GROW (Generating Research Opportunities Workshop) Urban Agriculture Conference

First-of-its-kind event to support integrated research, Extension, and education efforts on urban agriculture

Urban food system challenges cannot be solved by a single discipline. GROW (Generating Research Opportunities Workshop) Urban Agriculture Conference is the first-of-its-kind event designed to create more integrated Research, Extension, and Education (REE) teams for collaborative proposals that improve urban agriculture and food systems broadly, as well as work at the intersection of urban agriculture and food systems that operate in, near, or within urban settings.

This three-phase conference brought together a broad diversity of attendees: coalitions, companies, foundations, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations. This was evident in the multitude of interests, skills, expertise, and connections related to Indoor, Urban, and Emerging Agriculture reported by conference attendees.

During the first phase of the event, virtual sessions focused on capacity building, topic exploration, and team building. The event’s kickoff included presentations on urban agriculture listening sessions and USDA funding opportunities related to urban food systems. Participants were also provided with resources related to research and Extension proposal development and team management, dynamics, and communication.  A broad range of research and extension ideas were identified during the first phase of the workshop.

The second and third phases of the event focused on newly formed teams working together on research/extension proposals, pitching the proposal to a group of review panels, and refining the proposal ideas based on feedback received. 

Visit https://sites.google.com/msu.edu/grow-uaconf/home for additional resources and conference information.

Additional urban ag resources can be found here.

Article submitted by Dr. Fernanda Krupek