Southern SARE has a leadership structure intended to encourage each member to contribute fully, while at the same time allowing tasks to be distributed as appropriately as possible.
Southern SARE's organization consists of:
- Administrative Council;
- Technical Reviewers;
- State Ag Coordinators; and
- Regional Staff.
Administrative Council
The Administrative Council, which is often called the AC, is the governing body for the Southern SARE region. The AC appoints the host institution and regional coordinator, oversees the general budget and guides programming. A large part of this responsibility revolves around establishing all grant Calls for Proposals, and overseeing the review of proposals and evaluation of projects. The AC makes sure that the regional program stays on point with its mission, vision, and objectives related to sustainable agriculture production and marketing efforts. The AC meets twice a year: winter (February) and summer (generally August).
The AC is a cross-section of ag professionals across the region, composed of 28 members: 15 selected by the AC through an open nomination process, and 11 members appointed by our partner agencies. These agencies include Land-Grant institutions in Extension and Research, State Departments of Agriculture, US Forestry Service, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Geological Survey, and a representative from the SARE National office. Of the 15 members selected from open nominations, seven are producers, three represent non-governmental organizations, one represents agribusiness, and one reflects quality of life issues for the AC. There are also an urban ag seat, veteran seat, and food sovereignty seat. In addition, we have two state ag coordinator representatives serving one year appointments.
The term of membership on the AC is normally three years, with the opportunity to be reappointed for one additional term. Memberships are staggered to assure continuity. Producers and NGO representatives are compensated when attending AC meetings or participating in the program at a PDP workshop or other SARE meetings. The Southern SARE AC conducts its business through a structure of committees. All AC agenda items originate with one of the six current standing committees: Operations/Nominating, Project Review, Producer Grant, Professional Development Program, Equity and Prosperity, and Communications.
The AC is recruited to reflect a wide cross-section of expertise in the Southern agricultural community. Our AC is notable for its wide range of interests, ideas, and for a collaborative working style, and is known for its willingness to be innovative and explore new ways to promote sustainable agriculture. One of the most vital roles played by each AC member is that of liaison to groups they represent. Each AC member not only represents SARE to their group, but more importantly, brings to SSARE the information, goals, and ideas from our partners. AC members should be alert to the needs of our constituent groups; what research is needed, and what training programs would be most useful.
The role of the AC includes guiding the vision of the program, setting goals, providing feedback from groups and being ambassadors from the program to the region. The Southern SARE program gives producers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the opportunity to serve on the Administrative Council and provide a “voice” for the direction of sustainability across the Southern region.
Technical Reviewers
An integral component of the grants program is the contribution of the reviewer. Technical reviewers make up a network of researchers, farmers, extension agents, consultants, NRCS personnel, nonprofit representatives, and a wide variety of other agricultural professionals, and are recruited to review grant proposals based on their area of expertise. They offer skill and support to the grant reviewing process through the reviewing and scoring of grant proposals before they reach the Administrative Council for further consideration.
Technical Review Committee members don’t have a scheduled term of service, and it is not unusual for a member of the committee to act first as a reviewer and then fill a vacancy on the Administrative Council.
Southern SARE seeks ag professionals on a regular basis to serve as Technical Reviewers, typically for the following grant programs: Research and Education, Professional Development Program, Graduate Student Grants, and On-Farm Research Grants.
State Ag Coordinators
Through Southern SARE's Professional Development Program, each Land-Grant institution in the region names a representative to serve as the state sustainable ag coordinator. The role of the state coordinators is critical, since they are responsible for the integration of the concepts of sustainable agriculture into daily outreach and extension practices in their respective states. Southern SARE offers an annual appropriation to each land-grant institution in each state for developing sustainable agriculture curricula for their Extension staff. Southern SARE State Ag Coordinators oversee the professional development plan within their state and the SARE money that attaches to it.
Regional Staff
The staff in the regional office provides support by managing the overall Southern SARE program, including grant management, report and project monitoring, contracts, communications, outreach, publications, coordination with the national office, record keeping and administrative support.