Established in 2015, North Carolina State University’s Center for Integrated Fungal Research launched the Plant Soil Microbial Community Consortium (PSMCC), an industry-supported program that remained active with member companies through 2020. PSMCC consisted of an interdisciplinary group of faculty with expertise in plant pathology, soil science, microbial physiology, climate modeling, and mathematics. The Consortium integrated all aspects of soil microbiome research, including environmental and climate initiatives, disease, agriculture, evolution, mathematical modeling, genomics, and bioinformatics, and it helped translate knowledge from fundamental research to stakeholders, the general public, and the scientific community.

Beginning in 2021, PSMCC has morphed into the Plant Soil Microbial Community Collaborative, a more flexible model for catalyzing partnerships between NC State faculty and industry. Through CIFR-hosted showcase events, faculty and external partners pitch ideas and explore potential projects. Prior to each showcase, Research Topics are requested from external stakeholders and distributed as a Request for Proposals (RFP) to NC State faculty. Faculty may submit short two-page proposals in response, which industry contacts review and use as the basis for negotiating sponsored agreements or other forms of collaboration. Projects can be structured as one-on-one sponsored agreements, co-sponsored projects (two companies), or larger consortia (three or more companies), using standard NC State consortium membership agreements already in place. Sponsored agreements are administered through SPARCS at NC State University.