ECOP Meeting Summary

ECOP met in Anchorage, Alaska from April 18-20. This is one of three annual face-to-face meetings, the other two are in July (in conjunction with the Joint COPS meeting) and in October (in conjunction with the annual NEDA meeting). ECOP addresses issues of importance to the Extension Directors and Administrators from 1862 and 1890 land-grant universities respectively. The Committee heard updates on Civil Discourse (see next item), the 4-H Leadership Committee, the relationship building between the Cooperative Extension Section and NIFA, the joint ECOP/ESCOP Communications and Marketing Committee, 1994 -1862 collaborations, the Private Resource Mobilization task force and the Health Implementation teams. Results of these conversations will be featured in upcoming editions of the Monday Minute.


Civil Discourse Resources Update - The Final Report of Rapid Response to Civil Discourse was approved at the ECOP meeting on April 19. A webinar is scheduled for May 17th at 1:00 p.m. Central, which will focus on the background and need from ECOP’s perspective, the work of the Rapid Response Team, and recommendations moving forward. The webinar link is: https://zoom.us/j/115542421. (See http://ecopmondayminute.blogspot.com/2017/02/27.html.) . This work will be featured at this fall’s NEDA meeting to be held on October 2-4 near Burlington, VT.

Dennis Calvin,
Penn State Extension

Dennis Calvin to Serve as ECOP Liaison to ESCOP - Dennis Calvin, Director of Penn State Extension and Associate Dean in the in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, has agreed to serve as the ECOP liaison to ESCOP. This is a critically important position in that Dennis will be able to build on the several years of strong ECOP/ESCOP collaboration.


TEConomy Report Follow-up: State/University Reference - The April 10th edition of the Monday Minute featured the release of the TEConomy report. The ECOP National Office has made available a list of 1862 and 1890 institutions, in alphabetical order by state, referenced within the report. This summary can be found at bit.ly/NECR-land-grant.

ECOP/ESCOP Chair DC Visits

Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska and
Bret Hess, University of Wyoming

ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt and ESCOP Chair Bret Hess recently conducted several agency and organization visits. The visits spanned nearly two weeks and continue the strong collaboration between these two BAA organizations. The content of these meetings included (depending on the audience) an introduction to the land-grant capacity in extension/research, presentation of ECOP and ESCOP priorities, overview of the one ask proposal and dialogue about potential partnerships. Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Executive Director Mike Harrington was instrumental in arranging these meetings, and he along with ECOP Executive Director Rick Klemme participated in several of these meetings with Fred and Bret. Several follow up actions are in play.


Award Nominations Deadline Only 5 Weeks Away - May 1 is the deadline for nominations for the 2017 Excellence in Extension and Diversity Awards offered in partnership by ECOP and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Self-guided worksheets for these nominations have been designed to assist with preparation. Recipients will receive cash awards and travel reimbursement to the 2017 APLU Annual Meeting in Washington DC when NIFA officials present the awards on the national stage. Go to www.aplu.org/CESAwards. Direct questions about nominations to ECOP Program Assistant Sandy Ruble sandyruble@extension.org.


Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM) Competitive Grants Program - May 9 is the deadline to apply for CPPM, the program that supports research and extension projects that address critical state, regional, and national integrated pest management (IPM) needs, ensure food security, and respond to other major pest challenges. To learn more go to https://nifa.usda.gov/announcement/usda-announces-121-million-support-crop-protection-and-pest-management. To sign up to receive these updates directly from NIFA go to: http://bit.ly/NIFAsubscribe

4-H Grows: The Engagement Campaign - The ECOP 4-H National Leadership Committee formally extends an invitation to interested land-grant institutions to enroll in years two and three of 4-H Grows: The Engagement Campaign. To date, 30 land-grant institutions have already co-invested along with National 4-H Council in this national marketing initiative. Institutions will have access to turn-key national marketing tools, resources and training as well as dedicated marketing expertise to assist every region. Click here to download the application and supplemental enrollment materials. On April 3, 2017, at 1:00 PM ET, National 4-H Council will host an informational webinar for those institutions considering enrollment in years two and three of the program. Click here to register for this opportunity to learn more. For more information, contact Jennifer McIver, VP, Field Marketing at National 4-H Council - jmciver@fourhcouncil.edu; 301-755-7062.

