Cornell IPM Strategic Plan
Introduction
Driven by our Five Pillars—Restoring and Supporting Ecological Resilience, Developing and Expanding Digital IPM Systems, Preventing and Managing Invasive Species, Providing Outreach and Training on Pests and Pest Management Tools Impacting Human and Environmental Health and Making IPM Accessible for All New Yorkers—the work of the Cornell Integrated Pest Management Program (Cornell IPM) is a balancing act—managing pests in ways that safeguard health and the environment while ensuring that we focus our resources and efforts on areas that most effectively meet the needs of the people we support. Cutting-edge research, novel approaches to common pest problems, boots-on-the-ground extension work, shaping and interpreting public policy, providing pesticide safety education and training, and building invasive species awareness are some of the many ways we reach New Yorkers everywhere they live, work, learn and play.
For Cornell IPM, the post-COVID era ushered in a period of exciting change—a new leadership and internal restructure, increased resources, a growing staff, a merger with our longtime collaborator Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP), and a reorganization that formally made Cornell IPM a part of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Cornell AgriTech, and a comprehensive rebranding effort which honored our 40-year history as the New York State Integrated Pest Management, while more directly aligning us with global recognition and reputation of Cornell University. With such unprecedented growth came a renewed commitment to ensuring that New York’s 20 million residents have the resources and information necessary to effectively manage pests while minimizing environmental, health, and economic risks.
In January 2024, with our 40th anniversary on the horizon, we launched an inclusive strategic planning process that would help to galvanize our understanding of our program’s mission, vision, and core values and set our upcoming goals and objectives. In consultation with Illume Projects of Ithaca, NY, we selected a Strategic Plan Task Force, who, along with our associate directors, served as the core working group for the project and solicited input from other staff and key external stakeholders. Through comprehensive discussions and team-building sessions, we identified Research, Education, Policy, and Capacity as the highest priority areas for the next five years. These four areas reflect the importance of Cornell IPM’s expanding role to conduct and coordinate key research programs that advance science and adoption of integrated pest management; to continue to develop and deliver pest management education resources and programs; to continue to be trusted experts to inform and interpret pest management and pesticide policy; and to build capacity and strengthen internal structures and communication platforms to support the organization’s ambitious and inspiring vision. Collectively, the Cornell IPM team, in coordination with the Strategic Planning Task Force, then established goal statements for each priority area along with 15 objectives (detailed below).
The strategic planning process has harnessed the Cornell IPM team’s spirit of collaboration and ability to think resourcefully. These attributes will be critical in implementing the plan and leading the program into the future by ensuring that we provide science-based tools and knowledge to all New Yorkers. Kind
Regards,
Alejandro Calixto, director