ECOP Monday Minute 6.10.13

NEDA 2014 in Sacramento – The ECOP Executive Committee, Daryl Buchholz, Chair, announces a new location for the next National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) Meeting March 24-27 at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento in Sacramento, CA. NEDA will meet jointly with the National eXtension Conference (NeXC). 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. Other NEDA participants are welcome to attend additional NeXC programming through Thursday. To accommodate both groups, the venue, previously announced for Albuquerque, NM had to be changed. Watch the ECOP Monday Minute for further details.

Update on Expanded Salary Data – As mentioned in last week's ECOP Monday Minute, the Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, announced expanded salary data available at www.excellenceinextension.org. To view this data, go to the database tab and login into the database.  The data can be viewed in the 'All Data' tab and entered under the 'My Data' tab.  Visualizations will be available soon under the 'Report' tab.  Users must have a login to access this data.  Logins must be sent to Scott Cummings at s-cummings@tamu.edu and approved by the institution's Director/Administrator.

Galaxy Registration Open  – Reduced registration runs through July 15, 2013 for the September 16-20, 2013 Galaxy IV conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA. The theme is Bridging the Centuries: A New Era for Extension. Registration details can be found at www.galaxy-2013.org. 

Public Value Webinar 7.17.13 – The National Association of Extension Program and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) will host an Introduction to Extension’s Public Value webinar 2 p.m. ET, Wednesday, July 17, 2013 by Nancy Franz, Iowa State University. Connect at http://connect.cals.uidaho.edu/fourh. All Extension professionals are invited to participate. For more information, contact NAEPSDP Chair-elect, Carrie Stark, 208-885-2156.

Join USAID e-Consultation – Extension professionals are invited to join the USAID Bureau of Food Security e-Consultation June 18-19, 2013 on Examining Sustainable Intensification Research Priorities. This is part of the Feed the Future initiative. Go to http://bit.ly/14gQ33v to register.

ECOP Monday Minute 6.3.13

ECOP Webinar 6.20.13 – ECOP member Chuck Hibberd, University of Nebraska, encourages a broad audience of Extension professionals and partners to the 2-3 pm ET, Thursday, June 20, 2013 webinar on the 21st Century Extension Professionals Project. The flier found here can be used for publicity. To participate, go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop.

Expanded Salary Data – The Excellence in Extension Implementation Team, chaired by Joe Zublena, North Carolina State University, announces expanded salary data now at www.excellenceinextension.org under the “personnel tab”. The goal is to replicate the salary survey previously conducted by USDA-NIFA. This data includes low, average, and high salary data points, and other important aspects for various Cooperative Extension positions. The data can be used to benchmark your institution against others similar in size and structure.

eXtension Impacts (by Sarah Baughman, eXtension Evaluation and Research Leader) –  To remain relevant, Cooperative Extension needs to reach and engage with the generation born in the digital age.  Ninety-one percent of those born between 1982 and 2004 are internet users who access information, entertainment and learning resources in vastly different formats than previous generations. eXtension leverages the resources of the CES to reach an online audience and engage with them through social media, Ask an Expert and various mobile applications. In 2012, eXtension and its Communities of Practice reached 25,493 people via online professional development, 378,202 people via Facebook, and 6,938,325 page views. eXtension engaged with users by answering 37,138 questions submitted via Ask an Expert, interacting on social media with 3,574,454 contacts, providing online course completion certificates to 10,958 people, providing 214 webinars for 14,539 participants and hosting 7,000 visitors in Second Life.

ESCOP Responds to PCAST Report – ESCOP Chair Mike Hoffmann, Cornell University, brings to your attention the ESCOP response to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Report on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise. The response can be found here.

On Agriculture Research – The US Government Accountability Office GAO Report prepared a report, released April 3013, for the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Agricultural Research – Two USDA Agencies Can Enhance Safeguards against Project Duplication and Strengthen Collaborative Planning. See http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653752.pdf.

ECOP Monday Minute 5.20.13

In observance of Memorial Day, the next issue will be 6.3.13.

SAVE THE DATE: New Directors and Administrators Orientation – Plans are underway for an orientation for new directors and administrators December 3-5, 2013 in the Washington, DC area. The meeting begins with a reception on Tuesday evening, continues through noon on Thursday, and concludes with optional section meetings Thursday afternoon. ECOP will plan to provide a Thursday afternoon session to update participants on national leadership priorities of the Cooperative Extension Section. More details will be provided as available.

