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1 - 2002 Annual Performance Report & 2003, 2004, 2005 Annual Performance Plans 2 - Page 2 3 - Page 3 4 - Page 4 5 - Page 5 6 - Page 6 7 - Page 7 8 - Page 8 9 - Page 9 10 - Page 10

GOAL V:  To Increase the Capacity of Communities, Families, and Individuals to Enhance Their Economic Well-being and Quality of Life.

Funding by Program Activity ($000's)	FY 2002	FY 2003	FY 2004
Soil, Water & Air Sciences	4,107	4,022	4,061
Plant Sciences	90,229	93,641	94,483
Animal Sciences	39,951	40,000	40,371
Commodity Conversion & Delivery	2,606	2,181	2,208
Human Nutrition	0	0	0
Integration of Agricultural Systems	5,555	5,706	5,719
Total	$142,448	$145,550	$146,842
FTEs	1,455	1,500	1,500

NOTE: Not included in the table are appropriations for repairs and maintenance of ARS facilities and for some of Homeland Security. 

Analysis of Results in FY 2002:  This goal focuses primarily on activities designed to get research-based information to individuals and communities that will be useful for addressing a wide range of socio-economic issues.  Under Goal V, 11 Indicators are aligned under 7 Performance Goals.  Because of the unique and dynamic nature of research, several Indicators were added, deleted, or modified in this report that did not first appear in the Annual Performance Plan for FY 2002.  This was done to ensure that significant accomplishments that were not anticipated last year were reported.  While it is not possible to report research accomplishments numerically, the progress projected in all 11 Indicators was completed or substantially completed during FY 2002.  Eleven significant accomplishments are reported below.

Means and Strategies:  To successfully accomplish the research activities under this goal, ARS will need the level of human, fiscal, physical, and information resources shown in the budget estimates for fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

Verification and Validation:  ARS currently conducts a series of review processes designed to ensure the relevance and quality of its research work and to maintain the highest possible standards for its scientists.  A more detailed description of the evaluation plans can be found in the introduction to this plan.

OBJECTIVE 5.1:  Economic opportunity and technology transfer:  Conduct "agricultural research ... to promote economic opportunity in rural communities and to meet the increasing demand for information and technology transfer throughout the United States agriculture industry."

STRATEGY 5.1.1:  Rural development opportunities:  Develop farming systems tailored to diverse agricultural production enterprises to enhance profits, sustainability, and environmental quality.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5.1.1.1:  Experimentally demonstrate the successful operation of small-scale production and processing systems, evaluate small-scale animal and plant production systems, and enhance high-value agricultural products.

Indicators:

During FY 2002,ARS will develop specifications for beef cattle and meat goats finished on pasture that will provide criteria for evaluating finishing systems and marketing criteria for pasture raised livestock.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  In order to determine optimal forage-based beef cattle finishing systems, fatty acid profiles of a number of forages were determined.  Animal performance prior to the finishing phase was evaluated in order to determine carry-over influences on ultimate meat quality and consumer acceptance of pasture-finished beef products.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  Forage fatty acid profiles will be used to develop forage finishing systems that result in maximum deposition of conjugated linoleic acids, associated with lower risk heart disease, in livestock.  To increase consistency and quality of pasture finished beef, pre-finishing animal performance levels must be optimized.

During FY 2003, ARS will continue to evaluate effect of winter stocker performance level on end product performance and will develop calibration equations for NIR analysis of forages from fatty acid profile data.

During FY 2004, ARS will develop methodology and specifications for assessment of consumer acceptance of pasture-finished beef products and will develop optimized forage regimens for the finishing phase.

During FY 2005, ARS will conduct consumer sensory evaluation of pasture-finished beef products from several forage-animal performance level regimens.

STRATEGY 5.1.2:  Information access and delivery:  Provide improved access to and dissemination of information to increase public knowledge and awareness of agricultural research, to aid technology transfer, and to speed up sharing of new knowledge.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5.1.2.1:  Make information on ARS research results and inventions available electronically via the Internet and similar resources.

