CSREES Update
Southern CRED Program Leaders
August 27-30, 2006 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Research, Education and Economics Mission Area
Under Secretary Buchanan announced on August 24 that the mission area will review
current programs, linkages, and effectiveness. The three goals are:
1. Improve efficiency and effectiveness of existing REE programs.
2. Strengthen the linkages, communications, and coordination of REE with the
Nation’s Land Grant Universities, as well as other cooperators.
3. Highlight and enhance the quality of USDA-conducted and supported science.
Appropriations for FY 2007
House action is complete. Senate Committee action is complete, but it has not gone to
the full Senate. Scheduling of the Conference is uncertain. We may see a continuing
resolution which could last until after elections.
CSREES FY 2008 Budget
The FY 2008 Agency Estimates for CSREES have been submitted to the USDA-Office
of Budget and Program Analysis (OBPA) and are now “behind the curtain” during
review by OBPA staff and senior policy officials. In September, USDA will submit the
USDA Request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Dr. Hefferan has
shared themes of the CSREES with LGU system partners (memo July 11, 2006). The
CSREES request emphasizes the importance of competitive peer reviewed programs,
including:
o nationally, competitively awarded multi-state/institutional projects linking local
issues to broad national goals;
o base research programs into the emerging problems associated with nontraditional
crops and animals;
o the capabilities of the 1890 Institutions to expand multi-media technology for
interactive distance learning and media production;
o public education about production and use of biofuels;
o community resilience and disaster recovery activities.
New efforts focus on:
o long term, interdisciplinary agroecosystem (agricultural ecosystems) research on
biological and geochemical processes, energy transformation, and socioeconomic
factors;
o interdisciplinary research on the economical, efficient, and environmentally sound
conversion of biomass from agriculture to biofuels;
o research to identify rural and agricultural areas with the highest probability for
disaster events and strategies for preparation, and to identify factors that
contribute to enhancing the resiliency of rural communities and families impacted
by disaster.
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Additional themes include:
o integrated research, education, and extension on developing functional foods from
agriculturally important materials;
o valuations for ecosystem services and how they can enhance management;
o monitoring, surveying, and detecting newly introduced and invasive arthropods
and nematodes;
o continued support for water quality, food safety, pest management, and organic
transition activities;
o strengthening programs that support the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative
through post-harvest bio-defense research on Vulnerability Risk Analysis;
o research on integration into future workforce training;
o agricultural homeland security educational materials;
o pest risk management tools for Asian soybean rust and pathogens of legumes;
o the impact of nutrition on human health with focused efforts on the areas of
obesity, nutritionally sound diets, and physical activity with funds for greater
access to nutrition education by the 1890 Institutions and new opportunities for
educators in minority neighborhoods to reach at risk families and for reaching
Native Alaskan and Pacific Islanders;
o enhanced community based support for food security;
o research, education, and extension that address the needs of the under-served
through the 1890 Institutions and other programs that build institutional research
and extension capacity at minority-serving institutions;
o educational activities to promote curricula to address emerging issues in the food
and agricultural system for all students, including underrepresented and at-risk
students;
o educational activities that will incorporate substantive international activities into
programs related to food systems agriculture and natural resources at U.S. landgrant colleges and universities, and will build on international competencies
through partnerships with India;
o programming that would raise substantially the base level of funding for insular
areas, 1890, and 1862 land-grant universities, and initiate a new, multi-state
competitively awarded program component that addresses strategic issues and
priorities for sustaining the Nation’s forest and rangeland resources;
o efforts to expand extension program development and delivery through the use of
new technologies.
One Solution
The One Solution initiative is designed to centralize and standardize reporting to
CSREES through a web-based “one-stop shop” for report submission and internal staff
review and synthesis. This CSREES Information System (CIS) will maintain the legacy
of information collected over the years and will be implemented incrementally beginning
with the development of a Project Plan to be finished during the summer of 2006. CIS is
expected to be fully operational within 2-3 years. The Project Plan organizes tasks
underneath discrete milestones through three phases. The first phase is complete and
includes: launch of the Online Plan of Work (PoW) system; publishing and utilizing
version 2.0 of Knowledge Area (KA) Taxonomy that includes Education and Extension,
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as well as Research; Development and Posting of the Business Case; and Launch of the
One Solution Communications Web Page. Also, as part of One Solution, the Extension
3(d) and other Extension Programs as classified in the Budget are asked to report into a
CRIS-like system next fiscal year 2007 with the goal of fully populating CIS with all
Agency investments and outcomes. This kind of information is the foundation for
justifying the CSREES budget, responding to the Office Budget and Management’s
(OBM) Budget Performance Integration process, answering Congressional Questions,
and reporting the outcomes of CSREES investments to the general public.
