The 2018 National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) and Annual Cooperative Extension Section (CES) Business Meeting occurs October 1-3 in Portland Oregon. At their regular meeting last week the ECOP Executive Committee, chaired by Chuck Hibberd, considered the business meeting agenda that will occur on the morning of Oct. 2. Based on the positive feedback of the interactive engaging approach undertaken and 2017 NEDA (Survey found at
bit.ly/17NEDASurvey), the Committee decided to once again use an interactive discussion platform and direct polling, such as
Slido, to engage CES and to build consensus. Topics include
Advocacy and Communication,
Strategic Realignment (Federal Budget),
Plan of Work Reporting, and more.
All Extension leaders (or their designated associates) from each of the 76 land-grant institutions are encouraged to be present and prepared with appropriate technology to contribute to the discussion portions of the business meeting, Tuesday morning, October 2. To learn more about NEDA and to register go to
www.cvent.com/d/0gqxkw. Early registration and hotel room block expires after
September 10.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion - In light of events relative to inclusiveness in the 4-H program, on Thursday, August 9, 2018 ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd delivered a letter
bit.ly/ECOP-Inclusion to all Extension Administrators and Directors across the country, re-affirming the Cooperative Extension Section’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in 4-H
and all Extension education programming. Other resources for leaders may be found from
A Conversation For Extension Directors and Administrators About Inclusivity in 4-H Programming from May 18, 2018.
eXtension: Registration For the Impact Collaborative Summit is Now Open - The Summit is in Indianapolis, IN, from October 16-18, 2018. All member institutions are invited to send teams to the Summit and community partners are welcome. Premium member institutions can send a team of up to five people with no registration fee. Basic member institutions can send a team of up to three people with no registration fee. More information on the Summit, registration, and learning outcomes can be found
here.
A webinar is scheduled for August 15th at 1 PM EDT to share more information about the Impact Collaborative and the Summit, and answer any questions you may have. You can register for the webinar here.
Funding Available For Rural Community Infrastructure - USDA has more than $4 billion in funding to help rural communities build or upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure. Safe water is fundamental to improving the quality of life and growing stronger rural economies. USDA is providing the funding through the
Water and Waste Disposal Loan and Grant program. It can be used to finance drinking water, storm water drainage and waste disposal systems for rural communities with 10,000 or fewer residents. For communities needing technical assistance, funding is available through
USDA’s Circuit Rider program and through
Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) grants. Eligible rural communities and water districts can apply online for funding to maintain, modernize or build water and wastewater systems. Visit the interactive
RD Apply tool, or apply through one of USDA Rural Development’s
state or field offices.
Please Distribute NASS-CES MOU - Executive Director Rick Klemme with support of the EDA Team (on behalf of ECOP/CES) and Agricultural Natural Resource program leaders from each for the five regions, recently completed the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Also described as a "Memorandum of Opportunity", the MOU identifies ways that NASS and CES colleagues across the country can collaborate and add value to the work of each organization. ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd, the signer of the document, asks that every agricultural agent/educator and specialist be made aware of the MOU and to be encouraged to look to NASS as a resource in their work whether it be on campus or in the field. To share the MOU go to
bit.ly/CES_NAS.
