Non Technical Summary
There ?????? dire workforce shortage?? in food safety auditing, inspections, and assessment (AIA) occupations. The consequences of high turnover and vacancy rates in food safety AIA occupations are significant training costs passed onto consumers and taxpayers and inadequate oversight over the food supply chain. There is a lack of awareness about the food safety AIA workforce shortages across HE. Also, there is not a nationally recognized curriculum or credentialing program for entry level food safety AIA professionals. The proposed project will directly address the gap that exists between the expectations of food safety compliance entities and both the abundance and competency levels of new graduates. The project goal is to lead a nationwide effort to recruit and develop a competent workforce of food safety AIA professionals. To accomplish this, we will: (1) develop a turnkey and flexible curriculum that equips food safety educators to cultivate the next generation of food AIA professionals; (2) develop an AIA community of practice (COP) for food safety educators; (3)??develop and implement a sustainable model for dissemination of the curriculum; (4) produce?? research-based marketing strategies and materials for recruiting students into food AIA careers for?? food safety educators to use; and (5) develop an easy-to-access network of professionals and?? organizations for educators and students to engage with. The proposed project will be implemented?? by critical mass of multidisciplinary experts for an efficient execution of project goals and?? objectives. It is also backed by broad support across regulatory, private industry, and higher?? education communities.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
903	6099	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Goals / Objectives
Our project goal is to lead a nationwide effort to recruit and develop a competent workforce of food safety AIA professionals. To accomplish this we have identified the following objectives: 1. Develop a turnkey and flexible curriculum that equips food safety educators to cultivate the next generation of food AIA professionals 2. Develop an AIA community of practice (COP) for food safety educators 3. Develop and implement a sustainable model for dissemination of the curriculum 4. Produce research-based marketing strategies and materials for recruiting students into food AIA careers for food safety educators to use 5. Develop an easy-to-access network of professionals and organizations for educators and students to engage with

Project Methods
Designing a marketing campaign and materials for promoting careers in food safety auditing, inspections, and assessments.Researching effective strategies for increasing interests in food safety auditing, inspections and assessment careers.Writing, designing and developing a curriculumRobust peer reviewing of the curriculum by peer educators and professionals in food AIA.Targeting educators and admin. who are most likely to implement food AIA lesson plans into their curriculum. Planning and facilitating eventsthat (1)Develop a community ofpractice for educators; (2)Raise awareness about the shortage of qualifiedfood AIA professionals; and (3)Network educators and students with food AIA professionalsBrainstorming sessions and meetings soliciting feedback from an advisorypanelconsisting of diverse educators potentially interested in a food AIA curriculum.Developing a network portal so educators and students can identify and network with food AIA professionals in their geographic region for the purpose of making field trips, internships, etc., easier.