Continuing The Development of The Integrated Food Safety System Food Protection Professional National Curriculum Standard.

RFA-FD-16-042 - Project SummaryThis proposal is submitted by the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) as part of acoordinated suite of independent applications from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO), theAssociation of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), and the National Environmental Health Association(NEHA) to continue the development of the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) National CurriculumStandard (NCS). As part of this coordinated effort, IFPTI will utilize its nationally recognized leadership andexpertise to guide the ongoing development of the IFSS Curriculum Framework (IFSS Framework);oversee the design and delivery of learning experiences; expand the Interactive National CurriculumStandard (INCS); and advance the NCS in key food protection leadership venues, all in close collaborationwith the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Division of Human Resource Development (DHRD).Utilizing its curriculum framework development process, IFPTI will direct the continued buildout of the IFSSFramework, Animal Food Framework, Manufactured Food Framework, and Retail Food Framework, andwill lead the development (and subsequent buildout) of new curriculum frameworks for the milk, shellfish,and produce program areas (e.g., a Dairy Processing Framework, a Shellfish Plant Framework, and aProduce Framework, or others as directed by DHRD). Building out the frameworks means developingcompetencies and key performance indicators (KPIs, or proficiency measures) for all content areas definedby the frameworks. The curriculum frameworks, competencies, and KPIs will be incorporated into theInteractive National Curriculum Standard (INCS), an online system that allows users to identifycompetencies within framework content areas; assess themselves (or their staff) against thosecompetencies; identify competency gaps; locate learning experiences to address competency gaps; anddevelop personal or group learning plans.IFPTI will direct the design, development, and delivery of online and blended learning experiences(courses, training, etc.) for framework content areas; deliver and redevelop The Applied Science, Law, andPolicy: Fellowship in Food Protection based on DHRD specifications; and redevelop the Instructor SkillsTraining course in preparation for delivery by food protection partners. Finally, IFPTI will advance supportfor, and adoption of, the NCS by delivering educational presentations at major food protection leadershipevents, notably the FDA Training Summit.The project presented in this application, in concert with the coordinated projects proposed by AFDO,APHL, and NEHA, offer FDA the best opportunity to develop an IFSS NCS that will result in a competentregulatory food protection workforce doing comparable work across all jurisdictions (federal, state, andlocal), thus achieving the important public health mission of a safer food supply.