NERA
Northeastern Regional Association
Mystic Hilton Hotel, Mystic, Connecticut
July 12-13, 2004
Minutes
In attendance:MAJOR DECISIONS
THE JOB JAR
(Work Assignments for the Executive Director)
Inform USDA-CSREES on actions taken by the NERA Directors.
Dr. Ralph Otto, CSREES liaison to NERA, gave a brief update on new appointments and CSREES activities. He noted that in the absence of an appropriation, CSREES will likely be operating under a continuing resolution. He also reported on the FY 2005 House Committee Action on the Agriculture appropriation.
Each of the Sections (NERA, NEED, and CARET) was asked to discuss and respond to the earlier discussion in the context of increasing multistate integrated collaborations (and be prepared to make a short presentation on Tuesday morning):
The discussion centered on "What is the new 'cheese' that NERA needs to find?" The old cheese were identified as 'access to education and knowledge' and 'cheap food'. Discovery was basically the "cheese" for research. It cannot be measured by external criteria but gives a sense of value and success.
Regional coverage was deemed too much grass to cover. Institutions are experiencing diminished capacity in some areas in research or extension. How can institutions make use of expertise available in other LGUs? A mechanism is needed for cross-sharing of programs between states. There are geo-political barriers, lack of resources and champions that have to be addressed. Not all states are able to cooperate and stretch use of their limited resources. The main difficulty is convincing university presidents to include the station's priorities in their list. There will be a need for a strategic plan to build reciprocal relationships among states and between extension and research, and academic programs as well. Can a standard tuition-sharing be worked out, if for example some courses are offered by another institution? There was consensus that Sun-Grant like activities have more chances of being successful collaborations. A self-evaluation, as the one conducted by PennState maybe helpful in identifying strengths and weaknesses. The results of that evaluation provides direction for the hiring of new faculty. Once priority issues are identified and capacity of institutions assessed, downsizing can be done in a very strategic manner.
Issues that were identified as cross-cutting are:
On the future of the Northeast summer meetings, the directors were asked to ponder on these three questions:
There was consensus that the summer joint meeting is beneficial and should continue. The feedback on the Joint Session agenda was positive and hence, the groups agreed to meet again jointly next year.
The cluster analysis that S. Goetz presented will be useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses in the state and in the region, and to identify weaknesses. A survey or a needs assessment will help address what needs to be done to be more competitive, and compare with those clusters that are successful. What is the potential for the region? By knowing the clusters, there is no need to start from scratch.
There was no objection from the directors on the proposal to have the NERA-OED provide the administration for the grant process (proposal solicitation and peer reviews) and administrative support to the Oversight Committee. Awarding the grants itself will be handled by Cornell. The NERA-OED will be compensated for its services.
A motion was made to approve items 1-4 as recommended by MAC. The motion was seconded and approved.
Items 6 and 7 need one-year extensions in order to complete their objectives. Both technical committees, NE124 and NE187, will then decide whether to terminate or convert to coordinating committees.
A motion was made to accept MAC's recommendations for items 6 and 7. The motion was seconded and passed.
Discussion on the NRSP's was deferred until July 13.
A motion was made to accept the changes in the multistate actvities' nomenclature as recommended by MAC under item 11. There was a brief discussion that the change will be effective October 1, 2004. No major changes will happen to Northeast multistate projects. However, NERECs and NEREAPs will become NEERAs. The motion was seconded and passed.
A motion was made to add a "Procedures" section to Appendix B, as indicated under item 12. The motion was seconded and passed.
Items 13, 14 and 15 are all informational.
Chair Trumble elaborated on the Civil Rights Review Committee meeting he attended on behalf of the SAES directors. There was some confusion in the beginning as to who was responsible for developing the agenda for that meeting. The members ended up reviewing the guidelines line-by-line. It is not certain if all the comments given by the group will be incorporated or will result in a revision of the guidelines.
T. Fretz highlighted some of the OED's activities. Among these are his involvement with the Department of Energy that aims to strengthen LGU and DOE partnership in environmental research which would translate to increased DOE funding of LGU research.
NERA has moved to its new premises at the USDA-Beltsville Area Research Center. Our new hosts have been very accomodating in meeting the OED's needs. T. Fretz proposed a contribution to be made by NERA to the Friends of Agricultural Research-Beltsville, Inc (FAR-B). FAR-B is a non-profit organization that supports visitors programs, symposia, fellowships, internships and field days. The Executive Committee supports making the contribution. A motion was made to allow the Executive Director to join and make the contribution to FAR-B. The motion was seconded and passed.
The meeting adjourned for the day at 5:30pm.
NERA Meeting resumed on July 13 at 10:30am
A suggestion was made to incorporate in NIMSS a tracking mechanism so that changes made to proposals can easily be found. R. Mize will check with the programmers although at present she is not aware of any online application that is capable of doing this.
On the $32,500 budget for FY04-05, T. Fretz reported that it has been approved by the NIMSS Oversight Committee and will be presented for a vote at the Experiment Station Section Meeting in September at Oklahoma.
T. Fretz and K. Cooper explained the recommendations on the NRSP proposals. The directors decided that they want to consider the proposals and budget requests separately.
NRSP-1: The NERA directors agreed with the recommendation to improve the proposal and incorporate the suggestions. A motion was made to accept MAC’s recommendation and approve ESCOP’s preliminary recommendation of $269,707 for FY05. The motion was seconded and passed.