Indicators:

During FY 2002, the ARS Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) will make additional efforts to use publications, Web sites, exhibits at trade shows, and other means to expand the public's knowledge of how to access ARS technology.  A new selection to the OTT Web site will be created to provide industry with a comprehensive review of past ARS research projects that have been transferred to the private sector to exemplify the technology transfer program.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  OTT aggressively increased subscriptions to its Technology Alerts electronic mailing list, which allows businesses to receive notifications when new technologies are available for licensing. New subscribers are actively sought at trades shows, industry meetings, workshops, and through targeted mailings. As a result of these efforts, the list, which started with 105 members in July 2001, now has more than 719 subscribers.  OTT updates its Web site and continues to provided industry with the latest information on new technologies available for licensing, as well as examples of ARS research projects that have been successfully transferred to the marketplace for public consumption and use.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  This service not only helps expand the public's knowledge of how to access ARS technology, but it also helps keep ARS research on the minds of key industry contacts, helps reach a broader audience at no extra cost, increases the likelihood of technology licensing, and helps in the decision-making process when determining whether or not to pursue foreign patent protection.

During FY 2003,OTT will make additional efforts to integrate and communicate information to lay industry audiences about technological advances in ARS that help solve agricultural problems of national concern.  Redesigning the OTT Web site will help provide industry with easier access to information through new features including easier content navigation, an integrated feature that searches the entire site, generic agreement forms, contact lists for easier public accessibility to the OTT staff, technologies by related subjects, featured items showcasing new ARS technology, and comprehensive reviews of ARS research projects that have been successfully transferred to the public.

During FY 2004,OTT will make additional efforts to integrate and communicate information to industry and lay audiences about technological advances in ARS that help solve agricultural problems of national concern.  Through its Web site, OTT will offer a new service that will help businesses to quickly and easily identify cooperative partnering opportunities.  OTT will continue to update and showcase research projects that have been successfully transferred to the marketplace for widespread public consumption and use.

During FY 2005,OTT will continue to integrate and communicate information to industry and lay audiences about technological advances in ARS that help solve agricultural problems of national concern.  OTT will plan strategies that will increase the number of members to its Technology Alert subscription list to more than 800 subscribers.  ARS will develop new ways to inform businesses about partnering and licensing opportunities.  This will be accomplished through various technology transfer showcases, meetings, trade shows, and targeted mailings.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5.1.2.2:  Provide more cost-effective and efficient public information and technology transfer.

Indicators:

During FY 2002, OTT will

further expand efforts to be actively involved in the planning and organization of several events designed for highlighting new ARS technologies and identifying industry partners for commercialization.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Working in concert with Florida Enterprise, and the Florida Small Business Council, ARS co-hosted the "Florida Technology Showcase" at the ARS lab in Ft. Pierce, Florida, that included ARS technologies developed across the agency. 

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  A number of new contacts were made resulting from the Technology Showcase.  Subsequent interactions between industry and ARS researchers are expected to result in additional cooperative research.  Furthermore, several inquiries on existing technologies have been received.

submit 80 new patent applications.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Ninety patent applications were filed.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  New technologies are available for licensing.

participate in 90 new CRADAs.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Participated in 59 new CRADAs, 436 Material Transfer Agreements, and 29 other research and development agreements.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  New partnerships were formed to advance the development and commercialization of ARS technologies.

license 32 new products.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Twenty-six licenses were established.  This year, with the downturn in the economy, a number of license applications were withdrawn by industry.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  Progress toward the commercialization of new ARS technologies.

develop 70 new plant varieties for release to industry for further development and marketing.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Released 45 new plant varieties out of the 47 plant materials submitted by ARS scientists.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  New varieties are available to producers to enhance production, crop quality, and disease resistance.

During FY 2003,OTT will 

further expand its efforts to be actively involved in planning and organizing special events and industry trade shows designed to highlight new ARS technologies for commercialization and identify industry partners. These efforts will include:

submitting 80 new patent applications.

participating in 70 new CRADAs.

licensing 32 new products.

developing 70 new plant varieties for release to industry for further development and marketing.

During FY 2004, OTT will

further expand its efforts to be actively involved in planning and organizing special events and industry trade shows designed to highlight new ARS technologies for commercialization and identify industry partners.  These efforts will include:

submitting approximately 85 new patent applications.

developing approximately 65 new CRADAs.

formalize licenses for 30 new products.

develop 70 new plant varieties for release to industry for further development and marketing.

During FY 2005,OTT will

further expand its efforts to be actively involved in planning and organizing special events and industry trade shows designed to highlight new ARS technologies for commercialization and identify industry partners.  These efforts will include:

submitting approximately 85 new patent applications.

developing approximately 65 new CRADAs.

formalize licenses for 30 new products.

develop 70 new plant varieties for release to industry for further development and marketing.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5.1.2.3:  Research programs include information and technology transfer considerations.

