17 minute read
Focus Area 3: Innovation
FOCUS AREA 3:
Innovation
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3.1:
As the world and environment around us continue to change, human nutrition needs and food disparities impact our overall health and well-being, and global population increases strain both food supply and supply chains, there is increasing demand for solutions today that help build a more sustainable future tomorrow. The crucial role we serve in how we collectively adapt to the changing dynamics of North Carolina cannot be understated. CALS is ideally positioned to serve as not only an incubator for the research that informs such sustainable solutions, but a leader and exporter that has an impact well beyond NC State and North Carolina.
To fill this role, we will develop and adopt a clear but necessarily broad agenda focused on sustainability. Sustainability can mean very different things to many different people and stakeholders. We align our view of sustainability with that of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which features 17 Sustainable Development Goals, while ensuring the long-term viability of our industries at the same time. For CALS and this strategic plan, it is intended to apply to all the work we do in our college and the places and people we support – we will help build more sustainable families, careers, industries, communities, and environments in North Carolina for future generations and export the important research and discovery that begins in our state but can inform a more sustainable nation and world for years to come.
This agenda, which will be constructed in close collaboration with our many partners and collaborators, will serve as the basis through which we align all our efforts through the lens of sustainability. Sustainability is both a mindset and term and carries varying definitions, implications and applications. We are proud of our heritage at CALS—our ability to be a college of both agricultural and life sciences. At CALS, we have strived to balance discovery and basic research intermingled with applied research and Extension. This priority establishes our goal of addressing sustainability in its broadest sense—an
imperative given the future needs of North Carolina, the U.S. and the world. While a core theme of our future work, we also recognize this focus on sustainability should not be at the expense of other research activities. There are significant elements of CALS that do not work directly on sustainability, nor should they, but they provide fundamental discoveries that can lead to sustainable solutions.
Today, we have the assets and momentum to become a world leader in sustainability, powered by recent successes of interdisciplinary research teams and groundbreaking research being conducted by numerous CALS faculty. We must leverage this momentum accordingly and intentionally to advance this priority with a mindset and spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration that extends well beyond the walls of our college. This is not an agenda that will be developed and never revisited. Rather, it must be an ever-evolving roadmap regularly reviewed and scrutinized to ensure our research is constantly positioned on the cutting edge of where sustainable solutions are needed not just today, but decades from now.
Now, more than ever, students are leading social change efforts to improve quality of life for others. Our faculty and staff have a crucial responsibility to support students in sustainability education, ensuring they have access to both classroom learning and opportunities to create real-world solutions involving sustainability. We must also work to ensure our students have ample opportunities for hands-on learning with the interdisciplinary teams conducting related research and participating in Extension. Today’s learners are at the forefront of both driving and creating change; after studying in CALS, they will leave with the skills needed to build a sustainable tomorrow.
GOAL 3.1.1: POSITION CALS AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN SUSTAINABILITY FOR AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES
KEY INITIATIVES
Key Initiative 1: Establish and maintain a framework and areas of focus for sustainability research agenda including robust basic and applied work
Key Initiative 2: Create interdisciplinary research centers, institutes, centers of excellence or clusters involving sustainability in agriculture and life sciences
Key Initiative 3: Establish new minor focused on sustainability and related coursework
Key Initiative 4: Develop undergraduate and graduate certificate programs in sustainable agriculture, especially in partnership with NC A&T State University and community colleges
Key Initiative 5: Develop regional hub for sustainability in collaboration with regional higher education institutions
SUCCESS METRICS
• Faculty awards and publications involving sustainability • Secured sponsored funds for projects involving sustainability • Creation of an interdisciplinary center or institute focused on sustainability • Sustainability-focused partnerships with regional higher education institutions • Interdisciplinary projects involving sustainability • New programs launched involving sustainability • Hiring faculty with sustainability-focused portfolios
WOLFPACK 2030 ALIGNMENT
• Goal 3: Expand and advance our engagement with and service to North Carolina and beyond, defining the standard for a 21st-century land-grant university • Goal 6: Lead in developing innovative partnerships, entrepreneurial thinking and applied problem-solving • Goal 7: Elevate the national and global reputation and visibility of NC State
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3.2:
Build Our Infrastructure
CALS has an enormous footprint on campus and across the state – not surprising considering the breadth of our college. From fields and labs to hundreds of offices, classrooms and meeting spaces, we depend on our buildings and spaces to be able to provide high-quality research, courses and Extension programs and services. For our programs to have the impact we desire, we must aggressively invest in the infrastructure that underpins all activities at CALS.
