Objective:
- Cooperate in world-wide bread and durum wheat improvement research efforts in the field of genomics, genetics and agronomy, to increase food security, wheat nutritional value and safety while taking into account societal demands for sustainable and resilient agricultural production systems; - Provide a forum to identify synergies and encourage collaborations among major nationally, regionally and internationally (public and private) funded wheat programs with the result of maximising opportunities for gaining added-value internationally; - Facilitate open communication and exchange of germplasm, data and materials in accordance with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and facilitate exchange of ideas within the wheat research community; - Support the development of publicly available integrated databases and platforms; - Recommend minimum data-reporting standards and develop protocols to allow consistency for screening and analyses; - Organize knowledge transfer and capacity building; - Monitor and summarize progress of scientific activities; - Establish and periodically update priorities for wheat research of global relevance; - Communicate to national and international funding agencies as well as to agricultural ministries the needs of the wheat research community of participating nations.

Approach:
USDA/ARS will provide support for the International Research Initiative for Wheat Improvement in accordance with the International Research Initiative for Wheat Improvement - Version1-2013.03.18.