General description of the Northeastern IPM Center
Goals, Mission Statement, and Strategic Plan
The broad mission of the Northeastern IPM Center is to provide all people who make
decisions related to IPM with appropriate and reliable information so
that they can make the best possible decisions. To this end, the Center
gathers input from IPM stakeholders, including IPM users (e.g., farmers),
public policymakers, regulatory agencies, environmental organizations,
public interest organizations, taxpayers and voters, and the research
community. We harness their expertise for the purpose of establishing
research, education, and regulatory priorities in the region, and we
will actively support and promote efforts to address these identified
priorities. Ultimately, the Northeastern IPM Center strives to organize new and existing
information and to make it available to the stakeholders it serves.
Accessibility and ease of use are maximized for all information users.
We work closely with IPM Centers in other regions to address topics
of common interest.
Our Mission Statement: The
Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center fosters the development
and adoption of IPM, a science-based approach to managing pests in ways
that generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits. We
work in partnership with stakeholders from agricultural, urban, and
rural settings to identify and address regional priorities for research,
education, and outreach.
In the fall of 2005, the IPM Center created a strategic plan that was
adjusted and approved by the advisory council and steering committee.
This document is meant to outline the general direction of the work
addressed by the IPM Center. The strategic plan was revised in early 2008.
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Funding
Funding for the national network of Integrated Pest Management Centers was
authorized by Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998. As the result of a competitive process, four Integrated
Pest Management Centers across the United States were first funded in FY 2003.
Management of the Northeastern IPM Center is a partnership between the Pennsylvania
State University (PI John Ayers) and Cornell University (PIs: Carrie Koplinka-Loehr,
and Michael Hoffmann).
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Organization
The Northeastern IPM Center is designed to maximize collaboration among
individuals and groups with diverse perspectives across the northeastern
region. Broad-based regional participatory leadership assures stakeholder
needs are being met. The Center is organized into five key structures:
the Center staff, a Steering Committee, an Advisory Council, IPM Working
Groups, and States Network Projects. Each structure fills a unique role,
but all roles are complimentary.
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Host Institutions
The Pennsylvania State University and Cornell University jointly administer
Northeastern IPM Center. Penn State serves as the lead institution and is
ultimately responsible for satisfactory completion of the project. The information
network competitive grants program is managed at Penn State. Co-Director John
Ayers is a member of the Penn State faculty and is housed on the Penn State
Campus in State College, PA.
Cornell University is funded via a subcontract with Penn State to undertake
important project components. Co-Director Carrie Koplinka-Loehr, Project Coordinator
Elizabeth Thomas, and Writer/Editor Elizabeth Myers are employees of Cornell
University. This staff is responsible for daily Center operations including
building and managing the online database, producing and distributing publications,
and facilitating communications.
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Advisory Council
The Advisory Council provides a broad vision and guidance to the Steering Committee and Center staff. Members represent a wide range of stakeholders and link the Center to stakeholder needs and priorities for pest management programs. Moreover, Advisory Council members are an important avenue for Center outreach, providing marketing and promoting awareness of the Center to their own constituencies and beyond. Finally, the Advisory Council affords its members the opportunity to communicate with and learn from each other.
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Steering Committee:
The Steering Committee is the Center's policy-setting body. It must gather
input from stakeholders (including but not limited to the Advisory Council),
determine broad policy goals and priorities, and provide direction for
timely and effective Center management. The Steering Committee meets
annually and holds conference calls as needed. Members of the Steering
Committee are indicated on the
Advisory Council Roster with an *.
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IPM Working Groups
IPM Working Groups (IWGs) have been integral to much of the Northeastern
IPM Center's work since 2001. Each IWG consists of researchers, extension
educators, and IPM practitioners involved with IPM in certain settings and
participation of other stakeholders is strongly encouraged. A primary goal
of the IWGs has been to develop IPM priorities for specific commodities and
IPM settings. At one time, the Center supported six IWGs through noncompetitive
funding: fruit; vegetables; livestock and field crops; greenhouse and ornamentals;
community; and public health (addressing insects as vectors to human and animal
diseases). In 2005, the Center began to fund IWGs competitively, which led
to continued support of the Community and Vegetable IWGs. IWGs no longer need
to be organized around a commodity or setting, but can be issue oriented instead
(addressing topics such as water quality, pest modeling, regional workshops,
etc). We anticipate funding additional workgroups in the future.
IWGs will also suggest ways in which the national IPM Center architecture
might evolve to best serve the pest management needs of the setting and the
region. Each IWG consists of approximately twelve people.
See also Northeastern IPM Working Groups Details
Current IWGs:
Past IWGs:
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State Network Projects
The Northeastern IPM Center supports State Networks Projects across the region.
Funded through the IPM Partnership Grants Program, SNPs serve as the primary
state-based node of engagement among state stakeholders, the Center, the federal
government. The are the primary information source for federal and state regulatory
agencies and other agencies regarding use and usage of all IPM tactics, including
pesticides, in all IPM settings in the state. They serve as a liaison among
the Northeastern IPM Center, the land grant institution, and other key agencies
in the state. SNPs provide information such as release of RFAs and meeting
dates in a timely fashion to all appropriate contacts.
Details about each State Network Project:
USDA/CSREES database of key state and federal contacts
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IPM Grants Program
Link to complete information
about the IPM Center Grants Program
Review of IPM Centers
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