eXtension Innovation Lab Projects Selected - Five projects have been selected for funding by the eXtension Innovation Lab for 2017. Topics include precision agriculture, Maker Education, Citizen Science, Internet of Things, spatial technologies, drones, wearables, and more! The projects represent premium member institutions from several states including Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, and New Hampshire. Learn more https://extension.org/five-innovation-grants-awarded-by-extension-more-than-90-proposals-submitted/ 

SAVE THE DATE NEDA 2015

SAVE THE DATE NEDA 2015 – Innovation: Driving Extension’s Next Century is the theme of the National Extension Directors and Administrators and Meeting October 12-14, 2015 at the St. Louis Downtown Embassy Suites. Registration details will be available soon. Dynamic, highly interactive programming is being planned by a team chaired by ECOP immediate past chair, Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky. Team members are Ed Jones, Virginia Tech; Dan Lerner, University of Vermont; Carolyn Williams, Prairie View A&M University; Chris Boerboom, North Dakota State University; Brian Higginbotham, Utah State University, and ECOP members Jon Boren, New Mexico State University, and Mike O’Neill, University of Connecticut.

NEW ECOP Monday Minute – This weekly communication is now being posted to a searchable blog at http://ecopmondayminute.blogspot.com. The purpose of this communication is to summarize action and information of key interest to Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators. Comments, questions, and input for items to include may be sent to Jane Schuchardt, Executive Director, Cooperative Extension/ECOP at jane.schuchardt@extension.org.

Fence Post Features Producer Education Project – USDA Farm Services Administration weekly blog, Fence Post provided details on the producer education project implemented in cooperation with Cooperative Extension and partially funded by the Agriculture Act of 2014 (farm bill). CLICK HERE to read the entire article that was released on 1.23.15.

ECOP Liaison to ESCOP – Beverly Durgan, University of Minnesota, and a new member of ECOP, will serve as the liaison to the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy. She replaces Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, who completed ECOP responsibilities 2014 year-end.

AgrAbility Workshop – To learn more about educational programs related to issues of disability in agriculture, see http://agrability.org/ntw/_SaveTheDate.html for details about the 2015 AgrAbility National Training Workshop April 13-16 in Rochester, NY. 

Follow ECOP on Web – ECOP Chair Delbert Foster, South Carolina State University, points you to www.extension.org/ecop to learn more about how ECOP manages its day-to-day commitment to national leadership for the benefit of state and local Cooperative Extension programming. Bookmark this site or call the ECOP National Office at 202.478.6088 if you have questions.

ECOP Monday Minute 7.28.14

ECOP Meets in San Diego – Among action at the meeting 7.22.14 in San Diego, ECOP accepted the interim report of the eXtension Strategic Planning Committee (see next item), approved continuation through 2015 of the AES-CES Communications and Marketing Project, endorsed a Futuring Task Force to be funded and managed by the BAA Policy Board of Directors, and accepted the recommendation by the ECOP National Task Force on Health to establish an implementation team. Votes are in process to approve an ECOP representative to the BAA Committee on Legislation and Policy and to approve a joint ECOP-ESCOP memorandum of understanding with USDA regarding regional climate hubs. Jimmy Henning, ECOP Chair, University of Kentucky, appreciates the strong participation at the meeting and critical national leadership of ECOP.

eXtension Strategic Plan Interim Report – ECOP has accepted the interim report on the eXtension Strategic Planning process chaired by Keith Smith, Ohio State University. See http://bit.ly/InnovStratFrame for a summary of the new Innovation Foundation (working title) designed to augment electronic capabilities of participating institutions. The business model calls for a membership structure in place of the current assessment process. The final report is due to ECOP at its October face-to-face meeting in Lexington, KY.

Power of Excellence in Extension Database (by Deborah J. Maddy, Associate Director, Oregon State University Extension) – You never know when comprehensive data, at your fingertips, might be needed to tell the Extension story to elected officials, to university administrators or to members of your own organization. The Excellence in Extension database provides historical and comparative information for Cooperative Extension systems across all land-grant universities. This important tool designed especially for Extension leaders is most powerful if everyone participates. As of the June 30 data entry due date, only 17 out of 75 Extension organizations had complete or partial data in the database, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota (partial), Alaska (partial), Oregon, and Wyoming. Special thanks to those who made it a priority to provide Excellence in Extension data by June 30. If the due date slipped by you, it’s not too late to enter 2014 data. The recent program upgrade has many improvements, making entry easy. The data is used to describe the overall scope of Extension, market it as a national system, document Extension’s strengths, and focus on areas of impact.

