Monday, December 16, 2019

Turning Toward 2020

The ECOP Monday Minute returns on January 6, 2020.


Last Chance to Register - Use the last issue of the ECOP Monday Minute as the source for the links to register for 2 webinar interviews, 11AM and 2PM ET, 12/17/19 - tomorrow, with the candidates for Cooperative Extension/ECOP Executive Director. The ECOP Search Advisory Committee values the input into this key decision by the Cooperative Extension Section for 2020 and beyond. A Qualtrics survey will be released immediately following the candidate interviews. The Committee's recommendation is to be shared with the ECOP Executive Committee during their Zoom meeting on January 9, 2020, 11:00 a.m. ET



Save January DatePositioning 4-H and Extension for Investment - Recently the ECOP Executive Committee rescheduled the popular Learning for Leader Series from Friday, January 3 to January 10, 2020, 3-4:00 p.m. ET. Please save the date and watch for a calendar invitation to all members of the Section with connection details. Andy Ferrin (National 4-H Council) will present a comprehensive overview of 4-H and its many assets, including a recent national survey of 4-H Alumni outcomes. The presentation will be followed by a conversation on how Cooperative Extension can position its high-quality 4-H programs for growth --and for increased investment from public and private sources.



eXtension Hosts 3rd National Impact Collaborative Summit - 21 Project and Program teams across Cooperative Extension representing 24 institutions attended the Impact Collaborative in Atlanta for a unique opportunity to create impactful results by increasing Cooperative Extension's organizational readiness and capacity for innovation and change. Teams were connected with skills, tools, resources, Coaches, Facilitators, and Key Informants that helped expand and deepen their impact. Evaluation results demonstrate team growth, uncovered gaps, new ideas, and new or increased innovation for participants and teams. 93.2% of responding participants recommend the Impact Collaborative Summit to others. The 2020 Impact Collaborative Summits will be delivered virtually, removing the limit on the number of teams that eXtension members can send to participate. The full report is available at eXtension.org/success.



NIFA Highlights Research, Education, and Extension Successes of 2019 - One of the many ways USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture communicates the value of the science, education, and extension investments with our Land-Grant Universities to the general public and to Congress is through our year end success report. The 2019 accomplishment report can be found at https://nifa.usda.gov/blog/nifa-successes-2019
There are numerous ways to connect with NIFA including:
   • NIFA Programs: https://nifa.usda.gov/programs
   • NIFA Search for Funding Opportunities: https://nifa.usda.gov/page/search-grant
   • NIFA Grants (information for awardees): https://nifa.usda.gov/grants
   • NIFA Data Gateway: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/data
   • Sign up for Weekly Updates: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDANIFA/subscriber/new?qsp=USDANIFA_2



Extension Journal, Inc (EJI) Adopts New Strategic Plan - The Extension Journal, Inc (EJI) recently adopted a new strategic plan. The 5-year plan focuses on 4 main priority areas: 1) developing a more efficient, streamlined, and sustainable Journal of Extension editorial model; 2) improving the JOE website user experiences with new dynamic features; 3) expanding partnerships, collaboration and communications around both JOE and Extension Jobs; and 4) establishing financial stability. Since ratifying the new strategic plan in September, the board has focused considerable effort on development of the new editorial model, which includes volunteer associates and more closely aligns with the model used by most academic journals. EJI plans to unveil this new model in the coming months. Ami Smith, West Virginia State University, is the ECOP Liaison and President-elect to EJI Board of Directors.