Progress 09/18/23 to 09/17/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this initiative includes a diverse range of individuals and organizations. This encompasses RCP staff, the DEIA Steering Committee, state IPM Coordinators, stakeholders, farmers, the general public, NGOs, end users, and underserved populations such as Tribal Nations and low-income individuals. Additionally, it involves land-grant university partners, USDA-NIFA, federal and state agencies, SARE/IR-4/eXtension, students, educators, university scientists, instructors, staff, and technology users including social media users, web readers, and podcast listeners. Changes/Problems:Initial funding distribution was challenging. The first RFA primarily attracted proposals from the North Central region, hindering our goal of national reach. To address this, we re-released the RFA to focus on other regions. Additionally, we modified the RFA language, replacing "DEIA" with "Equity and Accessibility" to broaden eligibility. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?With funded awards just beginning work on their respective projects, we do not have results to disseminate as of yet. Results of those projects and of the Needs Assessment will be disseminated in the future through our interactive information networks that cross traditional, institutional, disciplinary, programmatic, and geographic boundaries to all regions of the U.S. This includes the state IPM coordinators, USDA NIFA program managers, and regional center communicators to disseminate to their stakeholders and content subscribers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Better understand past and current activities to inform future steps. First, the needs assessment will be concluded. The results of the needs assessment will be analyzed and reported to the larger Regional IPM community. Then, the regional centers should decide on next steps based on the results of the needs assessment. This process should be viewed as ongoing as the needs of the IPM community are compared to the available resources and abilities of the regional centers. These results will be used to create future plans to address the DEIA needs that the IPM professionals identified. Objective 2: Establish a base for the IPM centers and state IPM programs to jumpstart DEIA activities. Now that the DEIA steering committee has been formed and the results of the needs assessment will be concluded, the focus will pivot to creating plans and trainings centered on the needs identified. The expertise of the steering committee can be utilized for these plans and trainings, along with Dr. Hartmann and the regional center directors, based on the needs identified in the needs assessment. Objective 3: Increase resources for IPM-DEIA activities. Based on the available funds for both the DEIA grants and the mini-grants, we will re-release the associated RFAs to distribute these finds.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Better understand past and current activities to inform future steps. Obj. 1a: Conduct a needs assessment to identify DEIA gaps: Identify past and current projects/programs with underserved communities and areas for improvement. (50%) Dr. Hartmann conducted a Needs Assessment using Qualtrics to better understand the IPM landscape and its current work in diverse communities. This survey was distributed nationwide to professionals in IPM, including members of the regional centers, funded working groups and other grants, and state IPM professionals. In total, the survey was distributed to roughly 642 people and had 151 responses, representing a 23.5% response rate. Currently, all data has been gathered and needs to be analyzed by Dr. Hartmann. Results will be available soon. Obj. 1b: Relationship building with institutions and partners. (50%) Co-Directors Laura Iles and Katie Hartmann traveled to the First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON) conference in October 2023 to network and learn more about how to connect the work we are doing to 1994 LGIs and tribal colleges. Iles and Hartmann also met with leaders at Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, MT to discuss future partnerships and opportunities in June 2024. Building relationships is an ongoing process. In the coming year, Dr. Hartmann will attend FALCON again and continue to contact representatives from 1890, 1994, and other underserved colleges and communities about further collaborations with IPM professionals. Objective 2: Establish a base for the IPM centers and state IPM programs to jumpstart DEIA activities. Obj. 2a: Identify a DEIA steering committee. (100%) A steering committee was formed to focus on advising the Regional IPM Centers directors on DEIA-specific goals. Members of this committee are from all four regions, as well as 1994 Tribal Colleges and 1890 Land Grant Institutions. Committee members have offered their expertise on the application and for proposal review. We expect this committee to continue to establish guidelines on prioritizing the future of our DEIA work. Obj. 2b: Develop DEIA training for IPM staff. (0%) Trainings will be conducted for Regional IPM Center and state IPM personnel to help build a baseline understanding of effective DEIA activities. These trainings will occur once the needs assessment data is complete to establish a baseline. Objective 3: Increase resources for IPM-DEIA activities. Obj. 3a. Fellowships: Develop an IPM-DEIA fellowship program for students and/or staff at 1890 Land Grant Institutions, 1994 Tribal Colleges, and Hispanic Serving Institutes. The fellowship request for applications received no interest. Funds were redistributed to the DEIA Grant funding line to allow for larger project awards. Obj. 3b. IPM-DEIA Projects: Fund IPM-DEIA projects focused on serving underserved communities. In March 2024, the North Central IPM Center funded four new DEIA grant projects. Due to most proposals submitted from the North Central region, the request for applications was reopened for more proposals as we wished to distribute funds equitably across the four regions of the U.S. In July 2024, four additional DEIA grant projects received funding, bringing the total amount of funding distributed to $156,209. Obj. 3c. Mini-grants: Develop an IPM-DEIA mini-grant program for groups or individuals working on DEIA issues. Three mini-grants have been awarded for a total of $14,962. These projects include on-site farm visits and consultations with Amish farmers in Missouri to implement and encourage IPM practices, English-Nepali translation of pest-specific materials for Bhutanese immigrant and refugee urban farmers in Ohio, and increasing IPM training and resources to Spanish-speaking farmers and employees in New York.
Publications
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