Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative

Empowering farmers in the Indo-Pacific

By 2050, the world's population is estimated to increase to 9.7 billion people, with a corresponding rise in food demand and pressure on land and water resources.

Many of the impacts of these trends will be strongly felt in the Indo-Pacific region, but so will the hope for meaningful solutions.

CSIRO is leading collaborative opportunities for Australia with agencies in Quad countries, India, Japan and the United States, on cutting-edge research and innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, sensors and robotics to help transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers in the Indo-Pacific to increase yield and resilience.

These networks and advances in innovation will have a beneficial impact on the livelihoods, nourishment and economic wellbeing, of people in our region and around the world.

The goal of the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative is to strengthen research collaboration among Quad countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region, improve the impact of critical technologies research, and grow our respective agricultural sectors.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed on 5 August 2024, which provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between research communities in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia to work toward agricultural resilience in the Indo-Pacific region – including through AI-ENGAGE.

What is the Quad?

The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.

CSIRO will work with the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Japan's Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to implement AI-ENGAGE.

AI-ENGAGE delivers a commitment by Quad leaders to support joint research to advance innovation in agriculture.

AI-ENGAGE initiative grant applications

AI-ENGAGE is calling for joint multilateral research proposals that advance the field(s) of artificial intelligence, robotics, sensing, and/or communications with applications to agriculture, particularly those that empower farmers to enhance productivity, sustainability, and resilience.

Examples of potential topics for consideration under AI-ENGAGE include but are not limited to:

• Artificial intelligence-enabled crop planning and monitoring including for diseases and pests
• Crop improvement through image-based high throughput phenotyping and genotyping
• Farm supply chain management
• Robotics to improve efficiency of the farm workforce
• Data-driven agriculture risk information and management system
• Assessing, monitoring, and management of land and aquatic resources

Research teams that include researchers from at least three of the Quad countries are invited to apply for the AI-ENGAGE opportunities. Proposals with meaningful collaboration from all four Quad countries are highly encouraged.

Proposers from the Quad countries should collaborate to write a single proposal that will undergo a single review process coordinated by NSF, the Coordinating Agency.

U.S. researchers conducting joint research with counterparts from two or more Quad countries (Japan, India, Australia) may receive funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and CSIRO will draw on a combination of funding for these new collaborative research projects (India and Japan) and for Australian researchers leverage existing funding programs to achieve a more effective and efficient collective pathway to impact.

To find out more about opportunities through the AI-ENGAGE Initiative, read the Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on the NSF website.

Opportunities for Australian researchers

Australian researchers are invited to participate in the AI-ENGAGE initiative by seeking support from select existing programs managed by CSIRO, the McMaster Fellowship Program and the Industry PhD (iPhD) Program.

The opportunity to leverage these opportunities will apply to different stages of the grant merit review process. The McMaster Fellowship is an opportunity to co-ordinate Australian engagement into an application for AI-ENGAGE, while the iPhD Program process will be an opportunity to amplify a successful grant awardee after it has been announced.

This collaboration aims to foster innovative research and strengthen international partnerships.

McMaster Fellowship criteria

The Sir Frederick McMaster Fellowships are available to distinguished overseas (not based in Australia) scientists working in CSIRO priority areas directly related to agriculture. In 2024-2025, the McMaster Fellowship is accepting applications from proposals being considered under the Quad AI-ENGAGE initiative.

The Fellowship are offered by the McMaster Trust. The Fellowship supports a visit to Australia of up to 12 weeks duration where the Fellow undertakes a range of activities that could include growing new or existing collaborative science networks, enabling skills and technology exchange, completion of specific research activities in collaboration with Australian science teams, or other activities approved by the McMaster Selection Committee. A Visiting Fellow should be a leader in a research discipline, or experienced in directing research or developing research policy at an institutional, national, or international level.

US, Japanese and Indian University researchers are applicable to receive funding to connect research proposals to relevant CSIRO or Australian University research teams and initiatives.

Incorporating a McMaster Fellowship into AI -ENGAGE submission

This is an opportunity for AI-ENGAGE teams to receive funding for researchers to connect and spend time with CSIRO researchers in areas that can benefit and amplify research proposal.

Researchers are encouraged to connect to CSIRO agriculture and food portfolio to identify areas of mutual alignment.

