Sustainable Pest Management Grants Program

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has released the 2026 Sustainable Pest Management Grants Program Solicitation to support the transition to safer and more sustainable pest management practices across California. The program builds on DPR’s longstanding commitment to protect public health and the environment by reducing reliance on pesticides of high regulatory interest. This year’s solicitation combines the department’s former Research Grants and Alliance Grants programs into a unified program designed to advance integrated pest management research, tools, outreach, and implementation in agricultural, urban, and wildland contexts. Projects should contribute to long-term solutions that promote human health, environmental protection, and economic vitality. The 2026 solicitation emphasizes projects that address critical areas such as weed management, rodenticide reduction, fumigant alternatives, and pesticides under DPR’s continuous evaluation and mitigation process. Applicants are encouraged to propose work that incorporates multiple sustainability pillars identified in the Sustainable Pest Management Roadmap, including human health and social equity, environmental protections, and economic vitality. Successful proposals will demonstrate research strength, robust partnerships, strong educational or training components, and high potential for widespread adoption. DPR seeks projects that serve as models for broader application and that can significantly reduce risks to Californians from pesticides of concern. A total of $4.9 million has been requested for this funding cycle, pending final budget approval. Individual project budgets must range between $50,000 and $1,000,000, with project timelines not exceeding three years. Projects may start as early as July 1, 2026, and must be completed by June 30, 2029. Each applicant may submit up to two proposals as lead principal investigator, though participation in additional proposals is permitted in supporting roles. Proposals must be designed as stand-alone projects that can achieve their stated objectives without dependence on other funding sources. In-kind contributions such as staff time, equipment, and materials are permitted, but outside matching funds are not allowed. Eligible applicants include government and tribal agencies, universities, colleges, consultants, pest control businesses, commodity groups, nonprofit organizations, and other entities that meet contracting requirements with DPR. Manufacturers of pest control products must disclose their status in the application. UC and CSU applicants are subject to specific terms and conditions, including an overhead cap of 25 percent. All applicants must certify compliance with state and federal laws and ensure that key personnel do not have unresolved violations with DPR or county agricultural commissioners. DPR employees are ineligible, except in the role of grant manager. The application process requires submission of several documents: the completed application form, a scope of work, budget tables worksheet, a budget narrative, letters of support and commitment, curriculum vitae or resumes of principal investigators and key staff, and optional illustrative graphics. Applicants may also provide full-text versions of up to five key cited documents supporting their project. Subcontracts and subrecipients are allowed, including those outside California, provided the project’s benefits apply to Californians. Travel is restricted to within the state of California, and indirect costs are capped at 25 percent of the modified total direct costs. Proposals are due by October 14, 2025, at 11:59:59 PM Pacific Time via email to SPMGrants@cdpr.ca.gov. Following eligibility screening, qualified proposals will be scored by DPR staff and forwarded for review by the Pest Management Advisory Committee, a stakeholder group that provides consensus-based recommendations to DPR’s Director. A public PMAC review meeting will take place on March 12, 2026. Final award decisions will be announced in spring 2026. DPR also offers optional office hours to applicants to clarify administrative aspects of the application process. Funding notifications will be issued by email, and feedback will be provided to applicants whose projects are not selected.

Review criteria carefully, form effective project teams, align budget with work, include supporting documents, ensure project is stand-alone, attend office hours for admin questions