Northeastern IntegratedPest Management Center Advisory Council “Job Description”

The NE IPMC Advisory Council’s Role: The Advisory Council will consist of a diverse array of stakeholders and will provide broad vision and guidance to the Steering Committee and NE IPMC staff. The Advisory Council will be a key link for the Center to stakeholder needs and priorities for pest management programs. Moreover, the Advisory Council will be an important avenue for Center outreach. Advisory Council members will provide marketing and awareness of the Center to their own constituencies and beyond. Finally, the Advisory Council will afford its members the opportunity to communicate with and learn from each other.

Time Commitment: The Advisory Council will meet approximately once per year over the course this project, with the first meeting to be held in Hartford, Connecticut on October 7-8, 2003. Meeting expenses, including travel and lodging will be paid by NE IPMC. Between meetings, members will receive periodical updates from Center staff and will have the opportunity to participate in electronic discussion on the Internet.

Responsibilities of Advisory Council Members: Advisory Council members are expected to represent their own stakeholder group. Perhaps the simplest part of this expectation entails attending and participating in the AC meetings. At each meeting, AC members will be expected to review and critique NE IPMC performance based on progress reports supplied prior to the meeting.

Advisory Council members need to communicate with those they represent on NE IPMC issues and questions. For instance, suppose a particular AC member represents a commodity group. That person is expected to discuss Center issues and questions with the commodity group and to carry the group’s perspective to AC meetings and discussions. The representative is also expected to share Advisory Council decisions and concerns with the commodity group. In other words, the AC member serves as a communications link between the stakeholders s/he represents and the NE IPMC.

In addition, the AC will be asked for input on how NE IPMC outsourced funding should be distributed. AC members will be asked to review drafts of requests for applications and provide guidance on gatherings such as the Biennial Conference and Critical Issues projects.

After the second year of the grant, the AC will be asked to review the progress of components that make up the NE IPMC and provide feedback to the staff.

Advisory Council Membership: We anticipate that the Advisory Council will have 35 or more members. Diverse groups will be represented including land grant university research and extension; non-land grant universities; crop producers, managers and consultants; environmental and consumer advocates; federal and state partner agencies; and the food industry. Initially, the AC to the NE IPMC will include the same individuals as served on the AC for the past three years. We propose, with input from the AC, to set up a rotational schedule so individuals will not be making an unending commitment.