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SAES and CSRS representatives should be active participants in research-user 

 workshops now conducted between ARS and the action agencies of the department. 



Contract research (our proposal for a new funding mechanism imder Special Grants) 

 could be funded with the mandate for action (service) agency that will use the 

 product to develop an active role in defining and monitoring the contract. 



4. In developing your strategic plan, how much involvement is given to producer, 

 consumer and environmental groups? How much to Congress? 



Stakeholders play a very active role in defining the needs and opportunities addressed in the 

 ESCOP-CSRS Strategic Plan. Beginning at the local and state levels, input of users of 

 research products is actively sought and plays a pivotal role in defining the programs of 

 research in the SAESs. Regional research planning is emerging as a method of facilitating 

 cooperation and collaboration and will seek input from regional legislative groups, industries 

 and other users. 



At the national level, input is sought for the ESCOP-CSRS Strategic Research Plan fi-om 

 more than three hundred organizations that are users of the products of SAES research. 

 In addition, there are annual "Customer Conferences" that bring together related users of 

 research products to advise ESCOP on research needs. Commodity and farm organizations, 

 professional and scientific societies, environmental groups, and consimier organizations are 

 actively involved in the planning process. 



At the national level, the engagement with traditional commodity and farm organizations 

 is longer standing and more developed than with environmental and consumer groups. But, 

 major emphasis is being placed on strengthening linkages with all user groups to define 

 research needs. The User's Advisory Board is specifically mandated by the Congress as one 

 mechanism of developing input for SAES (and other) USDA research. 



The Congress has a pivotal impact on the research agenda through the authorizing and 

 appropriations process. The authorizing committees of the House and Senate provide the 

 broad goals and objectives and the statement of purpose for what we do. Very often, specific 

 instructions relative to expenditure of funds for clearly identified purposes are a part of the 

 Congressioncd language on CSRS appropriations. In practice, there is an ongoing dialogue 

 with members and staff of both the authorizing and appropriations committees in both the 

 House and Senate. 



In developing the strategic plan, we have routinely invited members of Congress in 

 leadership positions to address our National Pohcy Symposia that are held in Washington 

 in conjunction with the quadrermial planning cycle. TTiis more formal engagement with the 

 planning process is symbolic of the much more frequent informal engagement that is 

 ongoing with Congressional leadership. We would obviously welcome the opportunity for 



