Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Final Narrative Report for FY 2009 CAST Biotechnology Project Submitted 7/19/2011 USDA NIFA Analysis of NIFA Biotechnology Expenditures in the Federal State Partnership reported through the Current Research Information System CRIS ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology CAST is a nonprofit organization composed of scientific societies and many individual, student company nonprofit and associate society members. CAST has been publishing commentaries, papers and reports and conducting other related communication activities since its charter in 1972. These publications and their distribution are fundamental activities that accomplish our mission to assemble interpret and communicate science based information regionally nationally and internationally on food, fiber, fuel, agricultural natural resource, and environmental issues to our stakeholders legislators regulators policymakers the media the private sector and the public. The wide distribution of CAST publications to non scientists enhances the education and understanding of the general public. CAST publications cover a broad spectrum and serve as a validated and balanced source of scientific knowledge useful to the scientist and non scientist alike. Scientists, industry professionals, and academicians use the publications as resources and as supplemental texts for classes. Students use them as references. Legislators and regulators use them as a valuable tool to understand the scientific basis of many policy and regulatory issues. And the media use them to understand and report on the science behind the important agricultural issues of the day. The general public then benefits from the exposure to and understanding of the scientific information. JUSTIFICATION FOR PROJECT each year the U. S. Congress requests NIFA to conduct an analysis of biotechnology research by areas and expenditures. Each year CRIS provides a search and report of individual projects presumptively classified as biotechnology. The number of projects commonly nears 1800 and each project must be read and classified according to prescribed criteria. This requires technically competent people to evaluate and classify individual projects for this annual report to Congress. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. David Hershey, Dr. Rong Wei, Dr. Qiyuan Pan, MS. Xiuhua Chen, Dr. Bruno Quebedeaux, TARGET AUDIENCES: U S Congress PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
SUMMARY OF PROJECT USDA NIFA provided CAST with 16,000.00 for this agreement to retain qualified analysts to conduct the 2008 annual evaluation of the CRIS biotechnology project. The evaluation was performed by Bruno Quebedeaux lead evaluator, David Hershey, Qiyuan Pan, Xiuhua Chen, Zhongchun Wang, Rong Wei. The results of the evaluation were reported by said evaluators on CRIS forms for reentry into the CRIS computer system for calculation of expenditures by defined programmatic areas. SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Approximately 1800 USDA/NIFA research projects for FY2008 were reviewed and evaluated by the senior scientist and evaluator panel. The percentage Biotechnology research activities were determined and divided into CRIS categories that included: Animal Production and Protection Genome Aquaculture Food Science Food Processing and Safety Forestry Resources Natural Resources Plant Protection Plant Genome Human Nutrition The Environment Energy Manufacturing and Bio process. It also included Foundation support, Social impact and Infrastructure support for agricultural biotechnology. The total biotechnology research expenditures for each project were tabulated using CRIS codes. This information was used to generate the funding level of each biotechnology project area and specific category within NIFA Because this analysis of the CRIS reported biotechnology projects is a continuing annual activity consistent with previous years is needed. This allows for both short and long term funding analysis of funding trends for each agricultural biotechnology research activity. The data is handled in a confidential manner and the results were submitted by the agency and made available to the US Congress. IMPACT The results of this study on FY 2008 Biotechnology research expenditures are being used on a regular basis by legislators, regulators, policymakers, the media, the private sectors and the general public to understand the funding level of agricultural biotechnology. This information is made available by NIFA to Members of US Congress. The specific results of this study are also used for setting research priorities in funding a competitive grant program within NIFA on biotechnology risk assessment that is nationally recognized. Bruno Quebedeaux of University of Maryland.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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