USDA Announces Foundation for Food and Ag Research – For details about the new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) and the appointment of its 15-member board of directors, see http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2014/07/0156.xml. The foundation, authorized in the Ag Act of 2014, will leverage public and private resources to increase scientific and technological research, innovation, and partnerships critical to boosting America's agricultural economy. Congress provided $200 million for the Foundation which must be matched by non-federal funds as it identifies and approves projects.

USDA-NIFA Requests Comment on Centers of Excellence – Join a webinar 7.31.14 (1:00-3:00 p.m. ET) about the Centers of Excellence, which will receive priority for funding for competitive research or Extension grant programs. Stakeholder input is welcome at any time, but to be incorporated into planning for the 2015 cycle, must be received by 7.31.14 via email to vbest@nifa.usda.gov (please put “comments” in the subject line) or sign up to speak during the 7.31.14 webinar. NIFA is particularly interested in input on how best to define the scope of a Center of Excellence, whether there are models being used by other federal agencies that might be useful to examine, and at what point in the review/selection process “priority” should be given to applications submitted by Centers of Excellence. For more information, go to http://www.csrees.usda.gov/about/offices/legis/pdfs/excel_stkhold_wbnr_announce.pdf

ECOP Monday Minute 2.3.14

Celebrate Centennial 100 Days on Twitter – Tweets for every day leading up to the Extension Centennial Convocation May 8, 2014 are underway. See the information at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/administration/about_us/chancellors_office/extension/resources/100-Days-of-Tweeting-the-ext100years.htm and use the hashtag #Ext100Years to begin to connect nationally. This effort will have a unique Twitter # to be used starting on May 8th with a desire to make it trend. For more information, contact Bill Woodrum (extensioncentennial@gmail.com) or Frankie Gould (fgould@agcenter.lsu.edu).

Agricultural Outlook Forum Features Extension Centennial – ECOP Chair Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and Centennial Task Force Co-Chairs Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Frankie Gould, Louisiana State Ag Center, will speak at the February 20-21, 2014 USDA Ag Outlook Forum in Crystal City, VA. The topic is Launching Cooperative Extension’s Next Century. USDA-NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy will moderate the session. The forum, which draws more than 1,000 agriculture leaders in business, government, and other organizations kicks off with remarks by USDA Secretary Vilsack and videos including one featuring the Extension Centennial. Cooperative Extension also will be featured in the exhibitor area. For more information about the forum, see http://www.usda.gov/oce/forum/.

ECOP-ESCOP Strategic Alliance – Following the lead set by 2013 ECOP and ESCOP chairs, Jimmy Henning, University of Kentucky, and Steve Slack, Ohio State University, ECOP and ESCOP 2014 chairs, respectively, will meet with USDA-NIFA top leaders on February 19, 2014. The goal is to show how the research to practice innovation circle is implemented at state and local levels. Critical national leadership by the chairs includes meetings with the USDA-NIFA Science Leadership Council and a seminar for all agency employees with a special focus on increasing knowledge about Land-grant University agricultural research and Extension amongst agency national program leaders.

PILD Registration Opens – The 2014 Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) conference, an annual effort of the Joint Council on Extension Professionals (JCEP), is April 6-10, 2014 in Alexandria, VA.  This conference brings together Extension Directors and Administrators, Extension educators, and volunteers, including youth, to discuss cutting edge issues prior to visits on Capitol Hill and with federal agencies. Plan now to identify your delegation – both volunteers and staff; determine the talking points for your state in order to have effective visits, and confirm registration. A special feature will be the celebration of the Extension Centennial. For details and to register, see http://jcep.org/pild-conference/2014-pild-registration.

SAVE THE DATE: National Urban Conference 2015 – Urban Extension Professionals play an important role in the vigor of Extension programming across our nation.   Programming in urban areas must remain dynamic and adaptable to meet the fast pace of urban needs and provide urban communities with reliable research based information from our nation’s top universities. May 4-7, 2015, the National Urban Extension Conference will be in Atlanta, Georgia. Save the date to join urban Extension professionals from across the nation to share emerging issues, be inspired by urban Extension impacts, and look to the future for ways to link urban communities with the research that continues to improve lives. Learn more at http://urbanextension2015.com/.  