We have been highly competitive in scaling our research funding, growing from $51.2 million in competitive research funding in 2013 to $98 million in 2021. Additionally, CALS continues to receive strong and reliable support from key partners like commodity groups, while one-time investments from these groups and key partners like the Golden LEAF Foundation and the state of North Carolina have helped spur the formation of the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative and facility located on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Industry-sponsored research has also increased significantly, growing from $5 million in 2013 to $8.6 million in 2021.
Despite these successes, there are numerous areas of the CALS enterprise requiring significant attention and investment. This is largely due to the expansive presence we maintain throughout the state, including our 18 agricultural research stations we operate in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, which each maintain diverse areas of focus in conducting translational research directly applicable to the geographies in which they are located. We must take steps today to fully understand the needs of these and other labs or facilities, including any barriers that may prevent them from facilitating the type of groundbreaking research for which CALS is known. This includes a particular focus on digitally enabling and integrating each of these research farms with NC State’s Main and Centennial campuses and improving access to these state-of-the-art facilities and resources. Through this integration, we can more intentionally exchange complex datasets and leverage the leading data management capabilities, analysts and infrastructure that now exists, which will help inform greater accessibility of data throughout the state, resulting in more effective research and expanded translational impact in the state we serve.
In making these and other strategic investments, we will work to have the best agriculture and life sciences facilities in the nation, which will not only help to elevate our research, academic and Extension programs but serve as a key driver of how we recruit and retain our talented faculty, staff and students. Along these lines, this focus on our research infrastructure extends well beyond bricks and mortar and digital connectivity. We must make similar investments in the human capital that makes this research possible, including in providing greater support in how we take the tremendous research work occurring in CALS and convert it into tangible solutions with real-world impacts and extendable outputs— whether through more intentional integration with NC State Extension or commercializing research through a deeper culture of entrepreneurship in which we empower, train and push our faculty to build and scale their portfolios.
Finally, we recognize that in order for CALS to have the global impact we seek, we must strengthen the way we communicate the work taking place across our college. By investing and realigning our college’s communications infrastructure, we envision a more streamlined and interactive approach to engaging partners in our work and telling the CALS story statewide and globally, helping to create a circular effect in driving awareness, interest and resources into our enterprises.
GOAL 3.2.1: POSITION CALS FACILITIES AS WORLD LEADERS FOR RESEARCH, TEACHING AND ENGAGEMENT
Key Initiative 1: Create a comprehensive process for assessing existing CALS facilities and developing a corresponding long-term facility improvement and new facility development plan
Key Initiative 2: Identify funding sources and partners and invest in key facilities throughout the state that can be positioned as destination farms and other locations for research, academics and Extension
Key Initiative 3: Digitally connect and integrate CALS research stations and field labs
Key Initiative 4: Advance Food Animal Initiative using N.C. PSI as a model and framework
GOAL 3.2.2: ESTABLISH CALS AS A REGIONAL HUB FOR FACULTY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Key Initiative 1: Launch a faculty entrepreneurship acceleration program within CALS
Key Initiative 2: Design an entrepreneurship boot camp for graduate students, post docs and early career faculty
Key Initiative 3: Develop financial or other incentives that encourage post-award spinoff ventures for faculty and graduate students
SUCCESS METRICS:
• Grants and contracts awarded • Corporate and philanthropic support • Investments in both on and off-campus facilities and assets • Patent awards • New startups formed by CALS alumni • New startups formed because of CALS research, teaching and Extension activities • Funds raised by startups formed or incubated through CALS research activities
WOLFPACK 2030 ALIGNMENT
• Goal 5: Improve university effectiveness through transformative technologies, cutting-edge processes and actionable data
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3.3:
Transform Our Extension Delivery Model
For decades, NC State Extension has defined the connection between the leading research taking place at NC State University and the residents of North Carolina, underscoring the foundation of how NC State delivers its land-grant mission. NC State Extension works in partnership with the state’s Cooperative Extension program and NC A&T State University at the county level under the name NC Cooperative Extension. In 2013, NC Cooperative Extension underwent a significant reorganization of programs and resources in response to state economic influences and budget cuts. However, in the years since, Extension has seen stable budgets and strong support from its funders and partners, particularly at the county level. North Carolina’s strong commitment for Cooperative Extension is in many ways the envy of other states, as many have experienced cutbacks and declining participation in their extension programs.
