed to be distinct, the five programs will coordinate through the Sun Grant Association, as described above. Through regular meetings, teleconferences, and videoconferences, the Sun Grant Centers will closely collaborate in the development and implementation of their competitive grant programs. Some activities will be developed collectively, or one institution will take the lead on behalf of the others, such as providing a common platform for grant management through an online service at Oregon State University (Webnibus) and management of the nationals SGA website, hosted at the University of Tennessee. As specified within the RFA, funds will be set aside within the Western Regional SGP for a competitive regional grant program to provide funding for the Western Region Subcenter, located at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Specifically, 4% of 10% of the funds available for the Western Region regional competitive grant program will be appropriated for the Subcenter.