In order to facilitate the expedited review process of applications, a Notice of Intent (NOI) submission is highly encouraged, but not required, and must be submitted by an eligible institution. Failure to submit an NOI does not disqualify an eligible institution from applying to this program within the program proposal due date listed in the Request for Applications (RFA). Information contained in a NOI is not factored into the review process of a subsequent application, but its goal is to allow program staff to estimate the potential review workload and design a plan responsive to the same.
Visit https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nextgen-request-application-resources to access the NEXTGEN Notice of Intent Instructions, 2022.