This stable environment is not without risks and challenges. Housed within CALS as the university’s hub for agricultural, youth, family and community programming, Extension’s presence in all North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians provides significant reach within the state’s communities but also strains limited resources and Extension agents working to meet the needs of the residents they each support. The needs of our state’s communities are rapidly evolving, whether due to population migration, urbanization and changing demographics or influences like climate change impacting local growing conditions, food insecurities and changing communication, technology and data management needs.
Extension must similarly evolve to meet these changing conditions and sustain the strong support that it carries throughout the state. Input from Extension stakeholders through listening sessions, focus groups and internal and external surveys point to a clear desire for Extension to reinvent itself through measures like more targeted, countyspecific programming and better establishing the link between the objective, world-class research taking place throughout NC State and the counties we serve. This starts with recognizing and developing solutions in response to the trends that are quickly becoming reality for our state’s residents, like prioritizing training and resources for agents to support growers grappling with the impacts of climate change and the need for sustainable agriculture solutions. These trends also include population growth in our state’s urban centers that bring new stakeholders and potential advocates and partners. We must be vigilant in recognizing that the needs of our urban communities differ from those of our rural communities and customizing programs that serve both.
Future trends require us to create different future strategies for Extension’s traditional pillars. For programs like Family and Consumer Sciences, FFA, and 4-H, it means enhancing programs that serve the families of North Carolina to prioritize soft skills development among youth and equipping agents to recognize and connect those in mental health crisis to the resources they need in response to challenges severely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Extension faculty and specialists also work closely with the food industry, food producers and consumers to support a nutritious and healthy food supply. We must continue empowering and supporting this work via educational programs in food safety and other measures.
One of Extension’s key differentiators is how the programs and services we offer through it are grounded in objective science and backed by research. We must reinforce that connection at every opportunity by fostering real-time, two-way engagement between our specialists conducting this research and Extension agents in the counties. This connection must also be circular, with real-time county and stakeholder needs helping to drive research and the development of solutions that apply to them. We will also take great care to ensure all our agents and specialists are both trained in and empowered with knowledge surrounding community development, which will help them serve as more equipped advisors to the communities they serve and help residents better understand the science behind the work we do.
Technology is serving an increasingly important role in Extension. We must not only embrace technology and encourage its use by our staff and stakeholders where appropriate, but work with our stakeholders to guide them in how they similarly embrace technology in a way so that they are not left behind. In particular, when carefully implemented, artificial intelligence and machine learning shows promise for providing rapid, high-quality information that can positively impact the stakeholders and communities we serve.
The trends and opportunities we see through Extension are not limited to our state or country. We have an opportunity to expand our positive international impact through Extension and use the experiences, knowledge and contacts gained to create a corresponding impact on our state. By adopting this holistic global perspective throughout CALS, including Extension, we can truly maximize how we advance global learning and discovery in all facets of our college.
As we transform and fine-tune our Extension delivery model, it will be crucial that all residents of the state have awareness and understanding of the myriad resources available to them through Cooperative Extension. In doing so, we can not only expand the economic and community benefits we provide, but cement our standing as an invaluable program that provides untold value to the residents of North Carolina.
In addition to the below goals, key initiatives and metrics, NC State Extension’s strategic plan features several strategic priorities, detailed goals, initiatives and metrics that align with the CALS strategic plan. These include priorities related to expanding Extension’s awareness and utilization throughout the state; providing high-caliber, impactful programming that meets the needs of local communities; positioning NC State Extension as a premier employer in North Carolina; and enhancing the impact and benefit of Extension communications. For more information on the Extension strategic plan, visit ces.ncsu.edu.
