Integrating Research and Extension in in an Academic

Department: Opportunities and Challenges

Invited SeminarDepartment of Agricultural Economics

Mississippi State UniversityStarkville, MS

J. Matthew FanninAssociate 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_DP1pct_urban_urbanmicro / none

0% - 2.5%

2.51% - 8%

8.01% - 14%

14.01% - 26%

26.01% - 45.32%

Labels

State_2010Census_DP1pct_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

IntegrationLow 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

Thank You!mfannin@agcenter.lsu.edu

225.578.0346