National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture

Job Description of the Policy Advisory Committee:

The committee will act to implement an integrated approach to policy priorities for the NCSA. It will be informed and guided by the issue committees work and staff expertise and research. It will present to the board of the NCSA, on an ongoing basis, a cross issue perspective of the issues being worked. The committee will be the platform to further test, vet, and integrate through the lens (s) of social justice, rural development, and commodity policy the impact on legislation, implementation, and appropriations.

The output of the committee work will be internal to the NCSA. The committee will provide information to the issue committees and board. Any external action to be undertaken will be done by the board of directors of the NCSA as the organizational decision making body.
The primary responsibility for maintaining these relationships will be that of the Policy Advisory Committee staff and the issue committee leadership representatives on the committee.

Committee Composition:

The members of the Policy Advisory Committees will be representative of each of the five issue committees

Two individuals from each committee will provide input and sit on the Policy Advisory Committee. One will champion the issue focused on at the issue committee level, the other will focus on the integration of issues primarily at the committee level (SJ, RD, CP, and Appropriations, using the Farm and Food Policy Principals and Criteria). If needed they will participate alternatively on the Policy Advisory Committee.
A board member of the NCSA will sit on the committee with an alternate available and engaged in the process. The board representative will serve as bridge rather than issue representative.
The NCSA’s ED will serve as an ex officio member of the committee.