Dr. Anna Palmisano

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Dr. Anna Palmisano Deputy Administrator-
Competitive Programs Unit Cooperative State
Research, Education and Extension Service
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The Mission of CSREES
To advance knowledge for agriculture, the
environment, human health and well being, and
communities.
Competitive Programs supports mission relevant,
high priority research and integrated programs
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CSREES Strategic Goals

• Enhance economic opportunities for agricultural
  producers
• Increase economic opportunities and improved
  quality of life in rural America
• Enhance protection and safety of the Nations
  agriculture and food supply
• Improve the Nations nutrition and health
• Protect and enhance the Nations natural
  resources and environment

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Peer Review A Hallmark of Competitive Programs

• Rigorous peer review selects proposals of highest
  merit
• Review performed by experts in research,
  extension and education
• Evaluation criteria include
• Scientific merit
• Qualifications
• Facilities
• Project planning management
• Relevance

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FY2006 Program Areas and Investment

• National Research Initiative...181 M
• Community Foods.5 M
• Outreach/Assistance to Socially Disadvantaged
  Farmers/Ranchers..5.9 M
• Biotechnology Risk Assessment..3.9 M
• SBIR.18 M
• Section 406.........42 M

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FY2007 Presidents Request

• National Research Initiative total.247.5M
• 406 part of NRI42.3
• NRI without 406....205.2
• Increase in NRI (w/o 406).24
• Integrated increase from 22 to 30

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Proposed Areas of Increase in NRI

• Domestic Animal Genomics --Bioinformatics
• Biomass/Biofuels
• Food and Ag Biosecurity
• Ecology and Economics of Invasive Species
• Plant Biotechnology and Water Security

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National Research Initiative USDAs Largest
Competitive Program

• Basic and Applied Research
• Integrated Activities (Research, Education and/or
  Extension)
• Biological, physical, social sciences
• Single discipline and inter-disciplinary
• One investigator or teams
• Broad eligibility

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Types of NRI Proposals

• Standard Grants (Research and Integrated)
• Conferences
• Agricultural Research Enhancement Awards (some
  restrictions apply)
• New Investigator Awards
• Post-doctoral Fellowships
• Strengthening Awards
• Coordinated Agricultural Projects

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Coordinated Agricultural Projects

• Promote collaboration, coordination and
  communication in high priority areas
• Target specific gaps or make rapid progress
• Large Awards up to 5M, 2-4 years
• Annual progress reports to stakeholder meetings
• Examples Avian Flu,
• Rice Genome, Food Safety,
• Porcine Disease

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NRI Average Award Size has Grown!
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NRI Priority Setting

• Mission Relevance
• Potential impact
• Scientific opportunity and Enabling Technologies
• Linkages to other programs/Minimizing overlap
• Stakeholder input Developing a shared vision for
  long term goals

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FY2006 NRI Program Clusters

• Agricultural Biosecurity
• Agricultural Genomics
• Agricultural Production and Value-Added
  Processing
• Nutrition, Obesity, Food Safety and Quality
• Agro-ecosystems

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Agricultural Biosecurity

• Animal Protection
• Plant Biosecurity
• Biology of Arthropods and Nematodes
• Plant-Microbe Associations
• Animal Biosecurity

NRI Funded Researchers at U. of Maryland Fight
the Spread of Avian Flu
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Agricultural Genomics

• Plant Genome
• Animal Genome
• Microbial Genome Sequencing
• Microbial Observatories
• Microbial Functional Genomics

CSREES teams with NSF and DOE to sequence the
Maize Genome
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Agricultural Production and Value-Added Processing

• Animal Growth and Nutrition
• Animal Reproduction
• Plant Biochemistry, Genetics, Development and
  Adaptation
• Nanotechnology for Food and Agriculture
• Biobased Products and Bioenergy
• Markets and Trade

Improving fertility in livestock through
research on sperm proteins
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Nutrition, Obesity, Food Safety and Quality
Food Safety Epidemiology of Food Safety Food
Safety Research and Response Network
Coordinated Agricultural Project Human Nutrition
and Obesity Bioactive Food Components Improving
Food Quality and Value
Protecting Against Food-borne Pathogens
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Agroecosystems

• Soil Processes
• Water and Watersheds
• Managed Ecosystems
• Air Quality
• Weedy/Invasive Species
• Rural Development
• Rural Prosperity for Small-Mid sized Farms

Stemming the growth of invasive thistles
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NRI Discovery Award

• Annual award, initiated in 2005
• Award recognizes outstanding NRI- supported
  principal investigator
• Criteria are excellence, relevance and impact on
  CSREES mission
• 2005 NRI Discovery Award Winner, Dr. Peter
  Sutkovsky, U. of Missouri

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Interagency Collaborations

• Collaborations are key to
• Leverage tight budgets
• Minimize overlap
• Enhance coordination
• NPLs actively participate in interagency working
  groups under the Presidents National Science and
  Technology Council

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Examples of CSREES Interagency Collaborations

• Microbial Genome Sequencing Program (NSF)
• Maize Genome Program (NSF)
• Microbial Observatories (NSF)
• Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy (DOE)
• Metabolic Engineering (NSF, NIH, NASA, DOE, etc.)
• Climate Change Science Plan (DOE, NASA, NSF,
  others)
• And more.

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Community Food Program

• Meet the food needs of low-income people
• Increase self-reliance in meeting food needs
• Promote comprehensive responses to food, farm and
  nutrition issues

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Outreach and Assistance for Socially
Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers

• Deliver outreach, technical assistance and
  educational programs
• Enhance the potential of socially disadvantaged
  farmers and ranchers to acquire, own, operate and
  retain farms and ranches.

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Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

• Research for the development of a profit-making
  technology, product or service
• Two Phase Program - feasibility and development
• 80,000 (Phase I)/300,000 (Phase II)
• Small Businesses of 500 employees or less
• Government-wide
• 2.5 set-aside of USDA extramural funding for
  research

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Stakeholder Input is Vital!

• Scientific societies, National Academy
• REE Advisory Board
• Producers, processors, industry
• Land Grant University System
• Non-governmental organizations
• Other federal agencies
• International coordination

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Looking toward the future.

• Develop a shared vision with the scientific
  community, other stakeholders
• Develop cross-cutting programs in highest
  priority areas
• Improve integration of social and natural
  sciences
• Continue to seek partnerships with other agencies
  to leverage funds

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Questions?
Contact Dr. Anna Palmisano Deputy Administrator,
Competitive Programs Phone [phone] E-mail
apalmisano_at_csrees.usda.gov http//www.csrees.usda.
gov