NCS Cooperative Agreement Recipient / FDA Meeting

FDA NCS Cooperative Agreement recipients (COAGs) met with FDA at the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) headquarters in Bethesda, MD on September 19, 2024. The COAGs represented IFPTI, APHL, AFDO, NEHA, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville. FDA was represented by the Office of Training Education and Development (OTED) and the Office of Partnerships (OP).

The primary focus of the meeting was the implementation of the FDA Regulatory and Laboratory Training System (RLTS), which creates a national standard in human and animal food regulatory and laboratory training. Discussion topics included:

• The current progress and deliverables of the five Standards Advisory Groups: Draft standards are now being sent to the Steering Committee for review and comments will go back to the Advisory Committees.

• Standing up the National Coordination Center: The Notice of Funding Opportunity is being drafted and revised. The Steering Committee made suggestions to the draft opportunity document.

• RLTS projects and timelines: A spread sheet was reviewed and discussed showing the steps and ownership of each of the 12 RLTS projects.

• The National Curriculum Standard (NCS): The Imports program area development has begun. Review of the basic levels of both the regulatory and the laboratory frameworks has also begun. Strategies were discussed to complete validation of the remaining content areas with the associations being asked to assist in survey dissemination.

• Program Standards #2: Strategies were reviewed for amending the Program Standards (Retail, Manufactured Food, Animal Food, Eggs) to reflect the RLTS competency-based approach to meeting training requirements. Starting with CFP, proposals will be made to each body to amend the program standards.

• Learning Management System (LMS) configuration: Current configuration projects include competency identification using AI, training needs assessment, scheduling systems, data transfer/migration, and legal considerations. Meetings will continue with the LMS teams from both FDA and IFPTI.

• Learners: Strategies were discussed to focus on learner needs including micro-learning and individualized learning goals.

• Standards Course Review (SCORE): Strategies were identified for the processes to review FDA lab and food courses against the standards and conduct competency alignments. Multiple partners will learn from initial review pilots (starting with lab courses) and then tackle FDA’s full catalog of food and lab courses.

• Technologies: COAGs presented unique projects that use new technologies, including AI individualized learning.