Spurring Innovation in Food and Agriculture A Review of the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Program (2014) / Chapter Skim
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6 Conclusions and Recommendations
6 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 143-160
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From page 143... ...
They each outline findings that address specific questions that are included in the Statement of Task. Taken together, these questions led the committee to a broader discussion about AFRI's importance and about what AFRI needs if it is to succeed as the major competitive grants program of the U.S.
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From page 144... ...
The 2012 Report to the President on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST, 2012) independently recognized the value of that investment, the importance of competitive grants to ensure the highest-quality R&D effort, and the growing mismatch between the magnitude of the investment used to fulfill the promise of contemporary scientific opportunities versus the magnitude of investment needed to meet present and projected domestic and global needs in food and agriculture.
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From page 145... ...
. The 2008 Farm Bill established six priorities for AFRI: plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health; renewable energy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.
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From page 146... ...
, six foundation priority areas (plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health; renewable energy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities) , and five grant types (standard project, coordinated agricultural project, planning and coordination, conference, and food and agricultural science enhancement)
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From page 147... ...
Federal support is essential to increase the storehouse of fundamental knowledge, and AFRI will need to solicit and fund applications that advance basic agricultural sciences. The 2008 Farm Bill specifies that grant funding for fundamental research should amount to 60% of the AFRI portfolio, with the remaining 40% for applied research.
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From page 148... ...
For that reason, the challenge areas have been perceived by the committee and the scientific community as lacking flexibility to address newly emerging problems and to incorporate rapid advances in science and technology. That is in contrast with the foundation priority areas (such as plant health and production and plant products)
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From page 149... ...
. Redirection of resources to the foundational program, whose priority areas directly reflect priorities aligned with the 2008 Farm Bill, would enable AFRI to address more clearly the six congressionally mandated priorities.
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The finding applies to large AFRI grants generally but especially to CAP grants. Early output data suggest that reduc ing the average project's scale and scope (represented by budget and number of PIs, respectively)
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From page 151... ...
AFRI can maximize its impact and resources by collaborating with other federal agencies and by strategically aligning its research with congressional mandates that target the highest-priority needs of the food and agriculture sectors. CONCLUSION 3: AFRI does not have clearly articulated plans to guide its priority setting, management processes, and interagency collaboration.
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From page 152... ...
NIFA has been successful in collaborating with NSF, NIH, DOE, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other agencies to support research on subjects of mutual interest, but the increasingly complex issues that face the food and agricultural sectors require more systematic efforts to ensure that AFRI programs maintain effective collaboration among federal agencies whose research programs are related to food, agriculture, human health and nutrition, and natural-resource systems while continuing to avoid unnecessary duplication. NIFA should take a leadership role in coordinating food and agriculture research throughout the federal R&D funding portfolio and lead an interagency working group to leverage investments that will continue to advance the knowledge base on food and agriculture.
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From page 153... ...
Recommendation 3-B: NIFA should form an AFRI Scientific Advisory Council that consists of members who represent the food and agri cultural research, education, and extension professional communities. Such a council should provide scientific advice and advisory oversight on all aspects of AFRI's program management and strategic planning, and council members should be selected based on their qualifications to perform these functions.
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From page 154... ...
Council members also offer advice and recommendations on policy and program development, program implementation, evaluation, and other matters of importance to the mission and goals of NIGMS. In NSF, each directorate and office has an external scientific advisory body.b The advisory committees "provide advice and recommendations to maintain high standards of program support for research, education, and infrastructure; to facilitate policy deliberations, program development, and management; to identify disciplinary needs and opportunities; and to promote openness to the research and education community served by NSF." Unlike NIH's advisory councils, NSF's advisory com mittees do not have responsibility for second-level review of proposals.
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From page 155... ...
Concentrating AFRI management functions in the hands of selected NIFA staff should improve management efficiency without necessarily increasing total management effort. Program Continuity and Transparency Conclusion 4-B: The AFRI applicant community expressed frustration with the discontinuity of AFRI's program offerings from one year to the next, which has impaired researchers' ability to plan, resubmit un successful proposals, and renew successful projects.
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From page 156... ...
In addition, NIFA should consider publishing a single document that provides clear guidelines and policies for proposal preparation and award management. That would help in streamlining the RFA process and would eliminate confusion and excessive paperwork and thus not only help the applicant community but reduce the burden for AFRI program staff.
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From page 157... ...
The system would apprise NIFA management and others of AFRI program and project performance, document the scientific and technological products of AFRI grantees, and respond to congressional and public requests for AFRI informa tion. Such a database is critical for conducting post-award monitor ing and enabling managers to measure the outputs and outcomes of AFRI research more effectively.
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From page 158... ...
To facilitate more compre hensive program assessment, AFRI should maintain post-termination relationships with grantees to monitor and document medium-term and longer-term outcome-related information. Greater Authority for National Program Leaders Conclusion 4-E: In their project-funding decisions, NPLs are tasked to ensure that a maximum number of high-priority issues are addressed and that funded projects align maximally with program goals.
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From page 159... ...
could be used in some man ner to provide independent assessments of programmatic decisions. NPLs are PhD-level scientists in good standing in their own disciplinary communities who were recruited to manage AFRI grants on the basis of their scientific credentials, and they should be trusted to exercise their professional judgment.
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From page 160... ...
2012. Report to the President on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise.
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