Land-grant Impact Stories and More

Do you ever wonder if the impact statements submitted to the national database get used? They do. With the support of the Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Sections, a team of nationally recognized writers, editors and designers gathers each year to create materials highlighted on landgrantimpacts.org. Under "Areas of Impact" you will find and download 28 stories and 15 fact sheets the group developed for each topic area that showcase the success of land-grant universities across the country. The stories are there for you to use in your communications efforts.


IMPORTANT UPDATES: Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders - ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd recommends the following action for Extension Administrators and Directors:

• Tune in April 20, 2018, 3:00 p.m. Eastern to a special edition! Framing Cooperative Extension’s Response to the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (ARP) Join ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd in a conversation with National Program Leader Brent Elrod and Southern Regional Rural Development Center's Rachel Welborn about Extension opportunities found in Rural America Counts: A blueprint for reinvesting in Rural America. Watch for calendar invitation coming soon.
• Review the Well Connected Communities presentation from last Friday, April 6. Project Director Michelle Rodgers (University of Delaware) introduces Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Dr. Monica Vinluan. Hear how Karla Trautman, South Dakota State University began the project at her institution. Stay tuned to ECOP Monday Minute for a list of professional development opportunities for the System!
  

USDA NIFA National Program Leader State Liaison Assignments - As a follow up to last week’s article on the NIFA state program liaison roles and responsibilities, the state liaison assignments may be found at https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource/POW%20State%20Liaison%20Assignments%20FY2018.pdf


Time and Effort Webinar Available For Viewing - NIFA’s Office of Grants and Financial Management presented a webinar on April 5 that previews the time and effort reporting presentation to be made at the 2018 National Extension and Research Administrative Officers Conference (NERAOC) in Grand Rapids, MI, April 22-25, 2018. The webinar was conceived as a way for Extension Administrators and Directors to hear the presentation in advance in order for them to engage with their business officers ahead of this NERAOC conference. The webinar was viewed by nearly 120 participants with Maggie Ewell (Senior Policy Analyst for NIFA’s Office of Grants and Financial Management) and Natalie Bush (Manager of Financial Operations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) moderating. The content of the webinar was a collaborative process involving NIFA’s Office of Grants and Financial Management, the BAA Cooperative Extension Section and the BAA Experiment Station Section. The webinar is available for your viewing at: https://zoom.us/recording/share/hoGRKpWzqyAey3hx2Hzk_Sp9B76VZckPEV4ZWPE4oQKwIumekTziMw.

Learn more about FFAR - The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research was created in the 2014 Farm Bill to support food and agriculture research, foster collaboration, and advance and complement the mission of USDA. Many of you are aware of the Foundation, and I suspect that many of you are not fully up to speed on its work. To learn more about FFAR, you can go to https://foundationfar.org/. You can also subscribe to the FFAR monthly newsletter at http://bit.ly/ffarnewsletter, and connect with FFAR on Twitter at @FoundationFAR.