NIOSH Program Portfolio

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Inputs: NIOSH Strategic Goals

The NIOSH Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Program is in the process of developing strategic goals to guide our research and partnership efforts over the next decade.

NIOSH previously used priority topic areas (e.g., traumatic injury, hearing loss) to guide research efforts. Goals take this approach a step further by identifying specific outcomes that NIOSH wants to target, performance measures for evaluating progress in meeting the outcome goals, and intermediate goals to describe the necessary steps that need to be performed to accomplish the goal. Setting goals is challenging for the following reasons:

• It forces us to focus on a subgroup of issues where we think NIOSH can make an impact - a long list would spread our resources too thin to accomplish the goals. Not every worthwhile topic can be included.
• It is difficult to develop performance measures. Available injury statistics have limitations, and exposure and health outcome measures are typically not available.
• It is ambitious for NIOSH to set goals to achieve outcomes such as reductions in a national fatality rate. NIOSH is a research agency so we don't often directly influence outcomes . Therefore, we must form effective partnerships and influence other groups to show results.

NIOSH Program Portfolio Approach

NIOSH has been organizing research, guidance, information, and service efforts into specific programs that can be readily communicated and strategically governed and evaluated. Eight NORA Sector Programs represent industrial sectors, and twenty-four Cross-sector Programs organized around adverse health outcomes, statutory programs and global efforts.

The NORA Sector Programs intersect with Cross-Sector Programs in a matrix-like fashion. For example, an Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program goal of reducing farm-related deaths and injuries due to tractor rollovers and trucks would likely be a shared goal with the Transportation Program and if appropriate would be adopted by both programs. This approach provides an added advantage and will allow multiple Programs to work towards accomplishment of intersecting goals.

Each of the 32 programs in the NIOSH Program Portfolio has a Manager and Coordinator. Each of the 8 NIOSH Sector Programs facilitates the work of a NORA Sector Council to engage external stakeholders in the process of developing sector goals for the nation and methods to measure the short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes arising from those goals. The NORA goals for the nation will be considered when choosing NIOSH sector program goals. Cross Sector programs have internal Steering Committees that develop program goals and monitor outcome measures.

These planning efforts will position NIOSH to align with the most current governmental approaches for evaluating program effectiveness, i.e., the Program Assessment Rating Tool (or PART). PART is a mechanism to hold governmental agencies accountable for accomplishing results. As part of our comprehensive approach to performance measurement, NIOSH has engaged the National Academies to independently evaluate our sector and cross-programs for relevance and impact.

Draft Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program Goals:

NIOSH is in the process of drafting strategic goals for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program. As required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), these strategic goals will be organized by outcomes such as injuries and illnesses instead of more general topic areas such as reducing all occupational mortality in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. When competed, the strategic plan will include intermediate and annual goals along with performance measures to guide attainment of the strategic goals.

The current interim strategic goals guiding NIOSH researchers developing new projects related to the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector are below:

• Strategic Goal 1: Apply practical methods to quantify and reduce injuries, illness, and harmful exposures for each sub-sector of agriculture, fishing, and forestry.
  • Decrease fatalities and injuries involving equipment, such as tractors
  • Reduce heat stress injuries in high risk occupations, such as agriculture field workers
  • Reduce hearing loss in logging and other high noise environments
  • Reduce chronic illnesses due to chemical exposures, such as to pesticides
  • Improve surveillance methods/approaches for worker injuries, illnesses and hazards
  • Improve adoption of evidence-based interventions, practices, policies, programs, and behaviors that reduce or prevent occupational injuries and illnesses, including business case models
• Strategic Goal 2: Develop a cooperative strategy in collaboration with partners in epidemiology, engineering, and health communications to decrease tractor-related fatalities in the United States.
• Strategic Goal 3: Reduce illness and injury in special populations (e.g. youth, minority, older, and migrant) through the development of programs to identify and implement priorities for the improvement of safety and health.

When draft goals for the NIOSH Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program are completed, they will be posted here for review and comment. We will also use the NIOSH eNews to announce that draft goals are available for review.

Those seeking NIOSH grants to conduct studies benefiting workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector can view the priority topic areas for extramural investigators. They are closely related to the strategic goals listed above.

The NIOSH strategic goals and the priority topic areas for extramural investigators will be updated based on additional input received from the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). NORA is establishing and implementing a sector strategic plan for the nation.

NORA agriculture, forestry and fishing sector activities

NIOSH is interested in your opinions about the relevance and value of these strategic goals for the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. We encourage you to consider partnering with us on issues of interest to you and your organization.

NIOSH Program:

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Program Description
Inputs
• Sector Description
• Economic Factors
• Occupational Risks
• National Research Agenda (NORA)
• NIOSH Strategic Goals
• Emerging Issues
• NIOSH Contacts
Review & Evaluation
• Program Review
• National Academies Evaluation