invited seminar department of agricultural economics mississippi state university starkville, ms j....
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Integrating Research and Extension in in an Academic Department: Opportunities
and ChallengesInvited Seminar
Department of Agricultural EconomicsMississippi State University
Starkville, MS
J. Matthew Fannin
Associate Professor, LSU AgCenter and LSU A&M
January 21, 2014
Who am I? Southern native: Rural North Louisiana (Jackson
Parish)
Local Influences◦ Elementary and High School: ◦ Agriculture and Manufacturing Dep. Economies◦ Undergraduate and Graduate School: Non-Ag. Rural
Development / Public Sector Education: B.S. and M.S. Ag. Economics – LSU
Ph.D.: Ag. Economics- Univ of Missouri Assistant/Associate Professor/ Rural Development, LSU
2003 - Present
Outline Research-Extension Continuum
Planning a Joint Program
Example: Financial Resiliency
Going from State to Regional
Challenges SRDC Director/MSU Faculty Member
Directions
Rural Development Criticisms◦ Research
Where are the experiments? Where are the controls? Is policy analysis actually research? Social science isn’t real “science”
◦ Extension You aren’t touching enough skin! Extension is about helping people not places. You can’t measure success!
Research-Extension Continuum
Quality RD research and extension at intersection and constantly crossing boundary
Distinction blurred by many funding sources◦ E.g. Sea Grant
Research-Extension Continuum
Research Extension
RD
Scholarship
What is the rural/community problem?
Cliché – Begin with the “end” in mind◦ What are your proposed outputs, impacts, and
outcomes?◦ How will they be measured?◦ Does (or will potentially) anyone value program?◦ Does program have public value?
Planning a Joint Program
Identify unit(s) of analysis◦ Decision makers – household, business,
government
◦ Aggregates – industry, geography
Planning a Joint Program
Problem: Parishes/municipalities financially unprepared for Hurricane Gustav
End Deliverables◦ Output: Decision tool for reducing financial
vulnerability/improving capacity
◦ Impact: Public sector incorporating policy to increase financial capacity / reduce vulnerability
◦ Outcome: Lower costs incurred during next similar hurricane; fiscal health maintained / improved following disaster
Example: Financial Resiliency
Measuring vulnerability◦ Fannin, J.M., J.D. Barreca, and J.D. Detre. 2012. “The Role of Public
Wealth in Recovery and Resiliency to Natural Disasters in Rural Communities.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 94(2): 549-
555. January. Measuring capacity/resiliency
◦ Fannin, J.M. and J.D. Detre. 2012. "Red Light Ahead: Preparing Local Governments Financially for the Next Disaster." Choices. 27(1). Available online at http://www.choicesmagazine.org/magazine/pdf/cmsarticle_209.pdf.
◦ Brown, K., J.M. Fannin, and J.D. Detre. 2013. “Fiscal Health Revisited: Evaluating County Government Finances as Local Government Vulnerabilities Increase.” Presentation Made at Annual Meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, August 4th-6th, Washington, DC.
Financial Resiliency (Research)
Financial Disaster Resiliency Case Studies◦ Tangipahoa Parish, LA (2009-10)◦ Calcasieu Parish, LA (2011-12)◦ Foley, AL (2013)◦ Waveland, MS (Expected 2014)
Financial Resiliency Extension
Train-the-Trainer Manual (2011)
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Workbook (2014)
Webinars◦ NADO (July 2013)◦ National Association of Counties (NACo) (Nov
2013)
Financial Resiliency (Extension)
Total Funding in Program Theme (2009 to 2013): $519,305
Fannin, J. Matthew. “Educating Stakeholders on Regional Financial Resiliency.” Rural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri. $19,230. (05/01/2013-12/31/2013). (100% LSU AgCenter).
Fannin, J. Matthew and Carol Franze. “Delivering Decision Support to Local Governments to Financially Plan for Future Natural Disasters.” Smith Lever Special Needs Competitive Grant Program. National Institute for Food and Agriculture, USDA. $53,826 (08/15/2012 – 08/14/2014) (100% LSU AgCenter).
Fannin, J. Matthew, Jody Thompson, Carol Franze, Joshua D. Detre, and Ashok Mishra. “Measuring the Relative Financial Vulnerability of Municipal Governments to Tropical Natural Disaster Risk.” Coastal Storms Program, Multi-State Sea Grant Consortium administered by Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. $99,283. 02/01/2012 – 01/31/2014. (LSU AgCenter Portion $87,494)
Financial Resiliency Funding
Detre, Joshua D., J. Matthew Fannin, Ashok K. Mishra, R. Wes Harrison, Rex H. Caffey, and Kurt M. Guidry. “Improving the Economic Resiliency of Rural Communities Under Natural Disaster and Environmental Risk.” USDA/NIFA/ Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship (NNF) Grants Program. $238,500. 01/01/2012 – 12/31/2016. (100% AgCenter)
Fannin, J. Matthew, Carol Franze, Joshua Detre, Thomas Hymel, and Kenneth Savoie. “Decision Support to Local Governments in Budget Planning Under Coastal Risk in Louisiana.” Louisiana Sea Grant College Program. $100,280. Feb 2010 - May 2012. ($88,000 LSU AgCenter).
