Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:This Tier III project is centered on educating NextGen food policy leaders. From high school and community learning centers through to University of Alaska Fairbanks, Hawai'i Pacific University, University of Guam, Arizona State University, and FoodCorps, the partnership ("Partnership") will create a pipeline of diverse young leaders prepared and excited to join the federal workforce across various agencies, positions, and GS levels. It will engage the community as well, hosting conversations about future USDA workforce needs based on community-identified gaps in service. By creating a broad understanding of the vast array of employment opportunities at USDA and related agencies, this project will engage 9,000+ students from across the country, with concentrated support for students from underrepresented communities and in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Hawai'i and the territory of Guam. Project innovations include role-playing simulations (MyUSDA app and Model USDA), communications campaigns, curated internships, talent pipeline ladder, USDA service gap analysis, and an annual Climate & Food Symposium. Educational tools developed as part of this project will be open access, available for use by USDA, universities, and other organizations like 4-H and the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association. Through student scholarship projects (SSP), experiential learning projects (ELP), outreach and engagement projects (OEP) and multi-tiered experiential learning experiences, this project will demonstrate to students why federal service matters in our climate- and equity-challenged world. Our Partnership will identify pathways into public service for high school, bachelor, and graduate degree holders, with the goal of strengthening USDA's future workforce byincreasing the number of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) knowledgeable employees from underrepresented groups and geographies. Changes/Problems:No significant changes in approach are needed for this project at this time. Some aspects of project development required a longer timeline than was given or that was anticipated. Work is being done to streamline communication and timelines across the "Partnership". A stronger emphasis will be placed on coordination related to streamlining communication,marketing, and implementing evaluation processes to illustrate student impacts of the project as a whole moving forward. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and professional development were provided by all of the Partnership organizations. ASU provided a USDA Info Session, How to Apply for Federal Employment, USAJobs.gov, career counseling workshop and career presentation panels for students. Guam provided information sessions to other non-NextGen projects. UAF and HPU offered several talks, training, and outreach opportunities directly to students and used some of the opportunities such as the ASU USAJobs.gov and the annual Food and Climate Symposium to start recruiting students and bringing awareness to the NextGen program. Based on the annual student survey that was deployed across the "Partnership" this last spring, students indicated that through participating their professional skills improved "quite a bit" or "a great deal" in the following areas: Networking with the USDA Working on a research or project team Being innovative Communicating orally (e.g., presenting research, participating in research meetings or outreach activities, speeches,speaking persuasively) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?All outreach engagements such as professional development and other educational sessions have been open to university community members such as the USDA Info Session and the annual Food and Climate Symposium. All of the Partnership used those sessions as an opportunity to recruit students and bring awareness to the NextGen program. The annual Food and Climate Symposium covered a broad range of topics linking NextGen/USDA topics with up-to-date climate science and modeling. The workshop was broken into four topics: a climate change overview, climate change and landscape level ecology, climate change and land management, and climate change and food security. For each of these topics, participants learned,explored, and discussed issues relevant to USDA workforce development and to the regions of interest to the participating institutions. These workshops gave scholars and other participants a chance to virtually meet and interact from their own institution and others. Partners have reached out to USDA agencies and academic units at their respective institutions to communicate about opportunities for collaboration with the NextGen program. Some USDA agencies were not aware of the program so that gave the opportunity for the team to explain the scope of the project and engage with collaborative discussions. Those agenciesthat did know about the program were receptive to collaborating and having interns in the future. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Beginning the Summer of 2024 ASU will have seven of the eight internship sites that hosted interns in the spring semester and will be hosting interns this coming summer. The eighth site plans to host an intern again in the fall semester and three more intern sites are slated to start up this summer. UOG has current efforts focusing on faculty content expertise in FANH areas and identifying research/project opportunities for interns. This is currently underway and to be finalized by early summer. HPU plans to have nine (one graduate and eight undergraduate) student interns placed this summer with some in process currently. UAF is spending the summer continuing to set-up infrastructure for processing scholarships and internships and recruiting students for the program. In addition, as the lead institution, following-up on streamlining processes for the Partnership related to data collection, more cross institutional communication, and collaboration efforts across the "Partnership". Ongoing: Continue monthly Partnership meetings and biweekly 'data working group' meetings to keep everyone informed across the project and refine processes moving forward. The group is working on ways to streamline communication and be more responsive to USDA data requests and other opportunities. There have been many lessons learned regarding working across many time zones and distances. All of the Partnership is planning on having USDA NextGen scholarships awarded in Fall of 2024. Development is underway to modify the annual Food and Climate Symposium for year two. In addition to new scholars attending the four-hour introduction session a new aspect will be developed. Scholars that are continuing with the program and who have already attended the first symposium will be provided an opportunity to take a two-hour virtual workshop on trending climate issues. This new session will be offered in October 2024. Strategy discussions are underway regarding the possibility of developing an onboarding webinar for USDA NextGenScholars to attend across the Partnership to clarify roles, responsibilities, and kick-off networking, collaboration, and learning across the larger cohort of scholars this next year. An ASU USDA NextGen Scholar has been leading the design of an innovative interactive learning opportunity for the project called Model USDA. Six additional graduate students have joined the design team. Over the course of this summer, the completion will take place of four designs of five total simulated scenarios related to: dietary guidance; school food; rural development; and urban agriculture. The first Model USDA event will take place Spring 2025, but in the meantime, this teamof graduate students are learning much about USDA. All the partners plan to host their annual community convenings to hear feedback from stakeholders regarding impressions of USDA as well as USDA information sessions, and USAJobs.gov introductory workshops for USDA NextGen Scholars.Virtual communication tools are being researched to assist the "Partnership" in staying connected and expedite the sharing of ideas, impacts, and coordination of educational programming.