Purpose:
The two southern Associations, Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (SAAESD) and Association of Southern Region Extension Directors (ASRED), employ a mechanism to facilitate cooperative activities within the Southern Region. The designation for this purpose is the SOUTHERN EXTENSION AND RESEARCH ACTIVITY (SERA).
SERAs are intended to bring together researchers and extension specialists sharing a common problem, issue, or disciplinary interest. The general objective is to provide a functionally integrated forum to coordinate joint activities to address stakeholder needs.
General Information:
Establishment of new SERAs or renewal of existing SERAs may be proposed by any Extension or Experiment Station Director. They may also be initiated by agreement of the members at a Joint Meeting of Experiment Station and Extension Directors in which case the Chairs of the two Associations each appoint a co-administrative advisor and these individuals may (1) further define the proposal for a SERA for consideration at the next joint meeting or (2) they may form technical committees and proceed with the assigned task.
Existing Information Exchange Groups or Conferences from the Experiment Station Directors may be adopted as SERA by action of the Experiment Station and Extension Directors. The existing description of these IEGs will be used to define the SERA until it is scheduled for renewal, at which point the proposal for renewal will be prepared and reviewed as a SERA.
The Method to Request New or Renewed Southern Extension and Research Activity provides specific components to be included in the request which is submitted via the NIMSS Appendix B.
Chairs of the two Associations appoint co-administrative advisors who may or may not be the same person(s) who developed the proposal. Co-administrative advisors may agree that one or the other will take a dominant role for the activity, or they may jointly advise.
After a SERA is approved, the administrative advisors solicit membership for the technical committee from the Directors of Extension and Experiment Stations.
The Co-administrative advisors with assistance of the technical committee submit an Annual Accomplishments Report, including minutes of meetings to the office of the Executive Director for archival and further distribution to Extension and Experiment Station Directors.
| Initiating SERAs | Continuing: Co-administrative advisors New: Co-sponsors from Exp. Station and Extension Top-Down: Joint Meeting |
| Approval of SERAs | SERA Review Committee recommends approval to ASRED and SAAESD |
| Co-Administrative Advisors | Appointed by Chairs of Associations. |
| Technical Committees | Co-Administrative Advisors solicit membership from Experiment Station and Extension Directors. |
| Operating Procedures | Generally follow guidelines for other activities. |
| Annual Reports and minutes of meetings | Prepared by Co-Administrative Advisors, submitted using NIMSS. |
| Requests to renew or terminate SERAs | Consensus of Technical Committee, proposed by co-Admininstrative Advisors, submitted to Executive Director. |