ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd encourages Directors and Administrators to seize this limited time opportunity to make Excellence and Diversity in Extension shine in 2018.
May 1 is the deadline! Go to
www.aplu.org/CESawards for complete details. Questions may be directed to ECOP Program Assistant Sandy Ruble
sandyruble@extension.org, 202-478-6088.
Well-Connected Communities: Engagement Opportunities - Cooperative Extension is currently building a culture of health in communities across the country with the support of the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health. The initiative has recently been re-titled as Well-Connected Communities, and there are two near-term ways for Extension professionals to learn more about this work and/or to get involved in the future. See the information below for two upcoming webinars. Read more:
Building a Culture of Health: Well-Connected Communities
- Readiness for Well-Connected Communities
- Cooperative Extension has launched a 10 year initiative to harness, align and focus our assets and grow cross-sector partnerships to create a culture of health across America. Join us on this webinar to learn more about the Well-Connected Communities initiative and how you can get ready to join the next wave of change makers.
Date/Time: June 6, 2018, 1-2 pm EST
Audience: States interested in Wave 2 Initiative
Join here: https://extension.zoom.us/j/825414633
- Well-Connected Communities Master Health Volunteers - The Well-Connected Communities Master Health Volunteer Program Training is a collaboration addressing state and community health priorities (60%) underpinned by core content from the national master health volunteer model (40%). This webinar will focus on the content for top national priority core concepts that states are expected to include in their training with a roll-out of webinars and other resources provided. This will be followed by Zoom Office Hours on June 28 at 10 am and 3 pm EST.
Date/Time: June 12, 2018, 3-4 pm EST
Audience: Principal Investigators and Extension staff responsible for the Well-Connected Communities Master Health Volunteer program training and implementation.
Register here: https://extension.zoom.us/j/409794187
Designathon One - What’s Next? - The first five eXtension Impact Collaborative Designathon One events included 170 extension professionals and their community partners. The next wave of events are being redesigned to have a greater focus on local or state priorities and context. To accomplish this, a local design team will work with the Impact Collaborative team prior to each event. The University of Kentucky will host the first pilot local Designathon One event in late April with their design team prioritizing next steps for their Innovation Working Group and key initiatives across the state. Several more events are being planned.
Learn more about Designathon One or how to request one for your state...
Time is Running Out to Complete the 2017 Census of Agriculture - To date, NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed census questionnaires with more coming in every day. But the national return rate is
currently lower than at this point in data collection for the 2012 Agriculture Census. NASS is reminding U.S. producers that everyone who received a census is required to respond – even if they are not involved in agriculture – and encouraging those who have not returned their completed questionnaire to do so as soon as possible so that they do not receive phone and/or in-person follow-ups. NASS is increasing their follow-up efforts with this census due in part to the questionnaire being mailed to many potential farmers and ranchers who may not be familiar with it. Beyond being a general reminder for those who may have waited until they gathered their tax documents to respond, the follow-up will give potential and other producers the opportunity to ask questions, and NASS the chance to address any concerns. In the meantime, farmers and ranchers can still respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture online at
www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail. For more information about the census or for assistance with the questionnaire, producers can visit
www.agcensus.usda.gov or call toll-free (888) 424-7828.
Remember, the stronger the response, the stronger the data. The stronger the data, the better the decisions and advocacy for programs that best serve producers and rural America.