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the first year of the grant, 91 undergraduate and graduate students received scholarships or participated as interns. Of these, more than two-thirds (69%) self-identified as members of underrepresented groups or as first-generation college students. Over two-thirds (69%) of funded students self-identified as members of an underrepresented group or as first-generation students, providing important opportunities for students from groups historically excluded from the USDA to develop knowledge and skills and learn of relevant pathways to public service with the USDA or in the agricultural field more generally. Through participation in event activities and receiving scholarship and internship funding, students gained increased awareness and knowledge about the USDA during the first grant year. For example, 80 students participated in a USDA Information Session hosted at Arizona State University. During the session, students learned about the USDA's structure and organization, its annual budget, its field-based operations across the U.S. and globally, and the wide variety of job opportunities in various fields available at the USDA-"Everything from A-to-Z!". The percentage of students who were"moderately" or "extremely" familiar with the USDA grew from about one-half (52%) before the event to nearly all (89%)afterward. Following the event, students shared the following key takeaways: "The scope of the USDA is much wider than I thought," "...that there were so many different types of jobs available that fit my differing passions within food systems," and"My key takeaway is that the USDA's mandate is broad and far-reaching." With the help of [ASU] sustainability students, it can be fulfilled more effectively and sustainably." After the event, the most common reasons attendees gave for being interestedin working for the USDA in the future were (1) the opportunity to work on agriculture, food, and/or nutrition issues (93%); (2)the chance to work on environmental issues (80%); and (3) the ability to pursue a variety of career paths (78%). 71 students attended a one-hour session on USAJobs Information Session on April 16, 2024, entitled "How to Land a Federal Job." During the event, students learned about the variety of opportunities available at federal agencies, including the USDA,as well as eligibility requirements for federal employment, service categories, hiring paths, and special hiring authorities.Further, the session provided guidance on how federal resumes differ from typical resumes, how to tailor resumes and cover letters for specific jobs, and how to navigate the USAJobs website. Additionally, students learned about the types of federal interviews, the interview process, and what to expect during the post-interview hiring stages. Students reported the workshop improved their understanding of how to (1) apply for a job with the federal government (91%) and (2) use USAjobs.gov (90%).The event also led to growth in the percentage of students who (1) envisioned themselves as working in a federal job someday (growth from 61% before to 83% after the event), (2) specifically saw themselves working at the USDA someday(growth from 67% to 86%), (3) expressed interest in applying for a USA federal internship or job (growth from 63% to 84%),and (4) indicated interest in applying for an internship or job specifically at the USDA (growth from 64% to 80%). 62 students attended the annual Food and Climate Symposium. The impact of the first symposium on participants' knowledge of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) topics was somewhat less than expected, with only 28%and 58% of participants reporting "quite a bit" or "a great deal" of growth in understanding of these topics. However, over 78%of attendees reported at least "some" growth in understanding across key areas, including: (1) food and agriculture-related issues (90%), (2) food and agriculture-related leadership opportunities (78%), (3) concepts associated with food and agriculture field(s) of study (85%), (4) how food and agriculture specific research helps people address real-world issues(93%), (5) which problems are addressed by food and agriculture research and work (95%), (6) potential career pathway(s)associated with the food and agriculture specific field(s) of study (80%), and (7) food and agriculture topics that are related to regional context (80%). Students reported their key takeaway from the event was a deeper understanding of the connection between climate-related issues and food security: "Food security is dependent on many other climate-related issues.";"Climate issues impact all parts of food systems."; and "[I know have] more of an expanded understanding of how climate change affects landlocked areas. Such as food security, drought, water availability, etc." Additionally, students highlighted how they learned that climate issues are complex and require collective efforts and solutions to address: "We need many people engaged in these issues and thinking critically, the status quo isn't working and we need to step in to prevent complete climate catastrophe." This project aims to improve recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of diverse learners, with a particular focus on fostering a culture of inclusion. A primary goal of the project is to ensure that 75% of the total student support funds are allocated to underrepresented minority and or first generation college students. In the first year 63 underrepresented minority or first generation college students received 91.1% of the overall fund. A strong sense of belonging was evident among the USDA Scholars. Between 85-89% of Scholars felt that USDA NextGen addressed six of the ten key diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) areas in the annual student survey. Further, 89-94% of scholars reported feeling a significant sense of belonging in eight of the ten "I feel..." statements. 41 ASU Sustainable Food Systems MS students completed two classes in which students spend a week per class touring Arizona food-related businesses and engaging with leaders at USDA in Washington DC. The Arizona Food and Farm Immersion created opportunities for community-based teaching and learning. Students learned directly from farmers,ranchers, food processors, hunger relief agencies, food entrepreneurs, USDA Arizona, and others while immersing themselves in the state of Arizona's vibrant food system. This included USDA Arizona's NRCS, FSA, and RD, Oatman Flats Ranch, Yuma Fresh Vegg, Desert Premium Farms, Paloma Dairy, Justice Brothers Ranch, Alcantara Vineyard & Winery,Sinagua Malt, Hauser and Hauser Farms, Hayden Flour Mills, Echo Canyon School, and Duncan Family Farms. The goal of the course was to drive home the message that one should never design food policy without direct conversations with those producing food. In DC, students visited with various USDA leaders and influencers impacting policy. Students were able to understand the process by which food and agriculture policy ideas are developed by being immersed in the ecosystem where it all happens. Students left the experience with a new network of professional contacts and a professional headshot with the Capitol Dome as the background. For many students, it was their first time traveling to Arizona or DC. One student stated,"Through the immersive classes, students were able to put together all they had been learning in the classes. It also provided a great networking opportunity. The immersive classes are what makes this program so unique!"

Publications