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Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
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Appendix B
Survey on the US Department of Agriculture’s National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program

1. Are you familiar with the NRI program?

a)

Yes, very familiar

_____

 

b)

Somewhat familiar

_____

 

c)

Not familiar

_____

(Please answer Question 8 and any others you consider appropriate.)

Comments:

2. In your view, has the program contributed to the mission of generating fundamental and applied research, and future scientists for agriculture?

a)

Yes _____ for the most part.

b)

Yes _____ but less than I expected.

c)

No _____ its promise remains largely unfulfilled.

Comments; Examples:

Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×

3. Is the NRI peer review process fair?

a)

Yes _____

b)

No _____

Comments:

4. As a NRI grant recipient/applicant, how did this affect your career? (If this question does not apply to you, but you know someone whose career is or has been affected, please fill in the following.)

 

 

Greatly

Some

Very Little

a)

Promotion impact

_____

_____

_____

b)

Tenure impact

_____

_____

_____

c)

Publication(s)

_____

_____

_____

d)

Patent(s)

_____

_____

_____

e)

Career development of undergrad. students

_____

_____

_____

f)

Career development of your graduate students

_____

_____

_____

g)

Career development of your post-doctoral fellows

_____

_____

_____

h)

Ability to pursue independent (curiosity-driven) research

_____

_____

_____

Other (comments):

5. Has the NRI enabled you or your institution/company to obtain other funds (leveraging)?

a)

Yes _____

b)

No _____

Comments; Examples:

6. Has the NRI contributed to development of human resources in food and agriculture?

a)

Yes _____

b)

No _____

Comments; Examples

Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×

7. Has the NRI program resulted in any major benefits to the U.S. food and agriculture system?

a)

Yes _____

b)

No _____

Comments; Examples:

8. Are the areas of congressionally mandated funding appropriate? These areas are: plant systems; animal systems; nutrition, food quality and health; natural resources and the environment; processes for adding value and new products; and markets, trade and policy.

a)

Yes_____

b)

No _____ (Please explain in the comments area)

c)

What two areas of research are most important to you, in order of priority (1=highest)?

Comments:

9. If the NRI received a significant increase in appropriations, how should the additional funds be used? Rank the following (1=highest; 5 = lowest).

a)

Expand into new areas

_____

b)

Increase size of awards

_____

c)

Increase duration of awards

_____

d)

Increase number of submission dates per year

_____

e)

Other

_____

Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×

10. Should the NRI continue? Mark all that apply.

 

 

Very Much

Some-what

Not Much

a)

Is the NRI continuance important to you

_____

_____

_____

b)

Is the NRI continuance important to your institution

_____

_____

_____

c)

Is the NRI’s continuance important for the U.S.?

_____

_____

_____

d)

Is the NRI an important part of the USDA research portfolio?

_____

_____

_____

e)

Is the overhead rate (now 19%) acceptable? a deterrent?

(please circle one and then respond)

_____

_____

_____

11. How would you improve the NRI? Mark all that apply.

a)

Change program areas

Yes _____

No _____

b)

Change application process

Yes _____

No _____

c)

Change review process

Yes _____

No _____

If “yes”, please elaborate and give examples:

Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×
Page 108
Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×
Page 109
Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×
Page 110
Suggested Citation:"B Survey on the U.S. Department of Agriculture." National Research Council. 2000. National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9844.
×
Page 111
Next: C External Views of the NRI »
National Research Initiative: A Vital Competitive Grants Program in Food, Fiber, and Natural-Resources Research Get This Book
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Our nation faces daunting challenges to its food and fiber system and to the condition of our natural resources in the coming decades. Rapid increases in world population and the pressure on resources generated by increasing per capita consumption as a result of increasing per capita income challenge the very basis of our standard of living—our food, fiber, and natural-resource base. As the nation faces the challenges, new technologies and new information systems are changing the face of biologic research.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has traditionally been the nation's primary public research engine in food, fiber, and natural resources. The National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (NRI) is a small part of that USDA research effort, but it accounts for a substantial portion of the nation's merit-based peer-reviewed fundamental research efforts in food, fiber, and natural resources.

In 1997, USDA asked the National Research Council Board on Agriculture (now the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources) to conduct an independent assessment of the NRI program. Specifically, USDA asked the Research Council to: perform a retrospective assessment of the quality and value of research funded by the program; determine whether the science and technology priorities in the major NRI programs are defined appropriately; assess how NRI activities complement other USDA programs, those of other federal agencies, and state programs in the private sector; and recommend the nature and content of changes for the future.

This report summarizes the results of the committee's analysis. Chapter 2 summarizes the value of food, fiber, and natural resources-research to the United States, focusing on economic contributions and rates of return of food and fiber research. The committee's analysis of the quality, value, fairness, relevance, and responsiveness of the NRI competitive grants program is presented in chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents the committee's analysis of the role and scope of the NRI, including its scientific objectives, its value in training and education, and its complementarity with other research activities. The committee's analysis of NRI's priority-setting process and its research priorities is given in chapter 5. The committee's analysis of organizational and funding issues is given in chapter 6. Chapter 7 presents the committee's recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the NRI program. Additional supporting materials are found in appendixes A through I.

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