Quarterly Report for AID-OAA-A-14-00031

The public meeting focused on university and CGIAR relationships, with BIFAD members Deaton, Ejeta, Ash, Fowler, and Anderson attending in person. BIFAD member Martin participated in the executive planning session via conference call. An orientation session was conducted for the newest BIFAD member, Dr. Anderson. BIFAD also held a conference call during the quarter, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) hosted two planning conference calls with the public meeting panelists and invited panelists. A working group was established by BIFAD, led by member Ash, in response to concerns raised by the university community regarding visa issues, TraiNET, and ADS 252/253. APLU coordinated conference calls for the working group and helped develop summary materials of the university concerns, which were shared with USAID staff. Significant time was spent planning the public BIFAD meeting, which was scheduled to take place early in the third quarter of fiscal year 2016 at North Carolina A&T University. A site visit was made by APLU and USAID staff to facilitate local planning with North Carolina A&T University staff. Several conference calls were also held with the North Carolina A&T University staff to coordinate planning. The BIFAD Secretariat met numerous times during the quarter, either in face-to-face meetings or on conference calls, to plan for the executive planning session, the public meeting, the orientation, and the upcoming public/executive sessions in Greensboro. APLU arranged these meetings and either hosted them in their office or hosted the conference calls. The Senior Counselor sent numerous communications to the US higher education community and directly supported two working groups: Awards and visa ADDS 252/253. The Senior Counselor's efforts aimed to address the concerns of the university community and facilitate collaboration between BIFAD, APLU, and USAID. The BIFAD Secretariat and APLU worked closely together to coordinate planning for the upcoming public/executive sessions in Greensboro. The collaboration between BIFAD, APLU, and USAID aimed to address the concerns of the university community and facilitate collaboration in international food and agricultural development. The efforts of the BIFAD Secretariat and APLU were focused on planning and coordination, with the goal of hosting successful public/executive sessions in Greensboro.