U.S. Department of Agriculture: Veterinary Services Grant Program

The Veterinary Services Grant Program (VSGP) will provide support to organizations to develop, implement, and sustain veterinary services and relieve veterinarian shortage situations in the United States and U.S. Insular Areas. Grants will be used to:

• Establish or expand accredited veterinary education programs, veterinary residency and fellowship programs, or veterinary internship and externship programs carried out in coordination with accredited colleges of veterinary medicine
• Provide continuing education and extension, including veterinary telemedicine and other distance-based education, for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other health professionals needed to strengthen veterinary programs and enhance food safety
• Cover travel and living expenses of veterinary students, veterinary interns, externs, fellows, and residents, and veterinary technician students attending training programs in food safety or food animal medicine

Grants will also be used to establish, expand, and better equip for-profit or nonprofit veterinary practices or individuals operating a veterinary clinic or providing veterinary services in a certain veterinarian shortage situation, as designated through the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-shortage-situations), that is situated in a rural area, as defined in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Refer to the solicitation for further details about eligible shortages.

Applications will be accepted for two project types:

1. Education, Extension, and Training (EET): Grants will support the following types of activities and programs, to relieve veterinary shortage situations, for any of the following purposes:

• To allow veterinary students, veterinary interns, externs, fellows, residents, and veterinary technician students to cover expenses (other than the types of expenses described in the rural practice enhancement program area) of attending training programs in food safety or food animal medicine.
• To establish or expand accredited veterinary education programs (including faculty recruitment and retention), veterinary residency and fellowship programs, or veterinary internship and externship programs carried out in coordination with accredited colleges of veterinary medicine.
• To provide continuing education and extension, including veterinary telemedicine and other distance-based education, for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other health professionals needed to strengthen veterinary programs and enhance food safety.

In 2018, focus will be placed on the following for EET applications:

• Veterinary students enrolled in an accredited veterinary degree program.
• Veterinary interns, veterinary externs, veterinary fellows, veterinary residents, veterinary technician students, and veterinary technicians.
• Early career practicing veterinarians who, at the time they initiate the activities proposed in the application, are within five years of graduation from a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree program.

2. Rural Practice Enhancement grants will support the development and provision of veterinary services to substantially relieve designated rural veterinary shortage situations in the U.S. Funds may be used for one or more of the following:

• Equip veterinary offices.
• Share in reasonable overhead costs of operating a qualifying veterinary practice.
• Establish mobile veterinary facilities in which a portion of the mobile facilities will address education or extension needs. Mobile veterinary facilities include, but are not limited to a vehicle equipped to provide mobile veterinary services, a trailer squeeze chute or other animal restraint devices.

Amount: A total of $2,400,000 is available, of which approximately $1,600,000 will support Education, Extension, and Training (EET) grants and approximately $800,000 will support Rural Practice enhancement grants. Grant ranges are dependent on each program, as follows:

• EET grants: Awards range from $75,000-$250,000 and have project periods of two to four years
• Rural Practice Enhancement grants: Awards range from $75,000-$125,000 and have project periods of three to four years

Eligibility: Applications may only be submitted by the entities listed below if they carry out programs or activities that will: 1) substantially relieve veterinarian shortage situations; or 2) support or facilitate private veterinary practices engaged in public health activities.

For EET Program Area:

• A state, national, allied, or regional veterinary organization or specialty board recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association
• A college or school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association
• A university research foundation or veterinary medical foundation
• A department of veterinary science or department of comparative medicine accredited by the Department of Education
• A state agricultural experiment station
• A state, local, or tribal government agency

For Rural Practice Enhancement Program Area: A for-profit or nonprofit entity located in the United States that, or individual who, operates a veterinary clinic providing veterinary services, (i) in a rural area, as defined in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act; and (ii) is a current VMLRP awardee and applies with a reference to the shortage area to which they are obligated to serve; or is not a current VMLRP awardee and applies with reference to a veterinarian shortage situation designated, but not awarded under the VMLRP in 2017 (i.e., status appears as ‘Open’ for FY 2017 on the VMLRP shortage map webpage (http://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-map).

For all program areas, award recipients may subcontract to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=302057

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