• For more background information on McMaster Fellowship download the Guidelines. 
• To apply, complete the McMaster Fellowship application form
• For more information or to attend a webinar on the McMaster Fellowship opportunities as part of AI-ENGAGE contact: AI-Engage@csiro.au

How to apply

All full proposals must address how the research team meet the AI-ENGAGE overarching criteria and be submitted through the NSF or JST application portals as outlined in the NSF Dear Colleague Letter (DCL).

To include a McMaster Fellowship in a Quad AI-ENGAGE submission, applicants must take two steps:

1. NSF or JST application: Submit full funding application through the channels outlined in NSF Dear Colleague Letter (include link.). In the application summary, please include a description of how the incorporation of one of these Australian grants will contribute to the success of the overall project. Note, US, Japan or India will be the project leads for applications to the AI-Engage Initiative.
2. Australian Grant application: Through links below, submit an application to McMaster Fellowship before the January 23, 2025 deadline.

CSIRO will review the Australian applicants to ensure that applicants are eligible to receive funds through the terms of each grant. Please refer to details above for eligibility criteria.

The scientific merits of the formal AI-ENGAGE application and if it is eligible to receive funding under the AI-ENGAGE initiative will be assessed through formal NSF process outlined in the DCL.

All proposals that include a McMaster Fellowship must meet the criteria and also be submitted to AI-Engage@csiro.au  

Industry PhD Program

CSIRO's Industry PhD (iPhD) program brings together an industry partner, a university and Australia’s leading science agency, CSIRO, to co-develop a four-year industry-focused PhD project. PhD students will gain unique skills to focus on impact-driven research.

How to apply

The opportunity to include iPhD to AI-ENGAGE will be during the “post award” phase. Teams that have been awarded funding through the AI-ENGAGE grant process, are encouraged to amplify their funded research collaboration by co-ordinating an application with the iPhD program.

More detailed information on the process of leveraging iPhD program will be uploaded onto this website once the awards have been announced.

For more information, visit the iPhD Program. 

Timeline for the AI-ENGAGE Initiative grant announcement

After applications close on 22 January 2025, a merit review process will be completed by NSF. At this time the timeline for grant announcements will be updated. 

Merit review process

The proposals will be reviewed by experts contacted by NSF, the Coordinating Agency, in competition with other AI-ENGAGE proposals using NSF's merit review process.

NSF will consult AI-ENGAGE partner agencies in identifying reviewers. JST, ICAR, and CSIRO officials may attend and observe any discussions as part of the merit review process of AI-ENGAGE collaborative proposals submitted in response to this opportunity but will not conduct their own parallel review.

Officials will have access to unattributed reviews and panel summaries where applicable. NSF intends to make awards to the U.S. investigators participating in the recommended collaborative proposals, and JST and ICAR, intend to make awards to their respective investigators participating in the recommended collaborative proposals.

CSIRO will review the Australian grants that will be linked to full proposals, making an assessment of eligibility while the overall project merits will be reviewed through the NSF process.

Proposers are advised that all documents submitted to NSF may be shared with the agencies listed above.

Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible to apply for an AI-ENGAGE Initiative grant?

Australian Universities, research and government agencies and CSIRO teams that form part of a trilateral or quad partnership with quad countries are eligible to apply. Applications must be led by partners in the US, India and Japan.

As an Australian researcher, do I have access to grant funds?

No direct funding is available for Australian researchers. Australian researchers can form part of a research team led by the U.S., India or Japan. For the U.S. effort in the proposals, PIs may request NSF funding of up to $400,000 USD and an award duration of up to three years. For the Japanese effort in the proposal, PIs may request JST funding of up to 60,000,000 Japanese Yen (including indirect costs) and an award duration of up to three years. For the Indian effort in the proposal, PIs may request funding of up to Rupees.30,000,000.00 for each joint proposal and an award duration of up to three years.

Do I need to formally apply for a McMasters Fellowship or to be part of the iPhD Program as well as the AI-ENGAGE initiative?

No, you can be part of an international research team that submits an application to the AI-ENGAGE initiative, without applying for a McMaster Fellowship or via the iPhD program. However, Australian researchers have the opportunity to enhance their application by including an application to a McMaster Fellowship, or planning to participate in the iPhD program.

Empowering farmers in the Indo-Pacific

By 2050, the world's population is estimated to increase to 9.7 billion people, with a corresponding rise in food demand and pressure on land and water resources.

