OUR PROGRAM
NRSP-1 Management Committee
Paula Agudelo, Chair, Administrative Advisor (AA)
Jeanette Thurston, Member, Lead AA
Executive Director, NCRA
Christina Hamilton, Member, NIMSS Lead
Assistant Director, NCRA
Bret Hess, Member, AA
Executive Director, WAAESD
Jennifer Tippetts, Member
Administrative Management, WAAESD
Alton Thompson, Member
Executive Director, ARD
Richard Rhodes, Member
Executive Director, NERA
David Leibovitz, Member
Coordinator, NERA
Gary Thompson, Member
Executive Director, SAAESD
Cindy Morley, Member
Coordinator, SAAESD
Bill Miller, Member, AA
NERA
Julie Estrada, Member
NIMSS User
Robin Williams, Member
NIMSS User
Alexis Nazario-Negron, Liaison
PARS Director, NIFA
Faith Peppers, Liaison
Director of Communications, NIFA
Sara Delheimer, Ex-officio
MRF Impacts Program Coordinator
The Multistate Research Fund Impacts Program (MRF Impacts) was created in 2012 to share the impacts of Hatch Multistate projects. We do this through impact statements, social media, and other materials. MRF Impacts also trains scientists and others to report their impacts.
MRF Impacts is overseen by the NRPS-1 Management Committee.
Sara Delheimer serves as Program Coordinator. In this role, she writes, designs, and distributes impact statements; manages @MRFImpacts social media accounts; and facilitates Impact Writing Workshops.
Program structure and funding is provided by National Research Support Project-1 (NRSP-1)*
A National Research Support Project is a particular type of Hatch Multistate project that is not focused on research itself, but rather the development of enabling technologies, support activities, or facilities needed to accomplish high priority research. NRSPs receive off-the-top funding from the Hatch Multistate Research Fund.
*NRSP-1 also supports the National Information Management & Support System (NIMSS), a web-based portal for managing the Hatch Multistate Research Fund's portfolio and project participation.
OUR WORK
Toolkits
We develop monthly toolkits that connect MRF projects to timely events and topics. These toolkits include links to materials and posts that anyone is welcome to use.
OUR ECOSYSTEM
Land-grant Universities
Hatch Multistate projects are led by researchers at land-grant universities. Land-grant universities are federally designated universities that have traditionally pursued a threefold mission of education, research, and extension in practical fields like agriculture and engineering. Land-grant universities were originally designated in 1862 by the Morrill Act. Many historically Black colleges and tribal colleges were added to the land-grant system by acts in 1890 and 1994, respectively. Today, there is at least one land-grant university in every state and territory.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Created by the 2008 Farm Bill, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is a federal agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides leadership and administers federal funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences, including the Hatch Multistate Research Fund.
State Agricultural Experiment Stations
The Hatch Act of 1887 authorized the establishment of State Agricultural Experiment Stations. At least one land-grant university per state is home to a station. These stations are scientific research centers that investigate potential improvements to food production and agribusines. Federal and state governments, grants, contracts, and product sales fund this research.
Hatch Multistate Research Fund
The Multistate Research Fund (MRF) supports multidisciplinary, multistate research in which two or more State Agricultural Experiment Stations cooperate to solve problems that concern more than one state. These are commonly referred to as "Hatch Multistate" projects or "multistate research projects." The MRF was established in 1998 as an amendment to the Hatch Act of 1887. Each year, at least 25% of the total Hatch Act funding is allotted for the MRF. The MRF is administered by USDA-NIFA.
agInnovation
Each State Agricultural Experiment Station participates in a regional association. Collectively, these regional associations are known as agInnovation ((formerly the Experiment Station Section). agInnovation handles business, organization, and policy on behalf of Experiment Station directors and administrators, provides liaisons to other groups, and promotes Experiment Station research to stimulate institutional collaboration and make the world more food secure. agInnovation operates as a unit of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
