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University of Florida UF/IFAS

Grant Application

CLUE Program Enhancement and Graduate Student Support

The Center for Land Use Efficiency is​ pleased to announce a request for proposals for the 2026-27 Program Enhancement and Graduate Student Support call. Full details of call (PDF)

Purpose: To support research and extension projects and graduate student activity related to the mission of the Center for Land Use Efficiency including projects related to agricultural and urban land use. Projects that involve collaboration among center faculty, affiliates, and state and county specialists are strongly encouraged. Proposals that move ideas forward with the Future Urban Landscapes of Florida will be prioritized.

Eligibility

All CLUE faculty are eligible to apply. Proposals must be led by core CLUE faculty. Affiliate faculty are encouraged to collaborate with core faculty on proposal ideas.

Proposal Format

  1. Title of project
  2. Name and e-mail of faculty contact
  3. Justification (250 words max.) – Why is this project important? Why should it be funded now?
  4. Project objectives and brief description (250 words max.) – What are you proposing?
  5. How will the funding be used? Name graduate student if applicable.
  6. Plan of work. Must include a seminar if requesting funding for a graduate student (e.g. departmental seminar, conference, etc.).
  7. Final deliverable – What will be the final deliverable/s? Please specify deliverables relevant to this funding cycle. All projects should lead to peer-reviewed research and extension publications, and possibly conference presentations.
  8. Timeline – Funds must be spent by June 30, 2027. All awards provide funding for one year. Funding for two-year master’s and four-year Ph.D. students will need to be requested annually. Please note, this request for proposals is being released in anticipation of having a budget to support this program, and we hope to provide awards to recipients in July 2026.

Budget

Please describe and justify the budget request, noting any outside sources of support, along with a table similar to the examples provided below, the department ID the funds will be transferred to, and the name and email of the staff member that will process this award. Voluntary cost-share is preferred, but not required. If including cost-share, be sure to incorporate this into the total budget, and include a letter of commitment.

Program Enhancement Budget: Awards can be used for salaries, materials and travel that is essential to completing projects. Funds cannot be used for conference registrations or travel, food, awards or giveaway items. Label and summarize which portions of your budget are expenses or OPS.

Graduate Student Budget: Awards must be used for graduate student stipend and tuition.

Available funding: Total available funding is approximately $150,000. Maximum request per proposal is $30,000 for Enhancement and Graduate Student requests combined. For situations that warrant larger requests inquire with Dr. Michael Dukes (mddukes@ufl.edu) prior to submission. All awards are contingent upon legislative allocation.

Important dates: Proposals due January 23, 2026. Notifications on or about February 27, 2026.

Submit proposals to: Melissa Friedman. Proposals will be accepted by e-mail until January 23, 2026 at 11:59 pm. You will receive an email confirming receipt of your proposal.

For further information: Please contact Dr. Michael Dukes or Melissa Friedman.

Evaluation and Ranking Criteria

  • Relevance to urban or agricultural land use (15 points)
  • Current on deliverables from past CLCE/CLUE grants if applicable (10)
  • Collaboration with CLUE faculty/affiliate faculty, state specialists, and/or county faculty (15)
  • Clear plan for future extramural funding (5)
  • Innovation (10)
  • Deliverables include peer-reviewed research and/or extension publication (10)
  • Voluntary cost-share; preferred is extramural funds but must be direct cost or extramural in-kind (15)
  • Stayed within/met proposal guidelines, including clear budget breakdown and details for processing the award (10)
  • Actively participates in CLUE activities (10)
  • Total Points: 100