Assisting CSREES in the writing of the CIS Project Plan, Accenture hosted nine
workshops for internal staff by themes, and four teleconference calls with the partnership.
The Project Plan and report from the workshops and teleconference are posted on the new
One Solution web site: www.csrees.usda.gov/onesolution. A number of short-term
actions will be taken during the 2006 summer and fall months of 2006 such as: formation
of a governance structure that includes representation from the land-grant universities and
colleges, and other grantees; building of a database of outcomes aligned with funding
from the 2005 Plan of Work Annual Reports will be used especially to address the PART
process; development of a more standardized progress, annual, and termination report for
Research, Education, and Extension using the Office of Science and Technology Policy
(OSTP) Research Business Model (RBM) as the template; Formation of an Information
Collection Board to review all data collections across the Agency; examine different
search capabilities to query such databases for POW annual report outcomes along with
CRIS reports; and secure a “program management dashboard” to better utilize REEIS
data using the KAs and other leadership criteria. For further information contact: Greg
Crosby, Director, One Solution, CSREES gcrosby@csrees.usda.gov (202) 401-6050.
CSREES National Program Leader Liaison to the States
The primary role of the NPL State Liaisons is to serve as a resource and information
conduit for the Land Grant College and University system. The Liaisons will engage in
dialogue and information exchange with the states about issues and concerns that warrant
attention. The two NPLs assigned to a state are expected to serve 3-5 years, will provide
e-mail and phone contacts to key personnel at that state’s Land Grant institutions; will
review the integrated (AES and CES) of annual plan of work for the state; will arrange a
visit to the campuses each year if possible; and will meet with Ag Experiment Station,
Academic Programs and Extension Service directors or designees and staff to provide
briefings about CSREES business, programs, and administration/management.
Southern Region
Alabama
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Sherman, Gary
Bolton, Herb
Ebodaghe, Denis
Bowers, Michael
Cleland, Charles
Jensen, Gary
Bailey, Carmela*
Reynnells, Richard*
Trotman, Audrey
Sureshwaran, Suresh
Jane Schuchardt
Morant, Mervalyn
Purcell-Miramontes, Mary
Wright, Sherri*
Mirando, Mark
Tate, Tom*
Wysocki, Joseph*
Wysocki, Joseph*
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Puerto Rico , Virgin Islands
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virgin Islands -- See Puerto Rico
Virginia
Afele-Fa'amuli, Saleia
Goldner, Bill
Crosby, Greg
Green, Jim
Welsh, Susan*
Rao, Ram*
Garrett, Byron
Kaleikau, Ed
Lichens-Park, Anne
Rozum, Mary Ann*
CSREES staffing news
CSREES has announced a national search for the agency’s Associate Administrator.
NPL Larry Miller, Plant and Animal Systems, serves as Acting Associate Administrator,
following the departure of Gary Cunningham for a position at the University of Nebraska.
For information on the search contact Betty Lou Gilliland, Assistant Administrator for
Management and Policy, at 202-720-5506. A copy of the vacancy announcement may be
obtained from the CSREES homepage at http://www.csrees.usda.gov, under "Jobs &
Opportunities" or from the Office of Personnel Management homepage at
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/.
Robert MacDonald became Director of the Office of Planning and Accountability in the
Office of the Administrator, effective May 28, 2006. Bob has worked at CSREES for 13
years in program management, information systems, and extramural programs. He
replaces Cheryl Oros, who moved to a new position at the Department of Health and
Human Services.
Elbert Dickey (former CRD leader from Nebraska) joined CSREES half-time in October
2005 as Competitive Programs’ Education and Extension Advisor. CSREES is
interviewing for a similar Research Advisor position.
Gale Buchanan (U of GA) is the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education,
and Economics. Merle Pierson (V Tech) is the Deputy Under Secretary.
Competitive Programs
Currently the only active RFA for FY 2007 is the SBIR program. Phase I deadline is
September 1, 2006 and Phase II deadline is February 1, 2007.
New Reviewers. Reviewers are a critical element to the scientific excellence required for
a competitive peer review of applications submitted to CSREES. The agency continually
seeks reviewers in relevant scientific, extension or education fields or other experts who
can assess relevance of the application to targeted audiences and to program needs. To
be considered as a potential reviewer, send an e-mail message with your name, phone
number, department, institution, organization, or business address, and area(s) of
expertise (limit to 4 or 5 keywords) to newreviewer@csrees.usda.gov. You will be
provided with instruction on how to set up a reviewer account in the CSREES Peer
Review System.
