Recipient Organization
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
2101 CONSTITUTION AVE NW
WASHINGTON,DC 20418-0006
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
An ad hoc study committee will use a workshop-based study approach to examine how collaborative platforms addressing multidisciplinary questions in food and agriculture can be constructed in ways that deepen the impact of the Land-Grant system in generating knowledge and its applications. The study will identify the essential ingredients of platforms that support high-quality science, permit broad participation and that give equitable access to platform resources to participants across the Land-Grant college and university system, including historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions.Building on the work of the National Academies' Committee to Enhance Coordination and Collaboration among Land-Grant Colleges and Universities, the study will examine examples of existing multi-institutional collaborative platforms to define platform elements that are conducive to producing broad impacts and that enhance team science, asset sharing, capacity building, and the generation of translational knowledge. The committee will also explore specific ways that collaborative platforms explicitly connect education, research, and extension, and examine what is needed to effectively capture and articulate the impacts of the platform and its work to public and private stakeholders.The committee will organize a multi-day workshop highlighting the essential ingredients found in different existing collaborative platforms and engage stakeholders in an exercise to envision the design of new platforms to address key problems in the food and agricultural system. Based on its preliminary work and stakeholder discussions at the workshop, the committee will prepare a brief report recommending concerted strategies for constructing collaborative platforms to maximize their benefits and impact.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
50%
Developmental
25%
Goals / Objectives
This project will assist the USDA/NIFA in responding to a Congressional request to continue work began in 2021 when it asked USDA (in the FY21 Appropriations Bill) to create a Blue Ribbon Panel to consider how bettercoordinationin the Land-Grant system, "including the 1890's" colleges and universities, can increase the collective contribution of the system inaddressing national issues and global food security. To address that request, NIFA soughtassistance fromthe National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), which appointed thecommitteeon Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration Between Land-Grant Universities and Colleges (known as the Blue Ribbon Panel). From late 2021 to August 2022, thePanel explored characteristics of strong collaborations already occurring in the Land-Grant system and identified barriers that prevent more inclusive, impactful collaboration. In the course of its studyprocess, thePanel issued 17 preliminary recommendations for stakeholder comment, and then held several virtual workshop sessions.A final report fromthe Blue Ribbon Panel is forthcoming in September 2022, at which time its work will be complete.To carry on and deepen the work already begun, the NASEM will appoint a new committee, theBlue Ribbon Panel II (BRP II)to focus on "collaborative platforms" which are organizational structures intended to host and encourage and support multi-institutional participation with a common place for sharing access to data, tools, and resources that enablemulti-disciplinary research, extension, and teaching opportunities, reduce the impacts of disparity in capacity between institutions, overcome administrative barriers, and enableworks that may be national in scope or local in scope. The BRP IIwill organize a workshop to examine current examplesand to explore the ingredients of a hypothetical collaborative platform as a potential model. The study is intended to produce insights that will leadto actions by Land-Grant Institutions, USDA, particularly NIFA, other federal agencies, and potentially, Congress, to consider who collaborative platforms can help deepend the impact of the Land-Grant system in ways that are tangible and recognizable to stakeholders and the public.
Project Methods
A public announcement of the study and call for nominees to the Blue Ribbon Panel II that will lead to a slate of approximately 10 nominees submitted to the Chairman of the NRC for appointment to the committee. When forming committees the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion in order to strengthen the quality of our work.The committee will be composed of individuals with 1) administrative, policy, educational, or scientific leadership experience in research, education, and extension in agriculture and natural resources, 2) experience in the organization and development of multi-disciplinary collaborative activities, including in the science of team science and engagement of public and private partners, and 3) experience in measuring and characterizing research and other outcomes, and in information marketing strategies related to the packaging and delivery of relevant information to target audiences. Candidates may be from both the public and private sectors to be considered.The study committee will be given a Statement of Task (see Non-technical Summary section) on which to guideits efforts.A NASEM staff team, including a study director, program assistants, and financial business partner will be tasked with developing the slate of nominees for appointment by the President of the NAS, and thenworking with the appointed committee to develop a plan of inquiry leading up to the organization of a public, hybrid (virtual and in-person) workshop.The BRP IIwill hold several virtual meetings, including some information-gathering sessions open to the public, to hear fromindividuals currently involved in multidisciplinary collaborative platforms. These will inform the Panel's planning of the workshop. Scientists and administrators from land grant institutions, producers, commercial innovators, environmental and consumer advocacy groups, observers of the food and agricultural enterprise, and other stakeholders will be invited to participate in the workshop. The workshop, which is envisioned as a hybrid (virtual and in-person) event, will use panels of respondents and facilitated discussions to elicit feedback from the assembled stakeholders on the Panel's presentations.Based on the workshop feedback, the Panel, assisted by staff,will prepare a short report with its conclusions and recommendations. The draft report will undergo anonymous peer review in accordance with standard National Academies' procedures for consensus study reports before revision and public release. The public release will be a 1-hour virtual meeting. If funds are available,opportunities to pursue other routes for disseminating the report and the Panel's messageswill be explored.