Federal Research Environment for the
Agricultural Sciences
A Presentation to UC Riverside
Kaitlin Chell, Karen Mowrer, and Michael Ledford
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
January 2014
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC is a leading full-service government
relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy
interests of institutions of higher education and other research
and education organizations
• Began working with UC Riverside in November 2012
• 23 professional staff members
• 26 clients, all nonprofits involved in research and/or education
– 15 universities
– 3 contractors running national research facilities
– 8 associations
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U.S. Department of Agriculture
• USDA’s core mission (food and nutrition) a priority for Obama
Administration
– Priorities include: climate change, food safety, global food security, sustainable
bioenergy, and childhood obesity prevention (First Lady)
– PCAST ag research report (Dec. 2012) calls for a rebalancing of intramural (ARS)
and extramural (NIFA) research; increased funding for AFRI
– Climate Hubs initiative
• USDA leadership is engaged in research
– NIFA Director, Sonny Ramaswamy, is eager and honest with the “community”
and is well-liked on the Hill
– Secretary Vilsack met with PCAST in advance of its report on ag research
• AFRI has support in Congress, despite the fiscal climate
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– 2013 House and Senate Farm Bills maintained AFRI’s authorization level at same
level as 2008 Farm Bill ($700 million)
– AFRI seeing incremental increases in appropriated funding (competition with
SNAP and WIC)
– Contention in Farm Bill not related to research, but more to commodities,
SNAP, and dairy
USDA/NIFA
• Strategic planning
– REE plan’s comment period closed in November
– NIFA’s plan due this spring for comment
• Formula funds holding steady from FY 2012 to
FY 2013
– Slight increases proposed by House and Senate for
FY 2014 (~2-3%)
• New NIFA funds likely would go to new areas
of focus, instead of additional funding to
existing programs
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USDA/AFRI
• Changing initiatives
– Climate variability and change and sustainable bioenergy RFAs won’t
be issued in FY 2014
– Instead, food safety; food security; and childhood obesity prevention
will be issued in FY 2014 (expected this month)
– New water resources challenge area in FY 2014 (expected this month)
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• Webinar and request for comments in summer 2013
• Ensuring agricultural water security – focus on various sources of
water, including surface water, groundwater, and the use of
reclaimed water;
• Nutrient management in agricultural land, specifically focusing on
nitrogen and phosphorous; and
• Addressing the impacts of chemicals that might cause
concern to agriculture and identifying possible waterborne
pathogens
National Science Foundation
• Plant Genome Research Program-staple of plant
sciences at NSF
• BREAD program
– Joint with Gates Foundation
– “Proposals must make a clear and well-defined connection
between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and
its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture
in the developing world.”
• Sonny Ramaswamy pressuring NSF (esp. BIO) to
become more active in “food systems” and to
partner with NIFA
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Feed the Future
• USAID, MCC, State, Treasury, USDA
– Access to food in developing countries in a
sustainable way
– Comprehensive/holistic look at agricultural
systems (not just research)
– Metric based-specific target countries and specific
benchmarks each country has to it
– No major developments since initial push
• No major developments since initial push
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USAID
• USAID and State– Use of science, technology, and innovation to
modernize global development a top priority
– USAID programs including HESN, Development Innovation Ventures, and
Grand Challenges for Development continue to provide opportunities
– HESN being re-imagined
• Grand Challenge in Securing Water for Food BAA
– Three focus areas: Water efficiency and reuse; water capture and storage; and
salinity and saltwater intrusion
– Supports scaling up and dissemination technologies with potential to advance
global technologies (does not support basic research)
– Stage 1: $100,000-$500,000
– Stage 2: $500,000-$3 million
– $15 million total for 30-40 projects
– Concept notes due January 17
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Looking Ahead
• Universities have to adjust to changing science bureaucracy in a flat
budget environment; NIFA holding steady but significant increases
unlikely
• R&D and basic ag research still a priority on both sides of the aisle in
Congress, but there is competition for limited dollars (NIFA vs. SNAP
and WIC)
• Public-private partnerships will remain the favored mechanism for
large-scale efforts (i.e., Feed the Future)
• Increased compliance burden continues
• Advisory committees still key to determining and influencing agency
policy and research directions, especially at NSF BIO
• Traditional research funding agencies are placing an increased
emphasis on cooperative agreements (with shared milestones) for
new initiatives
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Contact
Kaitlin Chell
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
1341 G Street, NW
Eighth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
e: [email protected]
p: 202.289.7475
f: 202.289.7454
www.lewis-burke.com
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