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About ARI: Program | Administration | Funding | Technology Transfer | Personnel

Allocation of Funds

ARI Funding GraphicThe ARI receives a $4 million annual State General Fund budget allocation to support applied research and outreach activities. The ARI distributes this public funding to support scientifically peer-reviewed research that is annually matched at least one to one with industry and/or agency resources to fund high-priority research, development, and technology transfer activities, as well as public and industry education and outreach. ARI funding allocations are expressly designed to encourage CSU system and individual campus excellence through a combination of competitive research and capacity building enhancements. Individual campus funding is allocated through the respective colleges of agriculture on a competitive basis and must be utilized for agricultural, allied business or natural resources applied research. Research funding opportunities, however, are not exclusive to the colleges of agriculture. ARI funding allocations are made annually in the following categories:

System-wide competitive funding

The ARI annually allocates $800,000 in support of a multi-campus shared pool of competitive research funding for research of statewide significance. This funding is restricted to public domain projects and is available annually to any qualified ARI member campus faculty or research scientist, or to other CSU, UC, UC Extension, USDA, and/or other qualified industry research scientists who have established an appropriate collaborative partnership with at least one qualified faculty or research staff at one or more of the ARI member campuses.

Campus competitive research funding

The ARI annually allocates $1,240,000 to be dispersed by CATI among the four CSU colleges of agriculture in support of individual intra-campus competitive applied agriculture and natural resources research. Individual campus funding allocations are made specifically for addressing unique local and/or regional project activities.

Individual campus capacity building funding

The ARI annually allocates $1,536,000 for individual campus capacity building funds. This funding provides the essential and otherwise unavailable investment capital that extends and enhances each college of agriculture’s ability to provide for the demand for local and regional as well as for statewide research and technology transfer. This funding is primarily for faculty release time, research scientist and technician positions, graduate and undergraduate research assistantships, and scientific equipment necessary to facilitate high-priority applied research.

System administration and information dissemination funding

CATI operates under a permanent research mandate from the CSU and the California State Legislature. It has been charged by the CSU and the Legislature to provide for ARI central administration and is allocated $200,000 annually for this purpose. CATI is housed on the California State University, Fresno campus.

Campus administration funding

Each of the CSU’s four colleges of agriculture is allocated $56,000 annually in support of individual campus administration and coordination activities. Each campus is responsible for providing a campus coordinator and for working cooperatively and collaboratively with the ARI executive director and the CATI administrative office.