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Extension faculty as reviewers for Competitive Programs. At the Wrightsville, SC
meeting last April, Debby Sheely spoke about Integrated Programs and responded to
numerous questions. In September she will provide the Southern Region with a state-bystate list of the reviewers currently in the CP data base and ask that the Directors and
Administrators identify faculty that are with extension. And, she’ll ask who are the best,
then use that information to “push” extension reviewers to appropriate subject/issue
matter areas in the construction of review panels.
Economic and Community Systems
Pat Hipple will join the ECS unit as National Program Leader, effective September 3,
2006. As part of her CSREES responsibilities, Pat will focus on the increased interest in
renewable energy in rural communities. Pat will be transferring from the Competitive
Programs Unit. Siva “Suresh” Sureshwaran will assume leadership from Pat for the NRI
Markets and Trade and rural Development Programs. Pat can be reached at
phipple@csrees.usda.gov.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a federal-state partnership comprising
thirteen governors and a federal co-chair, and CSREES’ SARE and RRDC programs are
partnering to offer grants for agriculturally-based value-added community development.
The new program will build upon an existing program of Sustainable Community
Innovation Grants. A press conference announced the program on July 5 in Kentucky,
with Governor Fletcher, ARC state co-chair, and Anne Pope, ARC's federal co-chair.
The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC), in cooperation with the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation, is holding Rural Development Roundtables in the USDA Southern
region. The Roundtables are to engage a wide range of stakeholder groups
representing the thoughts and views of diverse rural people and communities, and are
designed to identify rural development priorities for the south as part of a strategic
planning process underway at the SRDC. On October 24-25, 2006, the state coordinators
will meet in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss and analyze input from the Roundtables and
inform the SRDC strategic focus over the next several years. For information on
the Roundtables and their final reports visit
http://srdc.msstate.edu/sp/06staterdroundtables.htm or contact Sally Maggard, CSREES
ECS National Program Leader at smaggard@csrees.usda.gov.
Several disaster recovery activities have been conducted or are in process. Through the
Southern Rural Development Center, “Triumph Over Tragedy: A Community
Response to Managing Trauma in Times of Disaster” produced training for extension
faculty and resource materials for workshops in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi
were trained September 14, 2005, in critical post-trauma outreach to individuals, families
and communities affected by Rita and Katrina.
A National Summit: “Developing and Implementing a Comprehensive Plan for Hurricane
Impacted Areas of the South” was held (SRDC, RSS, CSREES) to delineate and begin
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implementing a comprehensive rural development strategy for rural, impacted areas of
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. On December 12-13, 2005, in Nashville, Tennessee,
40 land grant system specialists, agency officials, foundation leaders, and university
research and Extension faculty met to identify current capacity and professional
development needs for long term responses to disasters that support sustainable
community and economic development in disaster-impacted areas. Outcomes included: a
new CSREES multi-state research project proposal; work with the Emergency Disaster
Extension Network (EDEN) to incorporate a long-term responder focus and sustainable
rural development components, and plans for National Summit II.
Information Systems and Technology Management
Most grants will be done by electronic submission only in FY 2007. See the CSREES
website for details and/or contact Jason Hitchcock (jhitchcock@csrees.usda.gov)
for help. ISTM will continue to look for opportunities to partner with land grant colleges
and universities. Bill Bristow is meeting with the IT group at this AEA/ASRED joint
meeting for this purpose.
USDA Farm Bill 2007 Theme Papers
On July 7, 2006, USDA released its 2007 Rural Development Theme paper. This
briefing paper is one of several being published by USDA and based on listening sessions
held across the country to gather stakeholder input on priority issues agriculture and the
food and fiber system. It includes general policy options. To access these papers, visit the
USDA.gov home page and go to Farm Bill Forums.
USDA Reorganizations and Staff Changes
Undersecretary for Research Education and Economics, Dr. Gale Buchanan, as been
confirmed and assumed his duties at USDA. He has been holding briefing meetings with
REE agencies, including CSREES, over the past month.
Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, Dr. J.B. Penn, has
resigned, effective late August. He plans to return to the private sector. He served from
May 2001 to August 2006.
Rural Development – Office of Community Development (OCD) Closes
This agency in the USDA Rural Development Mission Area has been closed.
Professional staff have either retired (Rick Wetherill in 2005) or been reassigned to other
RD agencies (David Sears, to Rural Business and Cooperative Programs).
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