Indicators:

During FY 2002, ARS will

continue development of an Internet Web site to communicate to the public the National Invasive Species Management Plan and other activities relating to invasive species, through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Efficient information exchange is a key goal of the National Invasive Species Management Plan (NIAMP) that was facilitated by the National Invasive Species Council (NISC), but no mechanism existed to implement the task.  ARS information technology staff with the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland, along with collaborations from the National Biological Information Infrastructure and the Center for Biological Informatics of the U.S. Geological Survey, developed www.invasivespecies.gov, the official gateway to invasive species information in the United States.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  This Web site provides customers and stakeholders with an easy, rapid and thorough entr?e to global information on invasive species.  It provides links to approximately 6,200 unique resources, and useage by customers and stakeholders is high and increasing.

enhance its partnership with local and State customers who are helping with the site selection, distribution of biological control agents, testing of other management techniques, and technology transfer to land managers through OTT.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  Working with Area Directors, contracting specialists, and extramural agreement specialists, OTT's Technology Transfer Coordinator organized field days, whereby candidate biocontrol agents were distributed to land managers.  "Shrink wrap" Material Transfer Agreements were developed by OTT for such purposes.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  Research outcomes are distributed to end users in a manner that facilitates testing, acceptance, and adoption of technologies by end users.  This task was completed in FY 2002.

During FY 2003,ARS will organize a national technology transfer symposium focusing on integrating ecological principles into weed management, through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council and USDA-CSREES.

During FY 2004, ARS will

organize a national technology transfer symposium focusing on integrating ecological principles into weed management through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council and USDA-CSREES.         

continue to develop an Internet Web site to communicate to the public the National Invasive Species Management Plan and other activities relating to invasive species through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council.

During FY 2005, ARS will

organize a national technology transfer symposium focusing on integrating ecological principles into weed management through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council and USDA-CSREES.       

continue to develop an Internet Web site to communicate to the public the National Invasive Species Management Plan and other activities relating to invasive species through a partnership with the National Invasive Species Council.

Indicators:

During FY 2002, ARS will implement its GPEA plan and submit quarterly accomplishment reports.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  ARS implemented its GPEA plan and continued to make progress toward upgrading the transactions to meet the requirements as indicated in the plan.  ARS monitored its progress toward meeting the requirements of GPEA and submitted quarterly status reports to the Department.  As of the end of FY 2002, only one transaction subject to the requirements of GPEA was not yet upgraded.  It is scheduled to be upgraded by October 21, 2003.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  ARS data collections and transactions subject to the requirements of GPEA will be available for electronic submission by customers, in addition to the existing paper driven process.

During FY 2003, ARS will implement its GPEA plan and complete the project by October 21, 2003.

During FY 2004, ARS will continue to monitor all new transactions that are subject to GPEA to ensure that the requirements are met.

During FY 2005, ARS will continue to monitor all new transactions that are subject to GPEA to ensure that the requirements are met.

STRATEGY 5.1.3:  Commercialize research results:  Develop technology transfer systems that lead to commercialization of research results by industry.

PERFORMANCE GOAL 5.1.3.1: Expand the types of agreements used by ARS and delegate signatory authority to the lowest feasible level.

Indicators:

During FY 2002,OTT will work with the Extramural Agreement Division of Administrative and Financial Management and the Office of International Research Programs (OIRP) to develop standardized agreements for work with foreign cooperators.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:  OTT, in consultation with the Office of the General Counsel, has developed language to protect USDA rights to intellectual property that has been incorporated generically into a number of documents for interactions with Mexico, Brazil, and the former Soviet countries.

IMPACT/OUTCOME:  Agreements initiated by OIRP and approved by the Extramural Agreements Division can now be negotiated and processed more rapidly.  Furthermore, this ensures that taxpayer funded inventions remain in the jurisdiction of USDA for the purpose of technology transfer.

During FY 2003,OTT will work with the Extramural Agreement Division of Administrative and Financial Management and the Office of International Research Programs to develop standardized agreements for work with foreign cooperators.

During FY 2004, OTT will work with the Extramural Agreement Division of Administrative and Financial Management and the Office of International Research Programs to develop standardized agreements for work with foreign cooperators.

During FY 2005, OTT will work with the Extramural Division of Administrative and Financial Management and the Office of International Research Programs to develop standardized agreements for work with foreign cooperators.

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