| | With clear priorities, a shared application process, and joint funding, the 14-member Agriculture Funding Consortium has an effective, streamlined process that benefits funding agencies, research and development performers, and Alberta’s agricultural industry.
The Alberta Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), a longstanding funder of agricultural research, spearheaded the formation of the consortium in 2000. That year, three new funding agencies were created: the Alberta Crop Industry Development, the Alberta Livestock Industry Development Fund, and the Diversified Livestock Fund of Alberta. AARI’s Freda Molenkamp says, “We sat down together and determined that ‘We now have four organizations that will be doing work in a similar area, so how can we best work together?”
This shared approach soon caught on with other agencies. AVAC Ltd. and the Agriculture and Food Council joined that same year, followed by Climate Change Central about a year later. The Alberta Barley Commission, Alberta Pulse Growers Commission, Alberta Canola Producers Commission and Alberta Chicken Producers signed on this past summer. And Alberta Milk, Alberta Pork and Alberta Egg Producers joined in October.
The consortium has identified nine funding priority areas (see box), including topics related to environmental stewardship. Within those overall priorities, each agency has its own specific priorities. Molenkamp notes, “We take a value chain approach, looking at everything from the basic science right through to a commercialized product... and then going back to what the market requires so we can get a commercial product on the shelf.”
All the agencies use the same application form, deadline dates and review process which saves time, effort and costs for the funding agencies and the researchers. When a researcher submits an application, it goes to all 14 agencies. Molenkamp notes, “The researchers like that they can access multiple funders and have a greater likelihood of their project being funded.”
The proposals receive a thorough scientific review, and then the 14 agencies meet for a roundtable discussion. Each agency comes with its own ranking of the proposals based on its own priorities. The agencies share their perspectives and negotiate on joint funding for projects of mutual interest.
Joint funding allows more projects to be funded, especially high-cost projects that would be difficult for one agency to fund alone. As well, agencies with smaller budgets can stretch their funding dollars further. Together, the agencies can make quite an impact — in 2003, the consortium awarded approximately $15 million to agricultural research and development projects in Alberta.
To make the process even more effective, the agencies plan to have an open call for proposals each fall, based on the nine priorities, and then a more targeted call each spring, focusing on a few specific key issues.
The consortium has come a long way since 2000. Molenkamp says, “Looking back, it was probably one of the best things that we could have done. If we are really serious about getting strategic work done in this province, we need to be working together.”
For more information, visit the Agriculture Funding Consortium’s website at www.fundingconsortium.ca.
R&D funding prioritiesThe consortium’s current priorities are:
- functional foods and nutraceuticals
- crop and livestock genomics
- bio-energy
- integrated crop and pest management
- greenhouse gas reductions and offsets
- animal disease diagnostics, treatment and prevention
- bio-fibres and bio-polymers
- value-added products
- crop/livestock/human interface issues
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