RRT Mentoring Program Travis Goodman

CSO/RRT Program CoordinatorFDA/ORA/OP

February 10, 20201:45 pm

What is an RRT?

• 5 ‘legs’ of the RRTFood Program(s)

Animal Food Program

FDA Division/ District

Laboratory

Epidemiology

Types of RRTs• RRT is funded as an option through the Flexible

Funding Model (FFM)– Eligibility

• Enrolled in MFRPS for at least 5 Years• Have an active food contract with FDA

– Funding• Can request up to 300k/year for development• Maintenance funding is set by criteria in FFM

• Voluntary RRT Development• Must to agree to attend calls and meetings

– Some travel funding to attend meetings is available• Must agree to follow the RRT Capacity Development and

Mentorship Process– Development progress is tracked but no timeline is

established

RRT Approach• Ultimate Goal: Improve the effectiveness of

multi-jurisdictional food/feed emergency responses with the ultimate objective of reducing the time from agency notification to implementation of effective control measures

• How: Use ICS; enhanced capacity; advanced training; operate as one unified team to protect public health while meeting agency/program requirements/mission

• Bonus Outcome: Capture best practices and share them with others!!

The Basics: Who & When2008/2009

9 RRTs (Gen1)2012

9 RRTs (Gen2)2016

1 RRTs (Gen3)2018

4 RRTs (Gen4)2019

1 RRT (Gen5)

• Began in 2008 with 6 pilot states focused on building multi-disciplinary rapid response teams (RRTs) with capacity to respond to any type of food/feed emergency• 24 RRT states in 2019 including 15 FDA Districts/Divisions

• 18 Funded RRTs in Development or Maintenance- KS, CA, MN, MA, MI, VA, TX, WA, GA, IA, MD, MO, RI, IN, WI, SC, UT, KY

• 6 voluntary RRTs- NY, TN, PA, WV, NC, CT (developing with no federal funding)

Updated: October, 2019

Rapid Response Teams: 2019 – 2020 Grant Year

RRT Program Communications

• RRT weekly digest- every Friday• Ad-hoc emails• Monthly RRT webinars• Regional ORA teleconferences• Biannual check-in calls with RRTs• Written progress report reviews (biannual)• Annual RRT Face-to-Face Meeting

Use of FoodSHIELD

RRT Program• Most successful program accomplishments

– Innovation• Development of RRT Capacity Building & Mentorship

Process• RRT Best Practice Manual (15 chapters, >700 pages)

– Effectiveness• Capability Assessment Tool (program metrics)

– Continuous Improvement• Sharing information • AARs- focus on prevention

• *All benefit public health

A Roadmap for RRT DevelopmentUsing lessons learned and feedback from the 9 Original RRTs, the RRT Capacity Building Process was

developed. This document outlines steps for establishing a team and implementing the best practices within the RRT Manual: individual steps cross-reference specific Chapters within the Manual.

RRT Mentorship

• Began in 2012 when the program doubled in size ‘generation 2’- 9 states grew to 18 states

• Termed “mentorship matchups”• Envisioned to support more rapid RRT

development– Went from a 6 year process to a 3 year process to fully

develop an RRT• Revised the RRT mentorship guidelines in 2019

– Now used to support turnover in staff during RRT maintenance

– RRTs may also request a mentorship match-up for any time for any reason

How Mentorship Match-Ups are Made

• When a new RRT (funded or voluntary) joins the program

• When there is turnover in the state’s RRT Coordinator position

• Upon request– RRTs may also request a mentorship match-up for

any time for any reason• Mentorship match ups are made by soliciting

state and FDA Division/District input as part of the process – Most important part of process

When Mentorship Match-ups are Made• Four criteria are used for making match ups:

– Pre-existing relationships between the mentor/mentee

– Geographic proximity• Promoting regional collaborations, intra-division

matches– Jurisdiction similarities

• Where manufactured food program is housed [Ag vs. Health, same or different agency for epi], centralization vs. decentralization of other food/feed programs within state, home rule vs. centralized local health

– Size of agency• Firm inventory, regulatory programs housed within

grantee agency or lead RRT state agency

Expectations for Mentorship• Support the RRT development phase (typically

3 years) or to support the RRT maintenance phase during staffing turnover (typically 1 year)

• Intended to make the RRT development phase more efficient by:– Sharing lessons learned from mature RRTs– Facilitate program networking– Building relationships in the RRT community

• Encourage involvement from all RRT partners

Mentorship Roles• A specific person from the RRT mentor and

mentee (usually the RRT Coordinator) must be responsible for mentorship activities including:– Setting up meetings– Facilitating meetings– Developing agenda items to guide discussions– Ensuring the right people are brought in for

discussions

Mentorship Meetings

• This all part of the RRT Capacity Building and Mentorship Process- Phase 1

• Initial mentorship meeting – Should be jointly planned by mentor/mentee – Find a time when all RRT partners can make it– Facilitated by the mentor– Set frequency of meetings (monthly)– What medium will be used (call, webinar)– Set expectations for scope and content – Address confidentiality

Mentorship Meetings• Recurring mentorship meetings

– Mentee is responsible for driving/running meetings/discussions

• Scheduling and setting up meetings• Setting agendas• Facilitating meetings• Encourage ad-hoc email and phone interaction as

questions arise• Plan at least one face-to-face meeting each year*

– Recommend the first one involves the mentee traveling to the mentor state

» Meet all RRT partners in person, take a tour, get a hands-on feel for the mentor’s processes

– Recommend a visit from the mentor to mentee in 2nd year– Take advantage of other F2F opportunities (RRT, InFORM, etc)

Questions?

Contact Information

Travis Goodman

CSO/RRT Program Coordinator

FDA/ORA/OP

Email: Travis.Goodman@fda.hhs.govCell 240-479-8614