Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: The targeted audience of the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Preparedness (S-CAP) Tabletop Exercises included representatives from the Cooperative Extension System, emergency management, public health, local government, first responders (including law enforcement and animal control officials), state and Federal agencies (representing agriculture, environment and natural resources, homeland security, etc.), veterinarians, commodity groups, and rural populations. For the Agrosecurity Symposium: Building National Networks and Partnerships, the targeted audience included Federal (DHS, DOD, DOE, DOJ, EPA, USDA), tribal, state (departments of agriculture), and local (animal control, emergency management, first responder, public health) entities; academia (including Extension, research, education); commodity organization, veterinary medicine, and government contractors. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Preparedness (S-CAP) Tabletop Exercises and the Agrosecurity Symposium: Building National Networks and Partnerships provided an opportunity for participants to network with other individuals to develop and enhance their agricultural emergency and disaster preparedness efforts. They also provided a platform for participants to understand the effects of Federal, state, tribal, and local policies within the agriculture sector. The Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Preparedness (S-CAP) Tabletop Exercises offered a training experience to S-CAP Trainers to further their knowledge and involvement within the S-CAP Program. The exercise allowed trainers to test their planning efforts in the county or counties. Future Agrosecurity needs were addressed in the evaluation feedback at the conclusion of the Agrosecurity Symposium: Building National Networks and Partnerships. Participants identified that the most effective means to address agricultural preparedness needs in the United States were Symposiums like the one they attended (77%), regional conferences (77%), and webinars/online meetings (37%). Participants also identified that conducting Symposiums every year (60%) or every two years (43%) would be beneficial. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Quarterly updates were emailed to stakeholders with outcomes reported. Also, an outcomes report was created for the Symposium that included data collected from the event. The outcomes report was posted online and emailed to stakeholders within EDEN and S-CAP as well as state agencies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The overall project goal was to develop partnerships to widen the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN)’s reach and leverage additional funding sources for EDEN projects. The project goal was accomplished by reaching the following objectives, [Objective 1] – familiarize Federal partners with EDEN agrosecurity resources; and [Objective 2] – collaborate with EDEN stakeholders to expand the Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Preparedness (S-CAP) Program. The first activity was the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Strengthening Community Agrosecurity Preparedness (S-CAP) Tabletop Exercises, which was held in two geographically diverse areas (Danville, Indiana and Billings, Montana). The overall goal of this program was to teach jurisdictions how to exercise the development of their agricultural emergency plan. The tabletop exercises accomplished both objectives (1 and 2) outlined in the proposal. At the conclusion of the exercises, participants developed a sustainability plan with short- and long-term goals and target completion dates for after action reports, planning meetings, etc. Evaluation and content feedback forms were also used to identify how the curriculum can be improved and streamlined. The Tabletop Exercises resulted in outcomes in both locations where the program was conducted. In Indiana, the host-site coordinator entered the exercise into the national Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) database National Exercise Schedule (NEXS). Including the exercise in NEXS provides local, state, and Federal jurisdictions a documented needs assessment for the jurisdiction that may facilitate future planning needs and appropriation requests. In Montana, community stakeholders created an After-Action Report (AAR). The AAR identified lessons learned and a pathway for future action to improve community resilience. They also conducted quarterly meetings to complete the Emergency Support Function (ESF)-11 section of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), and met with local veterinarians to utilize them as resources in the case of an emergency/disaster. The second activity conducted during the grant period was the Agrosecurity Symposium: Building National Networks and Partnerships that was held in Washington, D.C. The Symposium built relationships across a variety of disciplines to synchronize disaster preparedness efforts affecting the food and agriculture sector. The Symposium accomplished both objectives (1 and 2) outlines in the proposal. Participants from 21 states worked in groups to identify challenges and develop proposed strategies to improve agricultural preparedness in the United States. The results of the working groups identified the following challenges and proposed strategies: Challenge #1 identified the importance and vulnerability of food and agriculture is not fully recognized at the Federal, tribal, state, and local levels. The proposed strategy for challenge #1 was to regularly market a message that is simple and clear at Federal, tribal, state, and local levels by engaging the whole community, including farmers, families, and youth. Challenge #2 identified Federal and state policies are not understood at the local level due to inconsistent language and changing political environments. The proposed strategy for challenge #2 was to guide agricultural preparedness efforts based on local needs that inform state and Federal initiatives; identify and implement successful models to engage local, state, tribal, and Federal collaborative relationships. Challenge #3 identified critical agricultural infrastructure representatives are not always at the table when Federal, tribal, state, and local plans, polices, guidance, and frameworks are developed. The proposed strategy for challenge #3 was to involve all appropriate agricultural stakeholders when preparedness plans, policies, guidance, and frameworks are developed. The fourth and final challenge discussed the maintenance process for training programs. The proposed strategy for challenge #4 was to enlist sustainable support from governmental agencies and organizations to address agrosecurity preparedness needs at the local, state, tribal, and Federal levels. Participants were also asked to develop their own definition of resilience. The overall definition that was derived from the meeting was “local capacity to respond and recover rapidly with minimized impact while restoring pre-event quality-of-life and leaving the community better prepared for future challenges” (Symposium Report, page 2, 2013). At the conclusion of the event, participants completed an evaluation. According to the participants, the Symposium was engaging and beneficial (97%), they would attend a future EDEN Agrosecurity Symposium (94%), and they would recommend this event to a colleague (84%). Outcomes from the Symposium include, agricultural preparedness challenges were identified (100%), the Symposium offered a unique opportunity to develop solutions to preparedness gaps (84%), participants plan to implement identified strategies in their work (80%), participants had an opportunity to create new contacts for future collaboration (94%), and participants have a better understanding of Extension and EDEN (90%).
Publications
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