REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS – Kernza^® Stewards Alliance

As part of the USDA NIFA-supported Kernza^®CAP project, The Land Institute (TLI)  and UMN Forever Green Initiative (FGI) are soliciting proposals from an individual or firm to support the formation, including legal incorporation, of a multi-stakeholder association or alliance for Kernza® perennial grain  growers, supply chain partners, end-users, and other core partners.

The group, tentatively dubbed the Kernza^® Stewards Alliance (KSA), will advance shared interests among Kernza^® market partners to the broader marketplace, research community, policymakers, and society. Based on much underlying work, a Commons approach and alternative ownership structures such as Steward Ownership are particularly of interest, as the KSA may come to own and govern the growth and direction of the Kernza^® trademark over time. The development of an entity with these functions is a named activity in the Kernza^®CAP project. Several years of intensive work by Kernza^® stewardship and commercialization partners including TLI, FGI, and others inform this direction. For a thorough update on the state of Kernza^® perennial grain, see this recent call series, especially Call #4.

Qualifications, expectations, and deliverables of the contracted entity are can be found here: Request For Proposals Kernza^® Stewards Alliance

Please contact Tessa Peters, Director of Crop Stewardship at The Land Institute (peters@landinstitute.org) with questions.

Please submit proposals by 11:59pm CT on Thursday, June 3, 2021 to: Colin Cureton, University of Minnesota Forever Green Initiative, cure0012@umn.edu.