Within NIFA, the unique concept of integration is defined as bringing the three components of the agricultural knowledge system research, education and extension (REE) together focused on an issue. Integration can be at the project or program level mixing REE project work. Having an integrated authority compels coordination among REE components with budget recognition and REE-specific objectives. A project or program is optimally integrated if the components complement one another and are truly necessary for its ultimate success, Integrated projects support multifunctional, multi-institutional and multistate involvement to better realize needs and objectives, and to speed up the process of generating, translating and transferring new technology and knowledge. The Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program was authorized by Congress in Section 406 (7 U.S.C. 7626) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) to fund the National Integrated Water Quality (NIWQP) and the Integrated Pest Management Programs (IPM), both examples of integrated programming successfully imposing collaboration among the REE components. Given that the relationship between management and scientific knowledge has received little attention, then observing the way NIFA deploys integration as the keystone requirement of a call for proposals is at best improving the transferability of science, and at worst, ignoring the ability to move REE outcomes toward behavior change and adoption. Expanding integration with stakeholder co-production as a competitive review requirement could strengthen or improve recognition of management linked with science. As a first step, NIFA will evaluate a sample of its award portfolio to identify possible correlations between integration and stakeholder involvement, followed by brainstorming a new vision for integration that requires co-production. For example, develop call for proposals language stronger than the typical nonbinding request to engage and collaborate with community groups during proposal development and throughout the life of the project.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.