Federal Research Environment for the Agricultural Sciences A Presentation to UC Riverside Kaitlin Chell, Karen Mowrer, and Michael Ledford Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC January 2014

Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC is a leading full-service government relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy interests of institutions of higher education and other research and education organizations Began working with UC Riverside in November professional staff members 26 clients, all nonprofits involved in research and/or education –15 universities –3 contractors running national research facilities –8 associations Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC 2

U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA’s core mission (food and nutrition) a priority for Obama Administration –Priorities include: climate change, food safety, global food security, sustainable bioenergy, and childhood obesity prevention (First Lady) –PCAST ag research report (Dec. 2012) calls for a rebalancing of intramural (ARS) and extramural (NIFA) research; increased funding for AFRI –Climate Hubs initiative USDA leadership is engaged in research –NIFA Director, Sonny Ramaswamy, is eager and honest with the “community” and is well-liked on the Hill –Secretary Vilsack met with PCAST in advance of its report on ag research AFRI has support in Congress, despite the fiscal climate –2013 House and Senate Farm Bills maintained AFRI’s authorization level at same level as 2008 Farm Bill ($700 million) –AFRI seeing incremental increases in appropriated funding (competition with SNAP and WIC) –Contention in Farm Bill not related to research, but more to commodities, SNAP, and dairy 3

USDA/NIFA Strategic planning –REE plan’s comment period closed in November –NIFA’s plan due this spring for comment Formula funds holding steady from FY 2012 to FY 2013 –Slight increases proposed by House and Senate for FY 2014 (~2-3%) New NIFA funds likely would go to new areas of focus, instead of additional funding to existing programs 4

USDA/AFRI Changing initiatives –Climate variability and change and sustainable bioenergy RFAs won’t be issued in FY 2014 –Instead, food safety; food security; and childhood obesity prevention will be issued in FY 2014 (expected this month) –New water resources challenge area in FY 2014 (expected this month) Webinar and request for comments in summer 2013 Ensuring agricultural water security – focus on various sources of water, including surface water, groundwater, and the use of reclaimed water; Nutrient management in agricultural land, specifically focusing on nitrogen and phosphorous; and Addressing the impacts of chemicals that might cause concern to agriculture and identifying possible waterborne pathogens 5

National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program-staple of plant sciences at NSF BREAD program –Joint with Gates Foundation –“Proposals must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world.” Sonny Ramaswamy pressuring NSF (esp. BIO) to become more active in “food systems” and to partner with NIFA 6

Feed the Future USAID, MCC, State, Treasury, USDA –Access to food in developing countries in a sustainable way –Comprehensive/holistic look at agricultural systems (not just research) –Metric based-specific target countries and specific benchmarks each country has to it –No major developments since initial push No major developments since initial push 7

USAID USAID and State– Use of science, technology, and innovation to modernize global development a top priority –USAID programs including HESN, Development Innovation Ventures, and Grand Challenges for Development continue to provide opportunities –HESN being re-imagined Grand Challenge in Securing Water for Food BAA –Three focus areas: Water efficiency and reuse; water capture and storage; and salinity and saltwater intrusion –Supports scaling up and dissemination technologies with potential to advance global technologies (does not support basic research) –Stage 1: $100,000-$500,000 –Stage 2: $500,000-$3 million –$15 million total for projects –Concept notes due January 17 8

Looking Ahead Universities have to adjust to changing science bureaucracy in a flat budget environment; NIFA holding steady but significant increases unlikely R&D and basic ag research still a priority on both sides of the aisle in Congress, but there is competition for limited dollars (NIFA vs. SNAP and WIC) Public-private partnerships will remain the favored mechanism for large-scale efforts (i.e., Feed the Future) Increased compliance burden continues Advisory committees still key to determining and influencing agency policy and research directions, especially at NSF BIO Traditional research funding agencies are placing an increased emphasis on cooperative agreements (with shared milestones) for new initiatives 9

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