NRSP-3: There was general agreement that the strategy to request NRSPs to reduce off-the-top funding in the out years is working. NRSPs that can demonstrate success in leveraging off-the-top should be totally weaned. NRSP off-the-top should be looked at as venture capital, and not an entitlement. A motion was made to support the $96K for FY05 and in principle support decrease in out years subject to annual review of NRSP3. The motion was seconded and passed.
NRSP-4: There was discussion whether
this project satisfies the definition of a NRSP or should be classified as a NRP-
National Research Project.
There was concern that off-the-top funding is used mainly for salary of
four staff. This
is one NRSP that will not be able to function if off-the-top is drastically
reduced. NERA
directors were interested in revisiting NRSP4’s management and business plan
and more specifically its plan to reduce off-the-top funding.
A motion was made to accept MAC’s proposal for FY05 of $481,182 and
strongly recommend a phased budget reduction.
The motion was seconded and passed.
In addition, NERA representative Keith Cooper will inform the NRSP Review Committee that the Northeast directors want reduced off-the-top funding for all NRSPs to start now. They also agree to a phased reduction, and depending on the project’s capacity, will agree to reduce funding to a set minimum if reduction to zero is not feasible.
NRSP-5:
The outcry from the industry stakeholders was noted, but if there is such
concern then these stakeholders should help NRSP5 find a way to obtain other
funding, for instance by paying for its services.
An issue was raised that this project does not actually serve a national
but a regional clientele.
A motion was made for MAC’s proposal supporting the NRSP Review
Committee’s recommendation to reduce off-the-top annually by $50,000.
Two voted yes, 7 nays and 2 abstained. Two members were absent.
This motion failed.
NRSP-6: It was noted that germplasm collection for other crops are treated as regional and not as national multistate projects. Northeast advisor Steve Reiling reported that the technical committee met in late June and was committed to reducing off-the-top funding. However a question was raised, “How are we going to fund germplasm collection in the future?” “Why can’t ARS handle this?” This maybe an important topic that can be discussed at the Fall meeting. A suggestion was given to fund NRSP6 for FY05 and when it comes up for review no expectation will be given for continued off-the-top funding. A motion was made to accept MAC’s recommendation and for Keith Cooper to raise the NERA directors’ concerns with the NRSP Review Committee. The motion was seconded - 8 voted yes and 3 abstained. The motion passed.
NRSP-7: A motion was made to accept MAC’s recommendation. It was seconded and passed.
NRSP-8: A motion was made to accept MAC’s recommendation. It was seconded and passed.
A motion was made nominating Keith Cooper (NJ) to continue as the NERA representative to the NRSP Review Committee for another three-year term. This motion was seconded and passed.
WHEREAS, the Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors participated in an important and productive meeting at the Mystic Hilton Hotel, in Mystic, Connecticut, and
WHEREAS, the Directors also were involved in a joint meeting with deans of colleges, extension directors and CARET representatives from the Northeast Region on July 12-13, and
WHEREAS, the Northeastern Experiment Station Directors enjoyed the lovely banquet at the Mystic Aquarium and the relaxing atmosphere of the Mystic Hilton Hotel and the surrounding area,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Directors acknowledge their appreciation to Director John Anderson, Vice Director Lou Magnarelli, Michael Last and Roberta Ottenbreit for their efforts in making the meeting a great success and a very enjoyable experience.
July 13, 2004
signed
William R. Trumble, Chair
Northeastern Regional Association of State
Agricultural Experiment Station Directors
The motion to approve the above resolution was seconded and passed.
Joint COPS Summer Meeting - Orlando, FL, July 25-27
J. S. Angle will deliver the region's report at the COPs meeting.
2004 SAES/ARD Workshop and Fall NERA Meeting, Oklahoma, OK, Sept. 26-29
NERA will meet in the morning (half-day only) on the first day, Sept. 27. Chair Trumble urged the directors to submit topics that they want tabled for discussion at the Sept. meeting.
Time will also be devoted to discussing issues that will be voted on at the section meeting such as:
2005 NERA Winter Meeting - location and dates TBD There was agreement to hold the winter meeting in conjunction with the Ag. Exhibit on the Hill on March 1, 2005. The NERA meeting will therefore be on March 2-3, 2005. T. Fretz gave a number of options on where the meeting could be held in Beltsville, MD:
The directors expressed interest in exploring the Beltsville area and requested T. Fretz to report back at the September meeting. An advantage of holding it in Beltsville is being able to invite Phyllis Johnson or Ed Knipling and have them talk about the "future of partnership between AES and ARS". Alan Stoner could also be invited to talk about the "Germplasm Program".
2005 Summer Joint Session
There was general agreement that the agenda discussed in Mystic was compelling enough and worthwhile for continued discussion. The directors
support meeting again jointly in 2005. The host will be Massachusetts. Suggestions were given for the Planning Committee to address the following:
T. Fretz volunteered to facilitate the first meeting of the planning committee and to assist the host institution if needed. Four members have been initially identified for the planning committee: Steve Goodwin (Host), Bruce McPheron (NERA), John Martin (CARET) and Ken Nicewicz (CARET-Host). NEED will be asked to name their representatives to this committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:05pm.