Many of the impacts of these trends will be strongly felt in the Indo-Pacific region, but so will the hope for meaningful solutions.

CSIRO is leading collaborative opportunities for Australia with agencies in Quad countries, India, Japan and the United States, on cutting-edge research and innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, sensors and robotics to help transform agricultural approaches and empower farmers in the Indo-Pacific to increase yield and resilience.

These networks and advances in innovation will have a beneficial impact on the livelihoods, nourishment and economic wellbeing, of people in our region and around the world.

The goal of the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen Agriculture (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative is to strengthen research collaboration among Quad countries and the broader Indo-Pacific region, improve the impact of critical technologies research, and grow our respective agricultural sectors.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed on 5 August 2024, which provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between research communities in the United States, Japan, India, and Australia to work toward agricultural resilience in the Indo-Pacific region – including through AI-ENGAGE.

What is the Quad?

The Quad is a diplomatic partnership between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States committed to supporting an open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.

CSIRO will work with the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Japan's Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to implement AI-ENGAGE.

AI-ENGAGE delivers a commitment by Quad leaders to support joint research to advance innovation in agriculture.

AI-ENGAGE initiative grant applications

AI-ENGAGE is calling for joint multilateral research proposals that advance the field(s) of artificial intelligence, robotics, sensing, and/or communications with applications to agriculture, particularly those that empower farmers to enhance productivity, sustainability, and resilience.

Examples of potential topics for consideration under AI-ENGAGE include but are not limited to:

• Artificial intelligence-enabled crop planning and monitoring including for diseases and pests
• Crop improvement through image-based high throughput phenotyping and genotyping
• Farm supply chain management
• Robotics to improve efficiency of the farm workforce
• Data-driven agriculture risk information and management system
• Assessing, monitoring, and management of land and aquatic resources

Research teams that include researchers from at least three of the Quad countries are invited to apply for the AI-ENGAGE opportunities. Proposals with meaningful collaboration from all four Quad countries are highly encouraged.

Proposers from the Quad countries should collaborate to write a single proposal that will undergo a single review process coordinated by NSF, the Coordinating Agency.

U.S. researchers conducting joint research with counterparts from two or more Quad countries (Japan, India, Australia) may receive funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and CSIRO will draw on a combination of funding for these new collaborative research projects (India and Japan) and for Australian researchers leverage existing funding programs to achieve a more effective and efficient collective pathway to impact.

To find out more about opportunities through the AI-ENGAGE Initiative, read the Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) on the NSF website.

Opportunities for Australian researchers

Australian researchers are invited to participate in the AI-ENGAGE initiative by seeking support from select existing programs managed by CSIRO, the McMaster Fellowship Program and the Industry PhD (iPhD) Program.

The opportunity to leverage these opportunities will apply to different stages of the grant merit review process. The McMaster Fellowship is an opportunity to co-ordinate Australian engagement into an application for AI-ENGAGE, while the iPhD Program process will be an opportunity to amplify a successful grant awardee after it has been announced.

This collaboration aims to foster innovative research and strengthen international partnerships.

McMaster Fellowship criteria

The Sir Frederick McMaster Fellowships are available to distinguished overseas (not based in Australia) scientists working in CSIRO priority areas directly related to agriculture. In 2024-2025, the McMaster Fellowship is accepting applications from proposals being considered under the Quad AI-ENGAGE initiative.

The Fellowship are offered by the McMaster Trust. The Fellowship supports a visit to Australia of up to 12 weeks duration where the Fellow undertakes a range of activities that could include growing new or existing collaborative science networks, enabling skills and technology exchange, completion of specific research activities in collaboration with Australian science teams, or other activities approved by the McMaster Selection Committee. A Visiting Fellow should be a leader in a research discipline, or experienced in directing research or developing research policy at an institutional, national, or international level.

US, Japanese and Indian University researchers are applicable to receive funding to connect research proposals to relevant CSIRO or Australian University research teams and initiatives.

Incorporating a McMaster Fellowship into AI -ENGAGE submission

This is an opportunity for AI-ENGAGE teams to receive funding for researchers to connect and spend time with CSIRO researchers in areas that can benefit and amplify research proposal.

Researchers are encouraged to connect to CSIRO agriculture and food portfolio to identify areas of mutual alignment.

