Monday, July 27, 2020

Leading in a Time of Social, Economic and Political Disruption - 2020 NEDA

SAVE THE DATE! Virtual NEDA Meeting: The 2020 National Extension Director and Administrator Meeting (NEDA) will occur September 23-24 (ECOP Meeting on September 22). The theme for this NEDA meeting will be Leading in a Time of Social, Economic and Political Disruption. The meeting will be conducted on a virtual platform for All 76 members of the Cooperative Extension Section and System partners, who are encouraged to save the dates and watch for registration to be open within the next few weeks. Stay tuned for the invitation and other details with registration! 



NIFA Funding Opportunity - 1862, 1890, 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, and others. are eligible to apply for a new program area priority, FY 2020 Rapid Response to Novel Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2): Innovating Formal and Non-Formal Educational Experiences in Food and Agricultural Sciences During the Time of Social Distancing, to address the need to develop and deploy rapid, reliable, and readily-adoptable strategies in workforce preparation through formal K-14 education, as well as in youth development through non-formal education to cultivate interest and competencies in STEM and agriculture during this challenging time. Funded projects are expected to develop tools, techniques, and other practices that can be rapidly adopted at home or by educators and Extension specialists to ensure the effective formal and non-formal education of K-14 students and other youth development opportunities. A web version of this announcement can be found at: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDANIFA/bulletins/2963fd7. The application deadline is Aug. 20, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Interested applicants are invited to attend an informational webinar on July 28, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Click here for more information and to register. 



ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee Resolution and Commitment to the Deconstruction of Systemic Racism within the 4-H Program - In light of recent events across the nation and the reaffirmation of the core values of the 4-H Youth Development Program, the ECOP 4-H Leadership Committee statement on the deconstruction of systemic racism within the 4-H Program can be found here. The document was affirmed by the ECOP Executive Committee last week. 



2021 National Extension Conference on Volunteerism
- The National Extension Conference on Volunteerism Planning Committee and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, have declared April 26-29, 2021, the dates for the National Extension Conference on Volunteerism "NECV” 2021! Plans are underway for an exciting Extension professional conference with a focus on volunteerism at the Hard Rock Hotel and Conference Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma! This conference is ideal for volunteer-focused professionals who are serving within all areas of Extension programs. For more information, visit this website



Data and Policy: Responding to Human Services Needs - The Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research has released the next white paper in their Leading Edge Dialogue series: Data and Policy: Responding to Human Services Needs. Data is needed for decision-making, particularly around human services and community development, which are complex and intersectional issues. Skill in leveraging and presenting data will position research at the forefront of social policy conversations and decisions; however, retaining current silos of data and research could lead to suboptimal policy decisions and erosion of support for public universities. In fact, in the government human services sector there is a thirst for better data to legitimize and support social policy decisions; this creates a potential for partnerships and interface between Extension and government agencies. Emerging opportunities for collaboration from a panel of experts and participants at the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference during the 90-minute interactive Leading-Edge Dialogue are available here.

Monday, July 20, 2020

Leadership Transition for NIFA

U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced that Dr. Parag Chitnis (pictured left) will serve as Acting Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) upon the departure of Dr. Scott Angle. “Dr. Chitnis brings more than 31 years of scientific research and experience to the Director’s office. He has been instrumental in providing steady leadership and support to NIFA during its transition to Kansas City last fall, in addition to playing a lead role on NIFA’s Project CAFÉ (Collaboratively Achieving Functional Excellence) initiative which aims to help NIFA maximize business operations to better serve its customers,” said Secretary Perdue. “We thank Dr. Angle for his many contributions to NIFA and service to USDA and U.S. Agriculture.” For more information, read the USDA press release



ECOP Meetings this Week - Extension Directors and Administrators can the learn more about the ECOP Meetings occurring July 21st  and 23rd by viewing the APLU Commission on Food, Environment, & Renewable Resources (CFERR) Calendar for July 2020. All members of the Section are encouraged to attend the USDA/REE National Partnership Virtual Webinar Updates on July 22nd



