Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ture, fishing, and forestry; (4) identification, development, evaluation, and imple-
mentation of
control systems
to reduce injury and illness; and (5) development
of efficient and effective
outreach mechanisms
for dissemination and delivery of
knowledge developed through research.
Those resources would include adequate staff, scientists, engineers, and ad-
ministrators who work together with clearly defined goals, strategies, and evalua-
tion methods to ensure success in achieving AFF Program goals. Their combined
experience and expertise would be specific to agriculture, fishing, and forestry,
to the extent possible. There would be clearly defined reporting mechanisms and
procedures for maintaining accountability, and a well-organized system would be
in place for creating an archive of program work products for future reference. A
single person would be charged with directing the entire program and overseeing,
evaluating, and communicating its plans. However, content experts would be in
charge of each arm of the program: a separate leader for agriculture, for forestry,
and for fishing. The committee envisions a relatively flat organization chart; the
person in charge of each arm would have a fair amount of responsibility to make
decisions. The management matrix or organization structure would be flexible so
that the AFF research teams can recognize and react quickly to changes in the AFF
industries, the economy, new technologies, and relevant results of research in other
programs, and managed in such a way that AFF research teams are encouraged to be
proactive in anticipating and mitigating emerging risks and hazards. The AFF Pro-
gram would be informed of current issues through contacts in the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension System, and industry representatives.
The AFF Program would have world-class research facilities and laboratories
devoted to solving problems specific to the strategic plan. The facilities would focus
on elements of the strategic plan that may not be adequately addressed through
extramural research projects, such as the development of analytic methods directly
relevant to the AFF mission. AFF resources would not be used to duplicate capa-
bilities available in partner agencies or programs or when the foremost expertise
is available through extramural programs. In addition to projects funded at the
NIOSH Centers for Agricultural Disease and Injury Research, Education, and
Prevention (Ag Centers), the AFF Program would consider funding extramu-
ral projects that address important issues and innovative technologies. The AFF
Program would include the means to fund large multicenter studies to answer
scientific questions that cannot be addressed any other way; an example might
be gene-environment interaction studies, which have become important in fields
ranging from the risk of lumbar disk herniation to the risk of airway obstruc-
tion related to animal feeding operations. Ethical issues related to findings from
gene-environment interaction studies would be considered, including the possible
impact on employment.
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