• For more background information on McMaster Fellowship download the Guidelines PDF (174 KB). 
• To apply, complete the McMaster Fellowship application form DOCX (48 KB)
• For more information or to attend a webinar on the McMaster Fellowship opportunities as part of AI-ENGAGE contact: AI-Engage@csiro.au

How to apply

All full proposals must address how the research team meet the AI-ENGAGE overarching criteria and be submitted through the NSF or JST application portals as outlined in the NSF Dear Colleague Letter (DCL).

To include a McMaster Fellowship in a Quad AI-ENGAGE submission, applicants must take two steps:

1. NSF or JST application: Submit full funding application through the channels outlined in NSF Dear Colleague Letter (include link.). In the application summary, please include a description of how the incorporation of one of these Australian grants will contribute to the success of the overall project. Note, US, Japan or India will be the project leads for applications to the AI-Engage Initiative.
2. Australian Grant application: Through links below, submit an application to McMaster Fellowship before the January 23, 2025 deadline.

CSIRO will review the Australian applicants to ensure that applicants are eligible to receive funds through the terms of each grant. Please refer to details above for eligibility criteria.

The scientific merits of the formal AI-ENGAGE application and if it is eligible to receive funding under the AI-ENGAGE initiative will be assessed through formal NSF process outlined in the DCL.

All proposals that include a McMaster Fellowship must meet the criteria and also be submitted to AI-Engage@csiro.au  

Industry PhD Program

CSIRO's Industry PhD (iPhD) program brings together an industry partner, a university and Australia’s leading science agency, CSIRO, to co-develop a four-year industry-focused PhD project. PhD students will gain unique skills to focus on impact-driven research.

How to apply

The opportunity to include iPhD to AI-ENGAGE will be during the “post award” phase. Teams that have been awarded funding through the AI-ENGAGE grant process, are encouraged to amplify their funded research collaboration by co-ordinating an application with the iPhD program.

More detailed information on the process of leveraging iPhD program will be uploaded onto this website once the awards have been announced.

For more information, visit the iPhD Program. 

Timeline for the AI-ENGAGE Initiative grant announcement

After applications close on 22 January 2025, a merit review process will be completed by NSF. At this time the timeline for grant announcements will be updated. 

Merit review process

The proposals will be reviewed by experts contacted by NSF, the Coordinating Agency, in competition with other AI-ENGAGE proposals using NSF's merit review process.

NSF will consult AI-ENGAGE partner agencies in identifying reviewers. JST, ICAR, and CSIRO officials may attend and observe any discussions as part of the merit review process of AI-ENGAGE collaborative proposals submitted in response to this opportunity but will not conduct their own parallel review.

Officials will have access to unattributed reviews and panel summaries where applicable. NSF intends to make awards to the U.S. investigators participating in the recommended collaborative proposals, and JST and ICAR, intend to make awards to their respective investigators participating in the recommended collaborative proposals.

CSIRO will review the Australian grants that will be linked to full proposals, making an assessment of eligibility while the overall project merits will be reviewed through the NSF process.

Proposers are advised that all documents submitted to NSF may be shared with the agencies listed above.

Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible to apply for an AI-ENGAGE Initiative grant?

Australian Universities, research and government agencies and CSIRO teams that form part of a trilateral or quad partnership with quad countries are eligible to apply. Applications must be led by partners in the US, India and Japan.

As an Australian researcher, do I have access to grant funds?

No direct funding is available for Australian researchers. Australian researchers can form part of a research team led by the U.S., India or Japan. For the U.S. effort in the proposals, PIs may request NSF funding of up to $400,000 USD and an award duration of up to three years. For the Japanese effort in the proposal, PIs may request JST funding of up to 60,000,000 Japanese Yen (including indirect costs) and an award duration of up to three years. For the Indian effort in the proposal, PIs may request funding of up to Rupees.30,000,000.00 for each joint proposal and an award duration of up to three years.

Do I need to formally apply for a McMasters Fellowship or to be part of the iPhD Program as well as the AI-ENGAGE initiative?

No, you can be part of an international research team that submits an application to the AI-ENGAGE initiative, without applying for a McMaster Fellowship or via the iPhD program. However, Australian researchers have the opportunity to enhance their application by including an application to a McMaster Fellowship, or planning to participate in the iPhD program.