Learn the overarching goals of the From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) USDA-NIFA-ARPAED-009362 funding opportunity.
he NEXTGEN Program is focused first and foremost on supporting and preparing students for the expansive array of diverse careers in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences across research, education, and extension, with an emphasis on federal government sector employment.
The goal of this program is to enable institutions eligible under Section 1006 of the American Rescue Plan, as amended by Section. 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (Pub.L 117-169) to engage, recruit, retain, train, and support students in order to help build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences workforce including the future USDA workforce.
By developing the next generation of a highly skilled workforce for food and agricultural sciences, the NEXTGEN Program is aligned with the following USDA Strategic Goals FY 2022-2026:
- Strategic Goal 5: Expand Opportunities for Economic Development and Improve Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities;
- Strategic Goal 6: Attract, Inspire, and Retain an Engaged and Motivated Workforce that’s Proud to Represent USDA.
Read more on pages 3 & 6 of the RFA available at grants.gov.
All italicized text in this FAQ reflects information directly quoted from the RFA. This work is supported through an agreement between the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Extension Foundation serving as the Technical Assistance Advisor for From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals (NEXTGEN). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication/website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.