**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS CONFERENCE PROJECT IS TO ENCOURAGE AND FACILITATE TRANSDISCIPLINARY LEARNING AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA - NORTH CENTRAL BRANCH (ESA-NCB), AND THE AGRICULTURE, FOOD, AND HUMAN VALUES SOCIETY (AFHVS) WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY DEVELOPING A BEST-PRACTICES GUIDE FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES. ESA-NCB AND AFHVS ARE DISTINCT, AS WELL AS COMPLEMENTARY, ORGANIZATIONS. IN PARTICULAR, WHILE BOTH ORGANIZATIONS USE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO STUDY AGRICULTURE, BOTH ARE AIMED AT IMPROVING FOOD SYSTEMS FROM AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE. FOR INSTANCE, ESA-NCB COVERS THE PROFESSIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC NEEDS OF ENTOMOLOGISTS AND INDIVIDUALS IN RELATED DISCIPLINES, LARGELY FROM NATURAL AND BIOPHYSICAL SCIENCES. AFHVS'S MISSION IS TO PROVIDE AN INTERNATIONAL FORUM TO ENGAGE IN THE CROSS-DISCIPLINARY STUDY OF FOOD, AGRICULTURE, AND HEALTH, AS WELL AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EXAMINING THE VALUES THAT UNDERLIE VARIOUS VISIONS OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. TOGETHER, WE AIM TO IMPROVE FOOD SYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURE SCHOLARSHIP BY USING THE COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE BASE OF ESA-NCB AND AFHVS TO ADDRESS WICKED PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH ENTOMOLOGY IN AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS.OUR SUPPORTING OBJECTIVES INCLUDE:CREATING A VENUE FOR SHARING ARTICLES AND RESEARCH BETWEEN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TWO SOCIETIESCONDUCTING A SERIES OF VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS LEADING UP TO THE SOCIETIES' TWO SEPARATE CONFERENCES TO BUILD TRUST, GROW COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS, AND LEARN ABOUT PERSPECTIVES, JARGON, SCIENTIFIC THEORIES, TOPICS, AND COMMON LENSESDEVELOPING TWO MINI-CONFERENCES (ONE FOR AFHVS MEMBERS AT THE THE ESA-NCB ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND ONE FOR ESA-NCB MEMBERS AT THE AFHVS ANNUAL CONFERENCE) TO:DEVELOP A BEST-PRACTICES GUIDE FOR FUTURE TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIESFACILITATE LEARNING ABOUT RELEVANT TOPICAL ISSUES, THEORIES, AND METHODOLOGIES BY BREAKING DOWN COMMON DISCIPLINARY SILOSENCOURAGE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF EACH SOCIETYDEVELOP SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES AND APPROACHES FOR FUTURE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO SOCIETIESRELEVANT PROJECT ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THESE OBJECTIVES COULD INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT NECESSARILY LIMITED TO:IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING A VIRTUAL PLATFORM FOR ARTICLE AND RESEARCH SHARING, INFORMAL ONLINE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SOCIETY MEMBERS, AND PRE-CONFERENCE VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS (PRELIMINARY IDEAS INCLUDE GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX, MICROSOFT TEAMS, BASECAMP, ETC.)RESEARCHING SPECIFIC STRATEGIES AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES TO BUILD TRUST AND GROW COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS (PRELIMINARY RESOURCES INCLUDE ARMSTRONG &AMP; JACKSON-SMITH 2013; BENNET &AMP; GADLIN 2012; DENTZMAN ET AL. 2020; EIGENBRODE ET AL. 2017; LEVI &AMP; ASKAY 2020; MAZER ET AL. 2020)CONDUCTING VIRTUAL PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPSDEVELOPING MINI-CONFERENCES COLLABORATIVELY WITH INPUT FROM THE MEMBERSHIP OF BOTH SOCIETIES AND CONDUCTING IN-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS AND ACTIVITIES RELEVANT TO,BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (I.E., A GROUP SHARING COMMON CONCERNS AND INTERESTS WHILE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO DEVELOP BEST PRACTICES AND NEW KNOWLEDGE TO ADDRESS THESE).IDENTIFYING AND PROMOTING A MECHANISM TO ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION BEYOND THE PROJECT PERIOD (PRELIMINARY IDEAS INCLUDE GOOGLE DRIVE, DROPBOX, MICROSOFT TEAMS, BASECAMP, ETC.)WORKING WITH MEMBERSHIP FROM BOTH SOCIETIES TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE OVERALL PROCESS (I.E., ARMSTRONG &AMP; JACKSON SMITH 2013) AND DEVELOP/PROMOTE A BEST PRACTICES GUIDE FOR FUTURE TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES (POSSIBLE PUBLICATION AVENUES INCLUDE CHOICES, AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES, AND AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST)DEVELOPING AND SUBMITTING 2-3 PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS THAT DESCRIBE AND ANALYZE OUR PROCESS OF TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION ACROSS THE TWO SOCIETIES.