Multistate Committee Update 2014

1. Multistate Committee Update2014 H Michael Harrington Executive Director WAAESD Revised, March 2014

2. ESCOP - Science Roadmap for Food and Agriculture • Enhance the sustainability, competitiveness, and profitability of U.S. food and agricultural systems • Adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change on food, feed, fiber, and fuel systems in the United States. • Support energy security and the development of the bioeconomy from renewable natural resources in the United States. • Play a global leadership role to ensure a safe, secure, and abundant food supply for the United States and the world. • Improve human health, nutrition, and wellness of the U.S. population. • Heighten environmental stewardship through the development of sustainable management practices. • Strengthen individual, family, and community development and resilience. Water, sustainability and health are transcending issues among 35 action items See: http://escop.ncsu.edu/docs/scienceroadmap.pdf

3. USDA-REE • Catherine Woteki – Undersecretary, REE/USDA Chief Scientist • Ann Bartuska – Deputy Undersecretary, REE • Chavonda Jacobs – ARS Administrator • Sonny Ramaswammy – NIFA Director • Deputy Directors • Meryl Broussard – Agriculture and Natural Resources • – Food and Community Resources • Institute Deputy Directors • Food Production and Sustainability - Mike Fitzner* • Bioenergy, Climate & Environment - Luis Tupas • Food Safety & Nutrition - Robert Holland • Youth, Family and Community Systems - Muquarrab Qureshi * Acting

4. USDA National Priorities* • Climate Change • Renewable Energy • Global Food Security • Food Safety • Nutrition and Childhood Obesity REE Action Plan completed plan is outgrowth of the REE Roadmap * Unchanged

5. Changes in AFRI Programs • Fewer new programs focus heavily on collaborations and integrated teams • Childhood Obesity Prevention Challenge Area • Climate Change Challenge Area • Food Safety Challenge Area • Global Food Security Challenge Area • Sustainable Bioenergy Challenge Area • Foundational Program • New Water Challenge Area • Revised/combined Pest Management Program

6. The 2014 Farm Bill • Matching Requirement Changed • Establishes a new, uniform matching requirement for NIFA competitive grants; requires at least a 100% match; exempts ARS from the match; exempts land-grants and their partners from match; authorizes the Secretary to waive the match for a year for research/extension grants “that the NAREEE Advisory Board has determined is a national priority;” takes effect on Oct. 1, 2014. • Mandatory Programs renewed • Biomass R&D - $3m/yr., 4yrs. • Beginning Farmer Rancher Program - $20m/yr., 5 yrs. • Specialty Crop Research Initiative - $25m/yr., 5 yrs.* • Organic Research and Extension - $20m/yr., 5 yrs. • Foundation for Food and Ag Research • Authorizes a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a new nonprofit corporation designed to supplement USDA’s basic and applied research activities; includes $200M in mandatory funding (available until expended); “Foundation [not intended] to be duplicative of current funding or research efforts, but rather to foster public-private partnerships…”

7. http://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/hubs/USDAHubsFactsheet.pdfhttp://www.usda.gov/oce/climate_change/hubs/USDAHubsFactsheet.pdf

8. USDA Climate Hubs* Activities • Technical Support: • Provide support to USDA agriculture and land management program delivery by offering tools and strategies for climate change response. These approaches will help producers cope with challenges associated with drought, heat stress, excessive moisture, longer growing seasons, and changes in pest pressure. The Hubs will support applied research and develop partnerships to facilitate this process. • Assessments and Regional Forecasts: • Provide periodic regional assessments of risk and vulnerability in the production sector to contribute to the National Climate Assessment, and provide accessible regional data and interpret climate change forecasts for hazard and adaptation planning. • Outreach and Education: • Provide outreach and extension to farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and rural communities on science-based risk management through the land grant universities, Extension, USDA service agencies, and public/private partnerships and educate producers about the effects of climate change on agriculture and forests. * No specific funding at this time

9. Lay of the Land • Capacity of LGUs has declined due to inflation and unfunded mandates • Increasing capacity (formula) and competitive funds in the top priority for the AES and CES organizations (NIFA too) • OMB position: Competitive grants result in the best science but there are no data to support this • Economic studies indicate the ROI on formula funds ranges between 20 - 50% over the last 40 years

10. NIFA Appropriations Constant 1993 Dollars

11. 2013-2014 Budgets • 2013 Budget – Fiscal Cliff • All federal programs lost at least 7.62% due to sequestration • NIFA cuts distributed across all lines except AFRI (+ 12.8 M) • ARS lost $78.3 M • 2014 major wins restored funding to 2012 levels

12. Budget Battles 2015 and Beyond • House and Senate can’t agree on anything • Another Fiscal Cliff – NO! • All Committee are looking for savings and increased efficiencies – combining lines/removing authorizations, small programs are vulnerable • Agencies have been asked to look for ways to increase efficiency and reduce duplication

13. NIFA in the Federal Budget * Reflects consolidation/movement of several small lines into AFRI, no real increase

14. Experiment State SectionMultistate Research Excellence Award • ~ 350 active Multistate Projects • Any current Multistate Project listed in the NIMSS (http://nimss.umd.edu/) is eligible for consideration for an Excellence in Multistate Research Award. • Each of the five regional research associations may nominate one Multistate Project chosen from the entire national portfolio of active projects. • Nominations shall be made to the Chair of the respective regional multistate review committee (MRC) chair via the regional Executive Director’s office. • Use of $15,000 of off-the-top MRF as award to national winner. • Up to $5000 for travel to award ceremony. • Balance of funds to support activities which enhance & contribute to research and/or outreach objectives of project.

15. Evaluation Criteria • Accomplishments, indicated by outputs, outcomes, and impacts. • Added value from the project’s interdependency. • Degree of institutional participation (SAES and others). • Extent of multi-disciplinary activity. • Amount of integrated activities (i.e., is it multi-functional). • Evidence of additional leveraged funding to further the goals of the project.

16. Impact Reporting • Multistate projects required to complete SF-422 Annual Report including a section on impacts. • These reports feed into the National Impact Reporting Project which creates high quality impact stories. • Impact Statements used by local Experiment Stations, Regional Offices, ESCOP/Cornerstone/kglobal) to educate decision-makers in Washington DC. • National Impact Reporting Project:http://www.waaesd.org/multistate-program/multistate-projects-impact-statement-archive

23. Why worry about impact reporting? • Multistate Research Fund projects are required to complete an SF-422 Annual Report form that includes a section on project impacts. • When a project terminates, and sometimes before, these reports feed into the National Impact Reporting Project which creates an Impact Statement with the information therein. • Those Impact Statements are used by the Western Directors Office, ESCOP (via advocacy firm Cornerstone and education/marketing firm kglobal), and others to educate decision-makers in Washington DC about the importance of work being done in Hatch Multistate projects. • Details on the current status of the National Impact Reporting Project: http://www.waaesd.org/multistate-program/multistate-projects-impact-statement-archive

24. Lessons Learned • There is a continuing need for all participants to clearly understand what impacts are and why they are important to our future. • So what are they, and how can we get better? • Presentation - Research Reporting: Why it matters and how to do it well (Click here)