Monday, May 21, 2018

Resources Shared on Inclusivity in 4-H Programs

ECOP Monday Minute will return on June 4, 2018. Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend!

On May 18 ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd and Chair-elect Ed Jones moderated a conversation with Extension Directors and Administrators with a panel of Land-grant experts.
  • Joining Ed Jones, Kay Heidbreder, University Legal Counsel, Virginia Tech
  • Glenda Humiston, Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, and joining Glenda was Katherine Soule, Extension Director for SLO & SB Counties & Youth, Families & Communities Advisor
  • ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee Co-chair Andy Turner, State Leader for the 4-H Youth Development Program, Cornell University, and joining Andy was Melissa Schroeder, Youth and Family Leader, Schuyler County, and Eduardo Gonzalez, Jr. Statewide Diversity Specialist
Click Here to download resources from the conversation.
The link to the recorded presentation is provided below. Comments and questions are welcome at ecopblog@gmail.com.



Act Promptly: Extension System Addresses the Opioid Crisis - The Extension Opioid Crisis Response Workgroup is charged by ECOP to develop a nationwide strategic framework to help position the Land-grant system to address the opioid crisis. There are 2 sets of activities in motion:
  1. Develop a broader strategic framework for Extension activities in the behavioral health arena. Last week Directors and Administrators were invited to either complete the 15-minute “Extension Behavioral Health Survey” https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5prkLpgveAo0aTH or share the survey link with the most knowledgeable behavioral health person in their organization. This survey is due by close of business on Wednesday, May 30.
  2. Provide Extension substance abuse program resources that can be quickly expanded across state lines. From May 24 through June 1, a series of webinars have been designed to share information about these programs. To learn more about either joining the webinars live, viewing the recordings, or offering assessment of the programs go to http://www.canr.msu.edu/ncrcrd/projects/opioid-programming
Direct questions/concerns to Workgroup Coordinator Mark Skidmore, mskidmor@msu.edu or Cooperative Extension/ECOP Executive Director Rick Klemme rickklemme@extension.org.


Culture of Health Opportunities in 2019 Webinar June 6 - National 4-H Council, in partnership with the groundbreaking health initiatives of the America's Cooperative Extension System, is helping to drive transformational change to create a Culture of Health across 1,000 communities in America over the next 10 years. The overarching strategy of the Well-Connected Communities initiative is governed by a combination of sustainable structure, leadership tools and training intended to emphasize the power of communities organizing to lead change. Learn more about the Well-Connected Communities initiative and future funding opportunities by participating in the following webinar.  
   Readiness for Well-Connected Communities - https://extension.zoom.us/j/825414633
   June 6, 2018 Time: 1-2 pm EST
   Audience: Land-grant institutions interested in Wave 2 of change makers (2019)


Economic Research Service Highlighted - USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) anticipates trends and emerging issues in agriculture, food, the environment, and rural America and conducts high-quality, objective economic research to inform and enhance public and private decision making. ERS research and statistics serve those who routinely make or influence these decisions – White House and USDA policy officials, the U.S. Congress, program administrators/managers, Federal agencies, State and local governments, private agribusinesses, and farm and industry groups. All ERS information can be found at www.ers.usda.gov, including ERS research and outlook reports, Amber Waves magazine, data visualizations and data products. For recent research highlights, see ERS’s FY 2017 Annual Report: Illuminating the Issues: How ERS Research Informs Decisions. Stakeholders can stay apprised of what’s new at ERS by signing up for weekly e-mail updates or by following @USDA_ERS on Twitter.

Monday, May 14, 2018

2018 Public Issues Leadership Development Conference in Review

2018 Joint PILD/4-H Delegations from Oregon and Georgia.
Picture Your Delegation Here in 2019!
Over 290 Extension Administrators, professionals, and volunteers learned how to tell Extension’s story and communicate more effectively with Congressional members and other decision makers at this year’s Joint Council of Extension Professional’s (JCEP) Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) Conference that took place in the Washington, DC area last month. The conference theme was “Cultivating a Climate of Civil Dialogue.” Highlights included a panel on “Cooperative Extension’s Value Proposition” moderated by ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd, Dean and Director of University of Nebraska, updates with NIFA National Program Leaders, as well as a session with two Congressional staffers who provided their perspectives on effectively communicating with members of Congress. Resources from the conference are available at http://jcep.org/public-issues-leadership-development-conference/link-to-2018-pild-presentations. PILD delegates were joined by over 300 4-H youth and their chaperones to coordinate talking points and plans for Congressional visits. Next year’s PILD Conference is scheduled for April 14-17, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA.