Key Initiative 1: Create a comprehensive process for assessing existing current agent onboarding, training and mentoring programs and regularly adapting those programs to changing needs
Key Initiative 2: Expand Extension programs for middle school and high school students and expand partnerships with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and local education agencies throughout the state
Key Initiative 3: Expand partnership with NC A&T State University involving Extension programming to continue responding to the full continuum of farmer stakeholders, large and small
Key Initiative 4: Establish statewide teams and advisory resources focused on future trends like climate change, health and food disparities, social determinants of health, community connectivity and youth development
Key Initiative 5: Implement Extension-focused international programs and projects that connect campus-based Extension faculty with global partnership opportunities and engage county faculty and agents in related global learning
GOAL 3.3.2: AMPLIFY THE SCALE, IMPACT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTENSION COMMUNICATIONS
Key Initiative 1: Develop a statewide marketing plan to maximize awareness of and participation in Extension programs
Key Initiative 2: Redesign web, digital and knowledge-sharing platforms to streamline access to Extension information and resources
Key Initiative 3: Develop a targeted marketing and communication strategy to engage North Carolina high school students in the work of Extension, while highlighting career opportunities in agriculture and life sciences
Key Initiative 4: Adapt all Extension materials, communications and resources to best serve the multicultural populations and varied demographics of North Carolina
Key Initiative 5: Develop formula for quantifying Extension impact among communities and populations served
SUCCESS METRICS
• Number of marketing resources used • Marketing reach and engagement rates • Balanced participation of program participants proportionate to the county or statewide population • Balanced participation of program participants proportionate to the county farm operator population • Internal platform analytics • Internal communication satisfaction survey • Communication open and engagement rates • External stakeholder satisfaction survey results • Website access and use analytics • Annual Extension funding • Number of new or adapted programs based on evolving trends and needs • Number of new international projects and programs involving Extension faculty and agents • Number of existing programs that have been reshaped or enhanced to be culturally appropriate and accessible • Increase in middle school aged youth program participation • Increase in high school aged youth program participation • Standardized needs assessment instruments • Standardized evaluation measures • Extension impact factor • Number of new programs implemented
WOLFPACK 2030 ALIGNMENT
• Goal 3: Expand and advance our engagement with and service to North Carolina and beyond, defining the standard for a 21st-century land-grant university • Goal 6: Lead in developing innovative partnerships, entrepreneurial thinking and applied problem-solving • Goal 7: Elevate NC State’s national and global reputation and visibility
STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3.4:
Continually Prepare for the Future
We created this plan at a unique point in time with input from thousands of people. As conditions change, so must our plan—and it must do so without losing sight of our overall strategic priorities. We will achieve this flexibility through the ideas, wisdom and continual input of our faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders. Each CALS department and unit should develop distinct strategic plans, or revisit existing plans, that align with this plan and feature tactical implementation plans that define how our various units will support our shared strategic priorities, goals and initiatives. These departmental plans and the plan contained herein will be regularly monitored, reviewed and reported on to our broader CALS community—both to provide transparency in how we are implementing this plan that thousands of our constituencies have helped to make a reality and to build enthusiasm among our community for these and future initiatives. It will also be important to review this plan for relevance and applicability as conditions change. While we expect our strategic priorities and goals to remain constant over time, we also recognize that the rapidly evolving landscape in which we operate may necessitate strategy shifts as a function of implementation. These implementation plans should be structured as living plans to ensure we retain the flexibility we need to be nimble in the face of change, while also taking steps to appropriately communicate any such shifts to our CALS community.
We recognize that many of the initiatives contained in this plan are interdisciplinary in nature or must involve numerous internal and external stakeholders to accomplish. To support many of these initiatives, we will establish cross-college, cross-functional working groups. These groups may comprise faculty, staff and partners from multiple colleges or departments, non-departmental units and key functions of research, academics and Extension. In some instances, they may also involve external stakeholders advising the process and lending their valuable time and subject matter expertise. These groups will be responsible for producing implementation plans for these broader topics or initiatives, such as sustainability, climate change, international agriculture, diversity and even more specific topics. One existing model to lean upon is the collaborative Center of Excellence for Regulatory Science in Agriculture, which addressed a need to provide research-based information that informs regulatory decisions, impacts the communities we serve and trains individuals with the skills and information to make informed regulatory decisions. These groups will lead the development of position papers, new courses, new concentrations or other academic programs, new Extension programs, recommendations for new positions, new research programs, grant submissions and wraparound communication needs.