New ECOP Communications Tool – See https://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4508 for the new handout ECOP is using at various meetings to explain how Cooperative Extension works, outline strategic opportunities, summarize impacts, and announce the 100th anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act. The handout is available for your use.

Subscribe to AgIsAmerica Newsletter – "Why Ag Matters" is a weekly, internal (ECOP and ESCOP recipients only) e-newsletter highlighting some of the stories featured on the Ag Is America website (www.agisamerica.org), Twitter feed and Facebook page. The Ag Is America campaign is part of the AES-CES Communications and Marketing Project, designed to inform federal decision-makers about the measurable values of Research and Extension. Part of this campaign, the newsletter is designed to demonstrate — to ECOP and ESCOP marketing & communications professionals —the types of stories that resonate with a legislative audience as well as the general public. Please email Jenny Nuber (jenny.nuber@kglobal.com) to subscribe to this email or to submit a story that demonstrates the impact of Cooperative Extension on jobs, the economy, national security, or health and nutrition.

SNAP-ED Uses Socioecological Model – A webinar sponsored by the LGU SNAP-Ed Program Development Team “Using the Socioecological Model to Enhance Nutrition Education” on 5.19.13 drew more than 100 representatives from USDA FNS and NIFA, LGU SNAP-Ed and EFNEP Coordinators and FCS Leaders, and other nutrition education partners. The model provides a framework for program planning, reporting, and accountability and for meeting legislative requirements. David Ginsburg of UC Davis and Jamie Dollahite of Cornell presented the information with an introduction by Helen Chipman of USDA-NIFA. The recording can be found here.

More 'Digital Information Broker' Sessions Ahead – eXtension will offer four more train-the-trainer sessions to help support staff become "Digital Information Brokers" through learning to use eXtension tools. Since the training was first offered in 2012 more than 16 states have participated. For more information and to sign up for future sessions you can go to: http://bit.ly/147KrXW.

ECOP Monday Minute 5.13.13

REMINDER: Nominate Extension Professionals for Awards – The ECOP Program Subcommittee chair, Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers University, and Personnel Subcommittee co-chair, James Trapp, Oklahoma State University, together with USDA-NIFA, encourage you to submit applications for the 2013 Excellence in Extension and Extension Diversity awards. Awardees will be honored at the November 10-12, 2013 APLU Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. This is an opportunity to celebrate exemplary work of individuals and teams, gain notoriety for your university, and showcase how Cooperative Extension extends knowledge and changes lives. Application deadline is June 1, 2013. Details were sent directly to all directors and administrators and associate directors and administrators in a separate email in order to provide unique access links to the online nomination forms.

National Extension Urban Conference Update – ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University, and ECOP member Mary Jane Willis, Rutgers University, were speakers at the National Extension Urban Conference and Pre-conference last week in Overland Park, KS. Many presentations, including one by NACo President Chris Rodgers, Douglas County Nebraska Board of Commissions, called for increased attention by Cooperative Extension to urban programming. Information about presentations will be posted to http://www.dce.k-state.edu/conf/urban-extension/.

Cooperative Extension and MyPlate – ECOP approved making application on behalf of Cooperative Extension as a MyPlate national partner. This action has been completed. ECOP also encourages state Extension Services to be included as a community partner as part of the "MyPlate Strategic Partner Outreach" agenda. MyPlate is a project of the USDA designed to help Americans eat healthier. For more information, see http://www.choosemyplate.gov/partnering-program/national-partners/become-partner.html.

100 Years Celebration Toolkit – The ECOP Centennial Celebration Committee has created a website portal or gateway for resources on the history of the Smith-Lever Act and the development of Cooperative Extension programs, events, news and a toolkit. The URL for this portal is www.extension100years.net. The toolkit is ready for you to use and includes centennial graphic identity, templates and messaging designed for national, state and county Extension groups to tailor for their needs to promote and celebrate the centennial. Just click on the files you need, then right click on the open file to save to your system. The files are JPEGs, editable PDFs or PowerPoint files. Please check this website often because there will be new tools added and updates. Any ideas and suggestions are welcome by the committee co-chairs, Bill Woodrum woodrumw@wvstateu.edu, West Virginia State University, and Frankie Gould FGould@agcenter.lsu.edu, Louisiana State University AgCenter.

Membership Solicitation for the NAREEE Advisory Board – The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting nominations to fill the eight vacancies on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-02/pdf/2013-10392.pdf. Nominations are due June 28, 2013. The NAREEE Advisory Board released a Cooperative Extension report to the Secretary of Agriculture and Congress early this year. See http://nareeeab.ree.usda.gov/reports-and-recommendations/2013.