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<OL> <LI> Enhance collaboration between 1890 and 1862 land grant institutions in food safety teaching, research, and extension<LI> Leverage human resources and technical capabilities to better address current and emerging food safety challenges <LI> Identify role models and synergies for professional advancement of minority faculty.</ol> These objectives are expected to strengthen the collaboration between 1890 and 1862 land grant institutions thereby enabling them to leverage resources to train a diverse generation of food safety specialists, engage in collaborative food safety research, teaching and extension as stipulated in the CSREES Goal 4.1 <P>Outputs, outcomes, and impact The five activities listed above constitute the anticipated outcomes:<OL> <LI> Enhanced collaboration between 1890 and 1862 institutions<LI> Increased number of joint grant applications<LI>Enhanced training opportunities for students and professional development opportunities for faculty at 1890 institutions. </ol>The anticipated impact is (1) a model for multi-institutional collaboration that can be adopted by CSREES for other programs, (2) enhancement of the teaching, research, and extension programs at 1890 universities, (3) positive contribution to the national effort to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses through leveraging of resources.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This project seeks to establish synergistic collaboration between 1890 and 1862 land grant institutions in the area of food safety. This collaboration is intended to leverage human and technical resources available within these institutions to enhance training opportunities for students and provide additional professional growth for faculty at 1890 institutions. NCA&T will partner with the USDA (National Program Leaders (NPLs) of the National Integrated Food Safety Initiative and the 1890 Capacity Building Program) to develop a model for enhancing collaboration between faculty at 1890 and 1862 institutions. The model framework includes: 1. Meetings of PDs from 1890 and 1862 institutions at the CSREES PD meetings, 2. Invitations for 1862 PDs interested in collaboration with 1890 PDs to attend the upcoming meetings of the Association of Research Directors (ARD) to present their research and teaching 3. Invitations of interested 1890 Food Safety Specialists to join S-1033 Multi-State Research Funding Group 4. Formation of a small working group from both types of institutions and NPLs to explore collaborative models and adopt appropriate approaches used by successful multi-institution partnerships (e.g., the North Carolina Research Campus). It is anticipated that this approach will lead to (1) enhanced collaboration between 1890 and 1862 institutions, (2) an increased number of joint grant applications, (3) enhanced training opportunities for students and professional development opportunities for faculty at 1890 institutions, and (4) positive contribution to the national effort to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses through leveraging of resources.
<P>APPROACH: NCA&T PIs (Alton Thompson and Mohamed Ahmedna) will work with Ram Rao, National Program Leader for the National Integrated Food Safety initiative (NIFSI) and Ali Mohamed, National Program Leader for the 1890 Capacity Building Grant Program (CBGP), to achieve the above goals and coordinate the overall strategy to ensure successful implementation of the project. The PIs and USDA program leaders will develop a timeline and agree on the logistics to organize the joint meetings between 1890 and 1862 PDs, explore complementary models for collaborations among these institutions, and publicize the initiative in strategic outlets to ensure maximum impact. NCA&T PIs and the two USDA program leaders will: 1. Invite PDs from 1890 and 1862 institutions to attend the CSREES PD meetings and have the opportunity to explore collaboration 2. Invite 1862 PDs interested in collaboration with 1890 PDs to attend the upcoming meetings of the Association of Research Directors (ARD) to present their research and teaching and explore areas of synergy with PDs from 1890 institutions 3. Invite interested 1890 Food Safety Specialists to join the S-1033 Multi-State Research Funding Group 4. Convene a small working group from both types of institutions and NPLs to explore collaborative models and adopt appropriate approaches used by successful multi-institution partnerships (e.g., the North Carolina Research Campus). 5. Develop a follow up strategy to ensure sustainability of the collaborative model and make necessary adaptations/enhancements to ensure success and impact.