Fannin, J. Matthew and Carol Franze. “Decision Support to Local Governments in Budget Planning Under Coastal Risk.” Coastal Storms Program: Community Risk and Reiliency. Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium. May 2009 – Apr 2010. $19,975. (100% AgCenter).
Financial Resiliency Funding
Train-the-Trainer Extension Events
Research on Fiscal Stress/Bankruptcy
Extend outreach/research to Sandy affected regions
Extend research /outreach approach to non-disaster economic resiliency
Financial Resiliency – Next Steps
Need a local (state) problem(s) to build a regional/national program◦ Fits “applied” mission of the land-grant
◦ More closely links research/extension functions
◦ Allows local “cases” to build into regional and national models for research and extension
Opportunities - State to Regional
The role/contribution of micropolitan regions on rural performance/sustainability◦ Why micropolitan? – Importance to Mississippi
◦ Almost a third of urban population in MS live in micro areas (5th highest in continental U.S.)
◦ Over a third of rural MS population resides in Micro areas– (7th highest continental U.S.; highest in South)
Opportunities - State to Regional
Labels
State_2010Census_DP1
pct_urban_urbanmicro / none
0% - 2.5%
2.51% - 8%
8.01% - 14%
14.01% - 26%
26.01% - 45.32%
Labels
State_2010Census_DP1
pct_rural_ruralmicro
0% - 10%
10.01% - 20%
20.01% - 30%
30.01% - 45%
45.01% - 71.89%
Coastal development Issues
Current domain coastal/resource scholars◦ Environment People
Rural Development scholars bring the following perspective◦ People Environment
Opportunities - State to Regional
Scholars need to work together
◦ People Environment
9 of 13 Southern states have coastline
◦ Lessons from MS to other Southern states
Opportunities State to Regional
Integration
Low High
Geography Region SRDC Support Research/Extension
Southern PI consortia region wide research / extension
State Low GeneralizabilityResearch and OutreachMS-specific, other states
State research model and extension program templates; highly generalizable
Intersection of State/Regional Initiatives
Challenge: “Managing busy-overhead work / Investment in Writing”◦ Address – Compartmentalize overhead time
Challenge: “Advising undergraduate and graduate students”◦ Address - Develop initial in-person relationship;
move to alternative interaction methods with value-added components
Challenges to SRDC Director and MSU Faculty Position
Challenge – “Maintaining disciplinary support/service”◦ Address – Push SRDC research/outreach
scholarship as much as possible to disciplinary outlets
Challenge – “Mentoring junior faculty”◦ Address – Involve in grant proposal
Challenges to SRDC Director and MSU Faculty Position
Challenge – “Extensive travel schedule”◦ Address – Increase intensity of travel effort – learn
how to say “no” when not mission critical; use of distance technology effectively
Challenge: “Competing agendas between multiple stakeholder groups”◦ Address: “Who said this job was going to be
easy?”
Challenges to SRDC Director and MSU Faculty Position
Directions for Research, Extension, and Teaching
@ Mississippi State University
Regional wealth creation◦ Dimensions
(people-based vs place-based) (public vs private) (local vs non-local) Measurement/price
Research Directions
Tradeoffs – physical vs. financial
Contractual arrangements – disaster services
Disaster Resiliency / Security
Optimal “risk-adjusted” thresholds for major financial ratios
Municipal bankruptcy analysis
Fiscal Health
Data creation/delivery◦ Develop alternatives/substitutes for discontinuing
federal data series
Update/maintain community policy toolkit
Modify and deliver financial resiliency program◦ Leverage federal and university partners
Outreach / Service
Regional economics taught at all levels◦ Undergraduate (intro to space in production and consumption; Germanic
geography, spreadsheet-derived spatial metrics, multiplier interpretation)
◦ Masters – nonparametric regional analysis, spatially granular data analysis and correlations, custom mapping
◦ Ph.D. (I-O, SAM, CGE, Spatial Econometric (SAR, SEM, GWR, spatiotemporal, etc)
Develop undergraduate/M.S. class on “Rural Wealth Creation”
Teaching innovations◦ Flipped classroom◦ Service learning
Teaching
“It costs money to conduct quality research”(Abner Womack, FAPRI Director, August 1998)
Funding the Program
Aggressively seek funding from traditional and non-traditional sources◦ USDA, Commerce, Interior, NSF, NIH
Previous success in competitive and non-competitive at federal level
Focus on strengthening faculty success across department
Evaluate ROI ◦ Multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations◦ Small vs large funding sources
Funding the Program
Leverage state and federal partners◦ (Regional RDCs, RUPRI, RFI, NACo, NADO, etc)
Evaluate related to general mission and core competencies
Step out on a limb!!
Funding the Program