USDA Agricultural Innovation Agenda Listening Sessions - The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) invites Extension Directors and Administrators to participate in the USDA Agricultural Innovation Agenda Listening Sessions on Monday, July 27th and Tuesday, July 28th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET. The Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) seeks to stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40 percent, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. Participants are encouraged to share this invitation with producer groups. Use these links to learn more and register:

-- Monday, July 27th  from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET
   Driving Innovation Through Breeding Technologies in Livestock and Dairy Production, and

-- Tuesday, July 28th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET
    Conservation Data to Improve Environmental Outcomes/Productivity in Farming Systems




Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
- The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has completed their review of the evidence on nutrition and health, and their Scientific Report is now available online. The final report, which provides critical information to inform future Extension programming, reflects the Advisory Committee’s full examination of the evidence using three rigorous approaches: data analysis, systematic reviews, and food pattern modeling. The Report includes their conclusions and advice to the United States Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, their rationale and, finally, their recommendation for future research. The public is encouraged to submit comments to the Departments on the Scientific Report. This is an ongoing public comment period that will end on August 13, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.




NIFA Invites Partners’ Continued Participation in Capacity Grant Budget Pilot for FY 2021 - In FY 2020, to enhance financial accountability for capacity grant funds, NIFA implemented a high-level capacity budget submission process as a pilot. Over 30 institutions voluntarily participated in that pilot. For FY 2021, NIFA has decided to continue the successful FY 2020 pilot and allow institutions to get additional experience preparing and submitting these budgets. NIFA intends to require capacity grantees to submit high-level capacity grant budgets with their grant applications in FY 2022 (with the exception of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) grantees, who already have budget submission requirements). Webinar information will be posted on NIFA’s capacity budget resource page, along with sample budgets and updated FAQs. 

Monday, July 13, 2020

COVID Alert: Mental Health Survey Results Reveal Teens are Struggling

 Together with the Harris Poll, National 4-H Council set out to examine the impact of the public health crisis on the mental health of teens. The survey revealed that in the wake of COVID-19, 7 in 10 teens are struggling with their mental health and more than half of those surveyed shared that the pandemic has increased their feelings of loneliness, with 64 percent believing it will have a lasting impact on their mental health. Click here to read the report. To learn more about the state of teens’ mental health and discuss ways Extension can support them, Extension Directors and Administrators are invited to join a webinar on July 16 (2:00- 3:30 PM ET) co-hosted by National 4-H Council President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo and Extension Health Director Roger Rennekamp. The Harris team will review the survey findings. Register here for the webinar.




Fulfilling the Land Grant University Mission Leading Edge Dialogue - The Western Center for Metropolitan Extension and Research has released the next white paper in their Leading Edge Dialogue series: Fulfilling the Land Grant University Mission: Extension and Community-based Applied Research, co-authored by retired colleague and ECOP Member, Lou Swanson (Colorado State University). Major themes of the discussion included: recognizing Extension's emerging role-shift into inter- and multi-disciplinary work across the university system; establishing Extension as a co-creative partner with other public institutions in the work of community development and applied research; and exploring methodologies to advance workforce development and urban-rural interdependencies through programming. Emerging opportunities for collaboration from a panel of experts and participants at the 2019 National Urban Extension Conference during the 90-minute interactive Leading Edge Dialogue are available here.




2021 CNCS Senior Corps RSVP Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity - The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is releasing the Fiscal Year 2021 Senior Corps RSVP Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT), Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. This Senior Corps RSVP NOFO prioritizes grant-making in the six focus areas identified by the Serve America Act of 2009 and in alignment with the CNCS Strategic Plan: Disaster Services; Economic Opportunity; Education; Environmental Stewardship; Healthy Futures; and Veterans and Military Families. CNCS will host a series of technical assistance webinars to answer questions about this funding opportunity, performance measures, and eGrants. CNCS strongly encourages all interested applicants to participate in these sessions. Zoom webinar dates and times can be found here. If you have questions at any time during the application period, please send an email to 2021RSVP@cns.gov.