ECOP Monday Minute 8.26.13

In observance of Labor Day, ECOP Monday Minute returns 9.9.13

ECOP Chair Meets with OMB – Daryl Buchholz, ECOP Chair, together with Mike Hoffmann, ESCOP Chair, and Cornerstone Government Affairs representatives, met last week with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in Washington, DC. The purpose was to continue the advocacy messaging related to the “both-and” of competitive and capacity funds. Buchholz used the 2012 ECOP handout on capacity funds, the 2013 ECOP handout, and a new piece developed by the ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee on the Top 10 Reasons Why Capacity Funding Is Essential. Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators are welcome to use any of these handouts in state-level work.

FY 2014 and SNAP-Ed Funding Update – Rick Klemme, ECOP Budget and Legislative Committee Chair, University of Wisconsin Extension, worked with Cornerstone Government Affairs to provide the document Current Status of USDA-NIFA and SNAP-Ed Funding (August 2013). This is adapted from a communications used in Wisconsin to answer questions from Cooperative Extension colleagues and their statewide advocacy group. Directors and Administrators are welcome to use the document.

Cooperative Extension at APLU Annual Meeting – Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators attending the 2013 APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC can use the preliminary Board on Agriculture Assembly schedule. Of particular interest are the awards presentations, the 4-H luncheon, and the Monday evening Cooperative Extension dinner which will include recognition for national leadership. Registration details can be found here.

GCHERA Conference in China – Ian Maw, APLU Vice President for Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, encourages attendance at the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA) October 20-22, 2013 in Nanjing, China. The program includes the inaugural GCHERA World Agriculture Prize Ceremony www.gchera-wap.org to acknowledge excellence in academic leadership in agricultural and life science universities and an international seminar on sustainable rural development. Registration through the Nanjing Agricultural University is available at http://wap.njau.edu.cn/.

Sign up for Ag is America Newsletter – Contact Jenny Nuber, jenny.nuber@kglobal.com, to get this weekly newsletter which highlights impacts of Cooperative Extension and agricultural research. This is part of the work led by the AES-CES Communications and Marketing Committee co-chaired by Scott Reed, Oregon State University. You also may wish to follow Ag is America on Twitter at @AgIsAmerica.

ECOP Monday Minute 3.11.2013

See You in San Antonio -- Nearly all of the 75 institutions in the Cooperative Extension Section will be represented at the National Extension Directors and Administrators Meeting next week. With the theme “Strong Partnerships, Sustainable Resources” this an opportunity to learn of the significant national leadership ECOP provides while benefiting from interaction with colleagues.

Save the Date NEDA 2014 --  The National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting and the National eXtension Conference (NeXC) will be held jointly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the week of March 24, 2014. These two events will highlight shared programming and independent business meetings and networking. NEDA will begin Monday evening with a reception and continue through midday Wednesday. ECOP will meet Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Watch the ECOP Monday Minute for further details.

ECOP-ESCOP Take Joint Message to DC -- In late February, Daryl Buchholz, ECOP Chair, and Mike Hoffman, ESCOP Chair, attended a series of meetings with USDA-NIFA, USDA Research, Education and Economics, and others to carry the joint message of CES and AES research to application and the need to maintain federal capacity funds. On the agenda was a seminar for USDA-NIFA national program leaders and administrators on “Knowledge with a Public Purpose: How Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Experiment Stations Work Together.” Presentation slides are at http://www.nera.umd.edu/escop/USDANIFASeminarPPT.pdf.

State Energy Extension Partnership Announced -- The Departments of Agriculture and Energy announces a new collaboration -- the State Energy Extension Partnership -- to equip America’s farm families and rural small businesses with the efficiency tools, resources and training needed to reduce energy costs. This effort couples the Energy Department’s energy efficiency expertise with USDA Rural Development programs and Cooperative Extension learning strategies. The intent is to deliver expert financial and technical assistance across a network of state energy offices and land-grant universities that touch nearly every county. Read more at http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-and-usda-partner-support-energy-efficiency-rural-communities.

Strategy Session Ahead for 4-H  (by Lisa Lauxman, USDA-NIFA) -- USDA-NIFA 4-H National Headquarters and the National 4-H Council will host a meeting April 2-5, 2013, at the 4-H Center, Washington, D.C. Together with the Public Private Partnership (P3WG) composed of state 4-H program leaders and Extension directors and the Program Management Committee members of the three Mission Mandates, the goal is to develop a 4-H logic model, vision, strategic direction, and an opportunity to merge and meld the mission mandates.