USDA/NIFA Grantsmanship Workshops

Planning and Managing Systems Based Trans-disciplinary Projects for USDA/NIFA Programs

A series of workshops sponsored by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in partnership with land grant institutions.

The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE),  the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) and the Integrated Organic Program (IOP) within the National Institute of Food and Agriculture require that applicants use a systems approach to meet challenges faced by producers and consumers.

• University of Tennessee (August 9, 2011): This workshop covered a number of new topics and some key themes from the 2010 session with new speakers that offer perspectives and case studies on: project evaluation, systems integration, engaging stakeholders, plugging into existing communities of practice, and a review of project directors' experiences and insights. (Archives)
• Washington State University (Sept 8, 2010): New perspectives and case studies on: stakeholder engagement, systems thinking, sustainability, and tightly coupled research and extension. Furthermore, the program includes presentations on project team building, proposal preparation, proposal writing and rewriting, eXtension Communities of Practice, and multi-institutional projects from a sponsored programs office perspective. (Archives)
• Cornell University (Dec 10, 2009): In the 17^th century, philosophers debated whether scientific inquiry should be based on a reductionist approach, in which complex processes and systems are viewed as the sum of their parts, or on a systems approach, in which all the components of processes and systems are studied in relation to each other. For over 300 years, the reductionist approach dominated with remarkable results.  With our current ability to manage large and complex data sets, there is renewed interest in adapting a systems science approach to modern challenges in agricultural and food science to uncover solutions at the speed of modern life.  

Archive of other USDA/NIFA grantsmanship workshops.