Acer Access and Development Program
Grants support states, Tribal governments, and research institutions to promote the domestic maple syrup industry through research and education, sustainability, market promotion, and encouraging private land access for maple-sugaring activities.
RESTRICTED TO: STATE LOCAL GOV · TRIBAL ENTITIES
⚑ Includes market promotion and land-access encouragement in addition to research/education · Eligible applicant class includes research institutions such as colleges and universities · No match funding or cost-sharing stated in the notice
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 40 partial | peripheral portfolio topic: environment; signature methods: community engaged, policy analysis; social/behavioral work is minor; funds training education, not research (capped); capped at 40 (non-research funding) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 25 weak | technical depth: minor; funds training education (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
To support the efforts of States, Tribal governments, and research institutions to promote the domestic maple syrup industry through the following activities: promotion of research and education related to maple syrup production, promotion of natural resource sustainability in the maple syrup industry, market promotion for maple syrup and maple-sap products, Encouragement of owners and operators of privately held land containing species of trees in the genus Acer: to initiate or expand maple-sugaring activities on the land; or to voluntarily make the land available, including by lease or other means, for access by the public for maple-sugaring activities.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are States, Tribal governments, and research institutions from the 50 States, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Research institutions are organizations that typically conduct research with non-Federal and Federal funds, including colleges and universities, federally funded research and development centers, national user facilities, industrial laboratories, or other research institutes.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: Agricultural Marketing Service <SAGPgrants@usda.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · USDA NIFA conventions SEE A USDA EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — USDA NIFA's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
15/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This program is about promoting the maple syrup industry through research/education, sustainability, and market development, but it is primarily an agricultural commodity development grant rather than a policy, behavioral, or systems research opportunity. IPPRA’s social-science and risk-communication strengths are not central here, though a university research unit could be eligible as an applicant.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 15 | gpt-5.4-mini | This program is about promoting the maple syrup industry through research/education, sustainability, and market development, but it is primarily an agricultural commodity development grant rather than a policy, behavioral, or systems research opportunity. IPPRA’s social-science and risk-communication strengths are not central here, though a university research unit could be eligible as an applicant. |
| 2026-07-06 | 18 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is primarily an agricultural market-development and natural-resource sustainability program for the maple syrup industry, with little direct connection to IPPRA’s core strengths in risk communication, behavioral response, or policy analysis around technical systems. A public university is explicitly eligible as a research institution, but the social-science/policy component is too thin and the fit is only tangential. |