Virtual National Awards Event Registration

The Cooperative Extension System is invited to register for A Community of Scholars Celebrating Excellence: USDA Teaching and Extension Awards Ceremony, Tuesday, November 9, 2021, 3:00-5:30 PM, ET, at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gHQn8SMBSvWLa8ck07Ch-g. Wendy Powers, University of California, who will then be ECOP Chair, will join USDA-NIFA Officials during the first portion of the event for presentation of the esteemed Extension Awards. Recipients are preparing ignite-style briefings to share their impacts during the session. The official media release announcing the 2021 recipients of these awards will be released closer to the actual date. Contact either Sandy Ruble, sandyruble@extension.org, regarding the Extension Awards and Tara Westington, twestington@aplu.org, regarding the Teaching Awards for more information. Other November 2021 dates/times of interest to the Cooperative Extension Section are found here.

Invitation to Participate in National Survey on Rural Community, Economic, and Workforce Development Priorities - The four Regional Rural Development Centers invite rural-focused leadership and professionals working on issues of community, economic, and workforce development to participate in a national survey. The survey is the first phase of a listening sessions process aimed at identifying key priorities and critical investments for rural communities' recovery and growth. The process is implemented by the RRDCs with support from the Extension Foundation through the New Technologies for Agricultural Extension accelerator program. The RRDCs ask that rural development research and Extension/outreach leaders (1) complete the survey no later than October 6 and (2) share the survey with those in their networks engaged in community and economic development activities. Timely completion will ensure that responses inform a preliminary report that will be shared by the RRDCs with USDA NIFA and other federal partners as stakeholder feedback. To access the survey and submit responses, visit: https://bit.ly/RuralPrioritiesSurvey. Please pardon any duplication of effort to inform readers of this opportunity.

USDA Releases Resource Guide for Rural Disaster Resiliency and Recovery - USDA Rural Development (RD) has announced the launch of a new resource guide to help rural communities seeking disaster resiliency and recovery assistance. This resource guide outlines RD programs, services and information on technical assistance for rural preparedness and recovery. Resources of the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) are included. This guide seeks to strengthen local resiliency, provide resources that help build capacity to identify and manage risks to minimize the impact of disasters on residents and businesses. USDA RD’s disaster resiliency and recovery guide provides a matrix categorizing RD programs by the following four key assistance types:
   · Community and Economic Development Planning and Housing
   · Infrastructure and Equipment including wastewater systems, broadband, and healthcare
   · Local Business Development
   · Education and Training



2021 FCS State Program Leaders Meeting Announcement - Extension Directors and Administrators are invited to share that the Annual FCS State Program Leaders Meeting will be held virtually on November 4-5, 2021, in conjunction with the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Annual Meeting. Go to https://www.neafcs.org/2021-annual-session for more information.

EXCITE Project Funding Update

This past week Extension Directors and Administrators of the 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-grant Universities and Colleges received an update from ECOP on funding for the CDC funded Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE) project. Activity 1, Immunization Education application deadline is extended to May 7. Activity 2, Innovative Precision Programming Pilots, application deadline is May 15. More details are available at extension-5.hubspotpagebuilder.com/cdc.

COVID-19 Public Education Campaign - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched a national public education campaign on April 1, 2021, to increase public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, while reinforcing basic prevention measures such as mask wearing and social distancing. To achieve these goals, toolkits were developed with tailored information and materials to help share the campaign messages throughout the Country. The USDA is working alongside federal partners to contain the pandemic and get the economy back on track. The goal of sharing of these toolkits with a network of trusted messengers is to produce consistent, fact-based public health messaging, and help the public make informed decisions about their health, and steps they can take to protect themselves and their communities. The toolkit and other material resources can be found at WeCanDoThis.HHS.gov. This toolkit also will be provided by the EXCITE Project Land Grant University Liaisons.

Broadband News - APLU seeks to award up to 18, $1500 stipends to professionals who will author and present papers on how to structure, monitor, and evaluate the new suite of internet access and adoption programs. The goal of the project is to inform the development and management of digital equity and broadband adoption programs. Winning papers will be considered for a special issue of the journal Choices. Please review the full RFP online for more details on topics and criteria for submissions; the deadline to submit an abstract is 11:59 PM EST Fri. May 28.This opportunity has been made possible with funding by USDA/NIFA. Please contact the VP, Economic Development & Community Engagement Sheila Martin with questions or concerns. 

Registration for the 2021 AAFCS Virtual Conference - The 2021 AAFCS Virtual Conference is filled with dozens of educational sessions that are focused on relevant and requested led by Family & Consumer Science experts. The schedule includes panel discussions, education experiences in Minnesota (no travel required), community service project, brain breaks, member recognition and sessions dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Find additional conference details here. 

