Posts Tagged: policy

Video contest to feature UC food research

The World Food Day Video Challenge is being sponsored by the UC Davis World Food Center, UCANR's Nutrition Policy Institute and the UC Global Food Initiative to raise awareness of the depth and breadth of food-related research across the UC system to reduce hunger and improve health.

The contest is open to all current undergraduate and graduate students in the UC system.

In three minutes or less, the videos should show how UC research relates to:

• food security
• food sustainability
• food science
• nutrition
• agriculture

...or other targets within the UN's Sustainable Development Goal #2. 

 UC academics are encouraged to invite UC students to turn the cameras on their research and outreach. If you're on Twitter, please tweet: Calling @UofCalifornia students! Produce a video on #UCFood research http://foodvideos.ucdavis.edu  

First place prize is $1,000 and a trip for up to three team members to attend the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium, which is held in conjunction with the award ceremony for the World Food Prize, in Des Moines, Iowa, in October.

The deadline for submitting videos is 11:59 p.m. PT, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016. See contest details at foodvideos.ucdavis.edu.

If you have questions, contact: Amy Beaudreault, World Food Center director of nutrition and health, at abeaudreault@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-7319.

 

2016 Annual Whistleblower Notification

The University of California is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct in the fulfillment of its education, research, public service and patient care mission. The University's Whistleblower Policy provides multiple avenues for employees to bring forward concerns of potential employee misconduct. All University employees are encouraged to bring forward concerns about possible improper governmental activity directly to their supervisor, department head, Locally Designated Official (LDO) or other appropriate university offices or officials.

The University established a systemwide independently operated whistleblower hotline to allow for calls or web-based reporting from faculty, academics, staff and students with a provision for anonymous reporting. The hotline relays the reported concerns to appropriate university officials for processing. This hotline is staffed seven days a week, 24 hours per day and is capable of receiving reports in a number of different languages.

The universitywide toll-free number is 1-800-403-4744. Web-based reports can be made by accessing http://universityofcalifornia.edu/hotline. More information about the whistleblower process can be found on the UC Whistleblower website and on posters displayed in various employee areas. The university's whistleblower poster identifies other channels for reporting improper governmental activity, including the California State Auditor, the California Attorney General and locations for reporting fraud and abuse involving federal programs.

The California Government Code requires every state agency, including the University of California, to annually distribute to its employees a message from the California State Auditor that provides an explanation of the California Whistleblower Protection Act. Please find the 2016 message attached.

Sincerely,

Jake McGuire
Controller & Locally Designated Official

Research to Policy Training and Program Team Meeting Oct. 12-13

The UC ANR Research to Policy Training and Program Team Meeting will be held Oct. 12-13 at UC Davis ARC and UC Davis Plant Sciences. Anyone (including ANR and non-ANR personnel) who wishes to participate in the program teams that will be meeting should attend.

Wednesday, Oct. 12:
Research to Policy Program Team In-Service Training: “Pathways to Successful Engagement in Agricultural, Natural Resources, and Food Issues”

The in-service training will bring together people working on agricultural, natural resources and food issues and focus on how to use research to effectively engage in public policy. The following are some highlights:

• Two leading, diverse experts in the role of science in policymaking will provide keynote presentations.
• A science panel comprised of UC researchers who have successfully engaged in the public policy arena will share “lessons learned.”
• A policy panel comprised of state agency and Senate/Assembly members will discuss how they use research.
• Workshop modules on UC policy engagement, science communication and policymaking will be presented.

The training modules will enable participants to build a toolkit for successful policy engagement that incorporates both technical skills as well as analytical frameworks.

Thursday, Oct. 13:
First meeting of the Research to Policy Program Team

On Thursday, we will continue the momentum by discussing collaborative opportunities, future training needs and next steps at the first Research to Policy UC ANR Program Team meeting.

More details on agenda and registration will be posted on the UC ANR Program Team website as it becomes available.

If you would like to join the Research to Policy listserv on Collaborative Tools, email UC ANR Program Support Unit.

For more information about the program, contact Clare Gupta or Leslie Roche. For logistics, contact the  UC ANR Program Support Unit, Lauren McNees at (530) 750-1257 or Sherry Cooper (530)750-1256.

 

Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy meets in Panama

The following is a report by Henry Vaux Jr., director of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water.

The theme for the 9th biennial meeting was “Managing Water and Biodiversity,” which represented a departure from the previous forums' themes that focused on the problems of water management in arid and semi-arid regions.

The Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, a program of UC ANR's California Institute for Water Resources, commissions the preparation of papers addressed to the theme. These papers are read by participants ahead of the actual meeting and become the focus of round table discussions, which are at the core of the program. The papers are ultimately published together with a summary of the findings and conclusions reached at the advisory committee meeting of the forum.

The forum's sessions focused on: 1) the scientific bases of moist climates, 2) the problems of conserving biodiversity in humid areas, 3) the variability of climate and water availability in different realms around the world, and 4) the global implications of El Niño and drought. 

To read a summary of the findings, visit http://ciwr.ucanr.edu/files/232208.pdf.

The primary sponsors of the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy are the University of California and the Bank of America. For this 9^th biennial meeting, a number of locally based organizations and entities joined as co-sponsors, which included the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Biomuseo, the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) of the Republic of Panama, The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), The Technological University of Panama (UTP) and the Botin Foundation.

The Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy originated in 1996 with an endowment gift from the Bank of America to the University of California. The purpose of the gift was to support a water policy forum in honor of then-retiring Bank Chair and CEO Richard Rosenberg. The forum is held every other year in different locations around the world. Participation is limited to 50 water scholars and senior water managers. Interactive discussions about the science of water management and different experiences in water management around the globe are at the heart of the forum.

Changes to UC policy regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to share important changes to UC policy regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment and to offer a reminder about the resources available to the ANR community. All UC locations have been working together to update policies and procedures, and a few recent changes deserve special notice.

The UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy now requires every ANR employee to notify the Title IX office when they receive information from a UC student about an alleged violation. Although most ANR academics and staff do not have regular contact with UC students, it's important to be aware of this new policy requirement.

Moreover, all ANR academics and managers/supervisors must notify the Title IX office when they receive information of alleged sexual misconduct from any member of the ANR community, including reports from program participants, volunteers, as well as reports from ANR employees.

John I. Sims recently was named the new Title IX Officer for ANR, replacing Linda Marie Manton, who retired in December. In this role, John is the contact point to respond to alleged violations and can be reached at (530) 750-1397 and jsims@ucanr.edu.

Confidential counseling and referral services for ANR academics and staff employees are available through the UC Davis Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) at (916) 734-2727 and www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/hr/hrdepts/asap.

Finally, the updated policy also includes a new training requirement for all employees. This training program will better prepare all of us to fulfill our obligations and learn about our roles and responsibilities. Academics and supervisors — who have been required to take such training for several years — will see new, updated content in their training and will maintain their current training schedule. Non-supervisory staff will be required to complete a 50-minute, web-based sexual harassment prevention training by May 1, 2016. Ongoing training for all employees will be required annually.

You can expect to receive more details about the new training requirement in the coming weeks.

For more information on how to prevent and respond to sexual violence, visit the ANR website http://ucanr.edu/sites/DiscriminationSexual_Violence.

Preventing and responding to sexual violence is a duty we all share. Thank you for being a part of the solution.

Glenda Humiston
Vice President

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