OLD_SERA042: Enhancement of Leadership Capacity in the Food Systems through Coalition Development
Statement of Issues and Justification
(Ken Esbenshade will serve as Academic Programs Advisor)Writing Committtee:
Gary Lemme(Chair), South Dakota State University; Benjy Mikel, Mississippi State University; Dave Benfield, The Ohio State University; Linda Martin, The Ohio State University
Globalization is driving significant changes that challenge the economic and strategic leadership of the U.S. (Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat). Food systems are no exception and the U.S. must ensure it has trained scientists and engineers who can innovate to address the critical issues of food security and safety, as well as our nation's expanding need for secure sustainable energy. However, we must also have a cadre of excellent leaders who understand our complex food systems and the threats to these systems. These leaders must have the skills to lead the multidisciplinary teams who will provide innovative solutions to these challenges. Specifically to address this leadership issue, this proposed SERA project will:
. Provide Food Systems Leadership Institute (FSLI) graduates and other emerging food systems leaders with ongoing development towards leadership excellence.
. Enhance the understanding of current and emerging issues and the complexity of these issues impacting food systems by FSLI graduates and other food systems leaders through experiential learning activities.
. Create a national network of current and emerging food systems leaders that will be the de facto think tank providing educational and outreach materials to enhance leadership skills and to provide innovative solutions to issues of food and bioenergy security.
. Inspire future leaders, especially those with scientific and engineering training founded in agriculture and associated fields to pursue in-depth leadership excellence, such as is provided initially through FSLI, LEAD 21, other national or international leadership symposia and activities in this multi-state committee.
The FSLI training program has been successful in providing holistic skill sets to current and future agriculture leaders in academic settings, government and industry. Many of the graduates of this program are now in influential leadership positions in academia, industry and in state and federal agencies. With their heightened understanding of the progressive nature of leadership development, graduates of the two-year FSLI program express their need for ongoing professional development and networking in order to expand and hone leadership skills towards excellence. While Lead 21 graduates may continue on through FSLI at a later time, there is a pressing need to bring leadership skills and networking around food systems issues. This project will accommodate a larger group than it can through FSLI alone and covers a different scope of development than either Lead 21 or FSLI.
There are many current foods systems issues that continue to evolve and new issues are emerging that span the concerns of academia, industry, and government. These issues are becoming too complex for individualistic approaches to solve. Whether in research, academia, government or industry the leadership must be prepared and willing to seek multidisciplinary collaborative solutions. The proposed professional leadership activity brings together leaders from diverse organizations and disciplines to develop the professional networks needed for innovative multidisciplinary collaborative solutions to our food and energy security challenges.
Why is this SERA project the best mechanism to achieve these objectives? Currently no other USDA- National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) multi-state activity assembles both an actual and a robust virtual community of our nation's current and emerging leaders in food systems to address critical challenges in food and energy security. We believe that this program would be unique in the region, nation and world. This program builds upon the success and investments in the FSLI and LEAD 21 programs and furthers the development of leadership excellence of individuals in key positions throughout the food systems in academia, industry, and government agencies. This opportunity for food systems leaders to foster more efficient and effective inter-institutional collaborations, teams and strategic alliances provides a mechanism to identify, understand and solve the current and emerging grand challenges facing our food systems. Such challenges are central to the foundations of our Land Grant Universities, Industries and our stakeholders. The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program and this SERA project complements the scientific and technical goals of NIFA.
This SERA project brings together academic, industry and government leaders from across the three mission areas of research, education and extension in the land grant system. SERA sponsorship not only provides an established structure and best mechanism to coordinate a functionally integrated forum to address leadership excellence in food and energy security but it also provides the most positive environment to build the trust needed to develop innovative academic-industrial-governmental leadership excellence.
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