Monday, June 26, 2017

Ag Is America Campaign: Highlighting the Diversity and Necessity of Land-grant Universities

ECOP Monday Minute will return on July 10, 2017.
Have a happy, safe Independence Day.

Agriculture Is America has launched a new video campaign highlighting the diversity and necessity of land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension in modern agriculture. The video, Redefining American Agriculture for the 21st Century, is part of a system-wide effort to support advocacy for additional funds in the upcoming Farm Bill.
To help spread the message, Agriculture Is America is asking for your support by:
  1. Visiting AgAction.org to contact your local legislator 
  2. Sharing the video on Facebook and Twitter
    o Sample Facebook copy: We research today, to impact your tomorrow. Watch this video
       showing the importance of #LGUimpact: bit.ly/agaction2017
    o Sample Twitter copy: We research today, to impact your tomorrow. Check out this video
       highlighting our #LGUimpact: bit.ly/agaction2017 #agaction 
  3. Including the video in your weekly eNewsletters or websites 
Visit the Ag Is America website for more information.


Culture of Health Partnership with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Professional Development RFP Due June 30 - Don’t forget to apply for the latest funding opportunity related to Cooperative Extension's anticipated multi-year partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an initiative that began in early 2016 with the Cooperative Extension System and the National 4-H Council . 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. Want to learn more? Click here to access an on-demand recording of the live Q&A webinar. The RFP application deadline is June 30 at 11:59 PM ET. Click here to log-in to Webgrants to access the RFP and download the FAQ sheet. For more information, contact Joanne Leatherman at jleatherman@fourhcouncil.edu.


NIFA infographic: Nutrition Education Programming in America - NIFA is committed to improving health and reducing hunger and poverty in America through nutrition education programming. Low-income families develop healthy habits in eating, physical activity, food handling, and food storage through peer educator-led training using credible, research-based nutrition information. NIFA and its predecessor agencies have partnered with the Cooperative Extension System to provide nearly 50 years of federal leadership in nutrition education programming through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). We need to ensure that such programming is commensurate with demographic, social, and technological change. See https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/nutrition-education-programming-america for an infographic on this topic.



Connecting Large Amounts of Qualitative Data to Impact Stories - Evaluating large amounts of qualitative data is important to telling the impact story of Extension. What if there was a way to systematize the analysis and harness the collective power of many people using the same platform? Christian Schmieder, University of Wisconsin and eXtension fellow envisions that in his fellowship final report “Responding to the Data Imperative in Extension”.

Monday, June 19, 2017

NEDA 2017 to Debut Kickbox for Innovation – Register Early and Save

National Extension Directors and Administrators (NEDA) are invited to attend 2017 NEDA Meeting, October 2-4, 2017, entitled Invigorate, Innovate, Celebrate: Positioning Extension for 2020s. “We hope you will come ready to learn, network, engage, and explore,” says Michelle Rodgers, NEDA Meeting Planning Committee Chair. Participating Universities will return home with an Adobe Kickbox, an innovator program that delivers an actionable process for discovering new opportunities, validating client engagement, and evaluating new service potential. Innovation in Extension is a strong priority by ECOP just as it was when catalyzed at the 2015 NEDA Meeting (Capstone video: https://youtu.be/LqtZTJ3vdZ8). Stay tuned for introductions to each session that will occur around the 5 goals! Go to http://www.cvent.com/d/55qd1t to learn more and register.


2018 ECOP Agenda Survey Reminder - As noted in last week’s Monday Minute, incoming ECOP Chair Chuck Hibberd hibberd@unl.edu, working with the ECOP Executive Committee, is placing an emphasis on engaging Extension Directors and Administrators more directly in the development of ECOP’s short and longer-term action agenda. This is a reminder to respond to the initial survey (if you have not already done so) by Friday, June 23!


SNAP-Ed Program Development Team (PDT) Update - Actions identified by the PDT Shared Expertise Ad Hoc Committee for the 2017 strategic plan are under development including:
  • a mentoring program for new SNAP-Ed coordinators at Land-grant universities (LGU)
  • a plan to consistently communicate PDT reports on regional calls
  • dissemination of information from the 2016 survey of expertise of SNAP-Ed programs at LGUs
On the survey, the areas of expertise are separated into sections of programming strengths, the name of the university, and contact person. Strategies are underway to keep survey information current and easily accessible to all LGU SNAP-Ed programs once it is released. Based on a positive vote by the Cooperative Extension Section from a poll held in 2016, ECOP reauthorized SNAP-Ed assessments to continue through 2019 to support PDT efforts.


NIFA Infographic: Diversifying the Next Generation of Agricultural STEM Leaders - The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to developing an agricultural science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce representative of current and projected demographics in America. A diversified workforce is critical for developing the innovations that will drive the continued success of the agricultural sector and U.S. economy while serving respective communities in culturally-relevant ways. NIFA supports this future workforce through specialized partnerships and programs that build institutional capacity, facilitate access to higher education, and provide experiential learning opportunities in the community. See https://nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource/Diversifying-the-Next-Gen-of-Ag-STEM-Leaders.pdf for an infographic on this topic.

Monday, June 12, 2017

4-H Grows Engagement Campaign: A Year in Review and A Look Ahead

June 20 Webinar: Join National 4-H Council on June 20 at 4:00 PM EDT for an interactive webinar that will review year one of the 4-H Grows Engagement Campaign and provide a preview of the year ahead. To date, 31 land-grant institutions have co-invested in this initiative. Institutions currently invested in the program are invited to register, in addition to any LGU's that are not currently enrolled but are interested in learning more about the multi-faceted brand building and alumni engagement campaign. Click here to register.


Civic Dialogue Webinar on 6/30 - Fostering Meaningful Civic Engagement is an important topic in today’s society. The investment of time and skill development is considerable to make meaningful progress. Is this a worthwhile effort for Extension, and what resources are available to those that engage in this area? This effort continues the work of the ECOP Rapid Response Team that you have experienced over the past several weeks. This upcoming webinar differs from previous webinars in that the focus will be on tools and skills needed by Extension professionals who are or are considering programming on this topic. Learn more about the risks and benefits of investing in this topic and about a newly published toolbox of resources. Visit the toolbox | Upcoming webinar 


JOE Special Issue on Innovation - The Journal of Extension Board, in partnership with eXtension, is pleased to announce a Call for Paper Abstracts for the Journal of Extension Special Issue on Innovation. A 200-word abstract is due June 30, 2017. To see the key areas being emphasized for this issue visit the Call for Submissions. This represents a great opportunity to shape the ECOP initiative on Technology and Innovation!


Chuck Hibberd,
University of Nebraska
2018 ECOP Agenda - Incoming Chair Chuck Hibberd hibberd@unl.edu, working with the ECOP Executive Committee, is placing an emphasis on engaging Extension Directors and Administrators more directly in the development of ECOP’s short and longer-term action agenda. In addition, this effort is important for maximizing the effectiveness of ECOP (and Chair) actions, strengthening purposeful engagement with current and emerging partners, and charting new procedures and internal ECOP policies that reflect the core values of a membership-based organization. Chuck will be asking for your participation over the next few months in order to develop the pathway to achieve his/our engagement goal! The goal is to use the data collected to inform a comprehensive conversation during the NEDA meetings in October. Chuck asks that Directors and Administrators respond to the initial survey by Friday, June 23 and watch for future opportunities to engage and inform!

Monday, June 5, 2017

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.