National Extension Web Mapping Tool Is Available - With the support of eXtension Foundation, the University of New Hampshire and Virginia Tech have developed a mapping and data exploration tool to assist Cooperative Extension staff and administrators in making strategic planning and programming decisions. The tool, called the National Extension Web-mapping Tool (or NEWT), was released in Beta late last year. No GIS experience is required to use NEWT, which is key in the effort to make spatial data available to a wider audience within Cooperative Extension. The Principal Investigators of the grant which supported the development of NEWT, Shane Bradt, University of New Hampshire, and John McGee, Virginia Tech, would like to get the word out about NEWT and get feedback about the ways in which NEWT could be improved. The relevant information and recent webinars about NEWT can be found at https://www.mapasyst.org/newt.


Sustainable Agricultural Systems Webinars - New in 2018, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program. SAS promotes the sustainable supply of abundant, affordable, safe, nutritious, and accessible food and other agricultural products, while enhancing economic opportunities and improving the long-term health and well-being of all Americans. The program requires a Letter of Intent, due June 27, 2018, after which applications are due October 10, 2018. Approximately $80 million will be available to fund non-renewable grants up to $10 million for fully integrated (including research, education, and extension) Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAPs) and Strengthening CAPs using transdisciplinary approaches. NIFA will present an AFRI Sustainable Agriculture Systems webinar on May 23rd. Go to https://nifa.usda.gov/event/webinar-afri-sustainable-agricultural-systems-may23 to learn more.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Conversation About Inclusivity in 4-H Programming May 18

ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd and Chair-elect Ed Jones will moderate the up-coming Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders entitled, A Conversation for Extension Directors and Administrators About Inclusivity in 4-H Programming. The invitation to the the Zoom session with connection details for Friday, May 18, 2018, 3-4:00 p.m. ET, will be released by email this week. The Session will be archived HERE with the ability for Partners and Liaisons to provide comment. Questions may about the session may be directed to Executive Director Rick Klemme rickklemme@extension.org


NIFA Data Gateway - The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to serving its stakeholders, Congress, and the public by using new technologies to advance greater openness. To strengthen transparency and promote open government, NIFA is providing easy access to data and metrics on how the agency disseminates funding. NIFA’s Data Gateway enables users to find funding data, metrics, and information about research, education, and extension projects that have received grant awards from NIFA. Users can use terms and filters to search for projects, choose the data elements to see in the results, and export the results. Visit Project Based Search Highlights and Congressional District Map Highlights for a quick visual overview of the features available. For a general overview, view the Data Gateway Factsheet. For details on the Data Gateway tool, visit the Data Gateway Resource Page. The main Date Gateway Page is at https://nifa.usda.gov/data.


Emerging opportunities for Cooperative Extension to bring Community Learning through Data-driven Discovery (CLD3) to Our Communities - Community Learning through Data-driven Discovery (CLD3) is a bold new approach for Extension professionals and Regional Rural Development Centers to use data in new and innovative ways not previously conceivable. To address increasingly complex issues of our communities. CLD3 is a collaborative approach among Extension professionals, university researchers, and local communities to use data, including local data, to inform and guide community level decision-making. Virginia Tech (VT) and Iowa State University (ISU) have an exciting partnership to implement CLD3 in their states, with the goal to rapidly expand CLD3 to other states. One example of CLD3 in action is ISU and VT’s work with Marshalltown, Iowa, where the multicultural population has increased from less than 1% in the early 1990s to over 25% today. Through the CLD3 cycle the government officials are gaining a data-driven understanding of how public transportation is meeting the needs of this demographically changing population, how current fee structures governing access to and use of parks and recreation programs might be adjusted to increase use by all, and what strategies might help in maintaining the quality of the neighborhoods through improvement projects. To learn more about CLD3, see "Helping Communities Use Data to Make Better Decisions", just released in the National Academy of Sciences Issues in Science and Technology Spring edition.


ECOP/ESCOP Health Action/Implementation Teams’ Work Recognized - ECOP commissioned the work of Extension and Experiment Station colleagues in 2014 in five teams to address five critical areas underlying the health and wellness extension programming across the country. The work of these teams has resulted in a special edition of the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension (JHSE). "The Cooperative Extension National Framework for Health and Wellness: Implementation and Scholarship Reports" was released last week at the 2018 National Health Outreach Conference. JHSE is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online journal focused on disseminating knowledge and information to academicians, educators, and practitioners on topics addressing human development; family studies; agricultural education; leadership development; extension; health and wellness; apparel, textiles, and merchandising; agricultural economics; nutrition and dietetics; family resource management; and program planning and evaluation. To learn more about JHSE, CLICK HERE. To subscribe to updates from JHSE, CLICK HERE.