Family & Consumer Sciences Report

Family & Consumer Sciences Report - Through research, education, and extension, the USDA NIFA Division of Family & Consumer Sciences (DCFS) provides resources that strengthen families, farms, communities, and the economy by focusing on the human and community dimensions of food and agriculture. DFCS incorporates two broad thematic areas: Family Well-Being contributing to the empowerment of families to achieve optimal well-being, and Community Vitality contributing to advancing the socio-economic potential of communities by addressing critical community needs and opportunities. During 2016, the DFCS portfolio was the third largest of nine at NIFA in terms of grant dollars. At over $180 million, the portfolio encompassed 13% of NIFA funding. For information on DFCS and competitive grant program opportunities, see the 2016 Year in Review DFCS Newsletter.

Culture of Health Partnership with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: June 7 Webinar - Click here to register for a webinar on June 7 at 2:00 pm ET to learn more about the latest funding opportunity related to Cooperative Extension's anticipated multi-year partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The goal of the Request for Proposals is to identify one land-grant university to lead professional development for the five pilot program states spearheading the Building a Culture of Health initiative. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to get all of your questions answered regarding the RFP during this live webinar and Q&A session. The RFP application deadline is June 30 at 11:59 PM ET. Click here to access the RFP on WebGrants. For more information, contact Joanne Leatherman at jleatherman@fourhcouncil.edu.

eXtension Introduces New Services - Given increasingly complex issues and rapid changes our communities face, eXtension Foundation has transformed to deliver more meaningful member value and to provide a national Cooperative Extension presence for all. eXtension’s purpose is to help CES professionals across all Land Grants, innovate, accelerate, and amplify measurable impact on local issues. eXtension is achieving this through our new national flagship program called Impact Collaborative. In this year-long, multi-faceted, issue-focused program, a national cohort of Cooperative Extension project teams adopt new research and innovative practices in their local program design and delivery. ECOP, USDA-NIFA, and Directors/Administrators from the five Extension regions define the issues the program addresses. Learn more here about Impact Collaborative’s 6 value building blocks, the year-long experience, issues addressed, and how local Extension teams can join the 2017 cohort.

4-H – Strong Partnerships Enable Positive Youth Development - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has produced a 4-H infographic that highlights this public-private partnership of federal, state, local, and non-profit support with a rich history of being a leader in positive youth development experiences for more than a century. 4-H reaches nearly 6 million young people in the United States through local 4-H clubs, school and after school programs, camps, and special interest groups. The strong bond with land-grant universities' Cooperative Extension and NIFA assures a research and science base to the 4-H program. A 4-H Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) http://bit.ly/4H_MOU encourages collaborative and enhanced communication and management of national 4-H policies and procedures affecting state and local programs.

New Director/Administrator Orientation 9.19.16

Cooperative Extension and Experiment Station directors and administrators with three years administrative experience or less are invited to a 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. MT, Monday, September 19th session preceding the Joint Meeting of the Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Sections September 19-21, 2016 at Jackson Lake Lodge, WY. Moderating the orientation panel is ECOP Personnel Committee Co-chair Celvia Stovall, Alabama A&M University. Panelists are Bob Shulstad, University of Georgia; David Thompson, New Mexico State University; Bill Hare, University of the District of Columbia; Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota, and Edmund Buckner, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. All details about registration and lodging are available at https://conferencereg.colostate.edu/Jackson2016. Early bird registration ends July 31, 2016. 

Chair Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska; Mark Latimore, Fort Valley State University; Deborah Sheely,
University of Rhode Island; Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and Scott Reed, Oregon State University.

Extension National System Conversation Continues – If you missed dialogue late last month led by the chair of the ECOP National System Task Force, Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, you are encouraged to view the webinar recording at https://unl.box.com/v/NationalSystemWebinar and slide deck at https://unl.box.com/v/NationalSystemPPT. Hibberd reviewed results of two national surveys and engaged participants in online voting on questions related to Extension’s method, description of national system, brand promise, and use of a national logo as a secondary identifier. Opportunity for further discussion will continue for all Extension directors/administrators attending the ESS-CES Joint Meeting in September 19-21, 2016 at Jackson Lake Lodge, WY. Members of the ECOP National System Task Force are Mark Latimore, Fort Valley State University; Scott Reed, Oregon State University; Deborah Sheely, University of Rhode Island, and Doug Steele, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. 

Sign Up for National 4-H Council Webinar Series – This summer, National 4-H Council will host a series of webinars and trainings on topics, promotions and events that are important to the 4-H community, including the Grow True Leaders Campaign “Share” Activation, 4-H National Youth Science Day, National 4-H Week, Paper Clover Promotion and more. For your convenience, dates and information about the numerous webinars are included in one place for easy sign up. See https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XMBY36X. 

eXtension Update 7.27.16 – Find out about the 69 projects of the i-Three Issue Corps, new fellows for the 2016-17, state-level Innovation Teams, and professional development opportunities at the next eXtension Quarterly webinar. For details, see https://learn.extension.org/events/2696. 

USDA-NIFA Reviews Family and Consumer Sciences Accomplishments – See https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/division-family-consumer-sciences for information about the the Division of Family and Consumer Sciences, a part of the USDA-NIFA Institute of Youth, Family and Community. See especially the “2015 Year in Review.”