Monday, July 23, 2018

ECOP Meets South of the Border

There will be no ECOP Monday Minute on July 30. Please tune in again on August 6, 2018!

Candid moment of ECOP Meeting, July 17, 2018
This summer’s ECOP meeting occurred, as usual, as part of the annual APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly's Joint COPs Summer Meeting held this year in Guadalajara, Mexico. This location, like last year’s meeting in Canada, reflects APLUs interests in broadening public university engagement to include our neighbors. Highlights of actions by ECOP:

  • Approved Extension Resource and Partnership Development Team continue working towards a System-wide Development/Fund Raising business plan. Draft plan due at October NEDA/ECOP meetings. 
  • Approved the Reporting Themes Workgroup to continue its work towards a coordinated, streamlined reporting system aligned with NIFA and CES strategic initiative priorities. 
  • Affirmed commitment to CES Strategic Agenda in the transition of the ECOP Chair from Chuck Hibberd to Ed Jones for 2019. 
  • Approved appointment of an International Extension Workgroup to establish ways that the Cooperative Extension system can support 1862 and 1890 institutions increasing capacity in this arena. 
  • Approved a Section-wide process to review and provide input on the Strategic Alignment (Line Consolidation) efforts being led by the BAA Policy Board. This review will lead to input to the Policy Board’s meeting on this topic in November. 
  • Approved the continued process of engaging Section members on their perspectives on the expectations for Communications and Marketing Committee Plan of Work. This review will lead to input to the Policy Board’s meeting on this topic in November. 
  • Provided significant input into the Nutrition Education Call to Action Advocacy Strategy being led by the Communications and Marketing Committee and kglobal. Extension Administrators and Directors will soon receive a summary of the current and planned strategies. 
  • Affirmed the work of the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee, encouraging them to explore the possibility of new legislation to establish an additional authority for use of the 4-H name and emblem and to draft a new MOU http://bit.ly/4H_MOU document that would continue the work of the Committee beyond May 8, 2019

Two Timely Reminders -
  1. Tune in to Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders: Unraveling the Mysteries of ECOP and CES on Friday, August 3, 2018, 3-4:00 p.m. ET. Contact ECOP Assistant Director Sandy Ruble to receive connection details.
  2. Register for 2018 NEDA before September 10, 2018 - http://www.cvent.com/d/0gqxkw. Direct questions about this meeting to ECOP Program Assistant Marianne Klein.

eXtension Highlights - The Impact Collaborative, powered by eXtension, hosted its Facilitator Training last week in Detroit, MI. The Impact Collaborative trained 29 new facilitators from 20 institutions in the Innovation Kit process. Upon completion of this training, these members became qualified to host local Innovation Kit Workshop and Designathon One events with eXtension and can assist in facilitating. You can find more information on outcomes and what our Facilitators had to say about the training here. If your institution has had a Facilitator trained this year, the Impact Collaborative is offering Premium Member Institutions the chance to host a 20-60 seat Innovation Kit Workshop or Designathon One at no cost to the institution. The deadline for scheduling one of these events is August 1st, 2018, click here for more details. To learn more about eXtension member benefits like these Impact Collaborative events, become a member! Contact Beverly Coberly at beverlycoberly@extension.org for more information.


Webinar 8/14: Well Connected Communities Wave 2 Funding - The Well Connected Communities initiative is an effort to cultivate wellness across the country. Cooperative Extension, in partnership with National 4-H Council, is equipping volunteer leaders to help their neighbors be healthier at every stage of life. With the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health, these communities are cultivating wellness and fostering a Culture of Health in America. Extension Directors and Administrators who are interested in strengthening Well Connected Communities’ applications for Wave 2, are encouraged to join a national webinar. The next Request for Applications for funding is anticipated to be released during the spring of 2019. Webinar details:
  • August 14, 2018 Time: 2:30 – 3:30 pm ET 
  • Register here: https://extension.zoom.us/j/120831669
  • Webinar Goals:
    -- Expand understanding of the Well Connected Communities initiative
    -- Explore strategies for building, connecting and weaving community coalition efforts
    -- Identify roles for supporting and creating change
    -- Learn from current Well Connected Communities
For more information or if you have questions, contact Janet Golden, National 4-H Council, jgolden@fourhcouncil.edu, 301-204-6841.


One Week Left to Complete the 2017 Census of Agriculture - The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) officially ends data collection for the 2017 Census of Agriculture on July 31. NASS asks for help in reminding farmers and ranchers that their response, every response, is important – even if it’s just to say that they are no longer a farmer. The stronger the data once every five years, the better-informed future decisions can be. Remember, the same law that requires response – Federal law, Title 7 USC 2204(g) Public Law 105-113 – also requires NASS to keep all information confidential, to use the data only for statistical purposes, and to only publish data in aggregate form to prevent disclosing the identity of any individual producer or farm operation. Producers can still complete the Census questionnaire online at www.agcensus.usda.gov or by calling toll-free (888) 424-7828 through July 31. Data release is planned for February 2019.


Breakthroughs 2030 Release - Additional Information - As reported last week, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 (Breakthroughs 2030) on July 18. As part of the webinar, the Academies are sharing background materials. The archived webinar recording will soon be made available at: http://nas-sites.org/dels/studies/agricultural-science-breakthroughs/report-release/. This site includes links to download the report or read the report online, the press release and an interactive infographic. Other materials of interest:
   • 3-minute video with the main messages from the report
   • 4-page brief summary of the report
   • Social media toolkit with sample promotional tweets, posts, and newsletter summaries