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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Social Sciences Institute will be a recognized world-class leader in developing and transferring practical social sciences technology to assist in the productive, equitable, and environmentally sound use of our global natural resources.
Understanding human behavior is one of the keys to implementing successful conservation programs. One of the current underlying tensions in environmental policy involves resolving tradeoffs between long-term environmental health and short-term economic gains. Full integration of social sciences into Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs and activities is essential for effectively serving our urban and rural customers.
The basic philosophy underlying NRCS programs and activities is one of volunteerism; that is, the agency's work is accomplished through the actions of farmers, ranchers and other landusers who receive technical assistance from NRCS field staff. While technical solutions to conservation problems are frequently known and available, NRCS will do a better job of transferring that technology to the public when we more fully understand individual behavior, needs, and attitudes, and are able to adapt technical approaches to best serve and meet our customer's needs.
Changes in the structure of American agriculture and the addition of new clienteles to the NRCS customer base (such as urban residents) have also created a need for the agency to develop better skills for understanding a wider range of customers. NRCS professionals need skills and expertise to deal with a broad spectrum of customers, from large, corporate farms/ranches to small farms/ranches in the urban fringe, and a wide variety of farm managers, from full-time professionals to limited-resource farmers.
The Social Sciences Institute will collaborate with many organizations including universities, non-government organizations, conservation organizations, Federal and state agencies, and the private sector to develop and transfer practical technologies that support a voluntary approach to accomplish natural resource conservation.
The Social Sciences Institute will be a recognized world-class leader in developing and transferring practical social sciences technology to assist in the productive, equitable, and environmentally sound use of our global natural resources.
The Social Sciences Institute develops and transfers timely and accurate technical information, procedures, training, and guidance to Natural Resource Conservation Service employees and to our many and varied customers.
The Institute is comprised of national experts who are skilled in effectively applying sociology, cultural anthropology, and economic technologies to natural resource conservation planning. Members of the Social Sciences Institute collaborate with the agency's regional, state and field staffs, the research community, and other public and private organizations to develop, translate, refine, and transfer the latest social sciences technology information to the conservation delivery system.
An important charge of the Institute is to identify opportunities to improve customer service. The Institute uses cutting edge social science information to make recommendations regarding service delivery systems, marketing of conservation, and strategies to increase adoption of conservation practices.
The Social Sciences institute actively gathers state-of-the-art information and adapts it for use in the NRCS. The Institute works with other professional social scientists and graduate students to develop specific technologies that benefit NRCS conservation efforts in the areas of economics, sociology, and cultural anthropology.
The Institute is concerned about the social and cultural aspects of the NRCS workforce. In an era of change, when the agency's human resources need to meet the challenge of "more with less," the scientific findings of social scientists can provide agency managers with tools to do a better job of human resources management, as well as natural resources management.
The Social Sciences Institute has five objectives:
1) Developing, refining and translating social sciences technologies
2) Transferring and delivering social sciences technologies to the conservation partnership
3) Developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relations with partners and stakeholders
4) Promoting equity in the delivery of conservation services
5) Working on special projects that contribute positively toward
conservation
