Opportunity Information: Apply for FSIS FERN 061020
The FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program is a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) funding opportunity focused on supporting the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), a nationwide network of federal, state, and local regulatory laboratories that test for threat agents affecting food safety. Because member labs have different capabilities and levels of readiness, FSIS is seeking one cooperative agreement recipient to operate and keep fully functional a secure online communication and collaboration portal that allows the network to share, manage, and report key information about laboratory capability, capacity, and preparedness.
At its core, the project is about maintaining an always-active, secure platform that gives FERN immediate visibility into what member laboratories can do starting on the first day of the award. The portal is expected to centralize capability, capacity, and readiness data and make it usable for both routine coordination and urgent response. Beyond basic information sharing, the system must support a range of operational needs: registering participants for training events and keeping historical attendance records; providing just-in-time training through video and webinar tools that can be used across multiple agencies; managing proficiency testing events with registration and historical participant tracking; and maintaining and improving a public-facing webpage that represents FERN externally.
The opportunity also requires more specialized functionality tied to network operations and logistics. This includes an online, secure "FERN Storeroom" for ordering supplies and maintaining inventory, plus an activation management system where all members can enter results data during exercises and real-world activation events. The portal must also function as a document repository for the network, housing FERN methods, operational standard operating procedures (SOPs), and other key documents, with search capabilities that help users quickly find what they need across all of FERN's documented capabilities. In addition, the platform must include a calendar of events that is automatically populated based on scheduled network activities occurring within the site's functional areas, keeping members aligned on upcoming trainings, tests, and events.
A major expectation is ongoing support and administration. The cooperative agreement recipient must provide 24-hour helpdesk assistance and manage user accounts and the underlying datasets tied to each functional area of the portal. Just as important, the information collected and managed through these functions must be organized so it can produce outputs and reports in the specific formats and manner required by FERN, meaning the portal is not just a storage site but a structured system designed for consistent, network-wide reporting and decision-making.
Administratively, this is a discretionary cooperative agreement (not a standard grant), indicating FSIS expects substantial involvement and collaboration with the awardee during the project. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 10.479 (Agriculture). Eligible applicants are limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. The anticipated funding ceiling is $250,000, with FSIS expecting to make one award. The opportunity was created on June 10, 2020, with an original application closing date of July 3, 2020.Apply for FSIS FERN 061020
- The Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.479.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 10, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 03, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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