Extension Foundation 2023 Annual Report Available

Since 2006, the Extension Foundation has been a steadfast partner to the Cooperative Extension System. Through innovative technology solutions, professional development, and strategic collaborations, the Foundation has helped Extension programs scale, adopt new models, and make a more visible and measurable impact on local issues across the nation. The Extension Foundation partners with Cooperative Extension through liaison roles and a formal plan of work with the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) to increase system capacity. Learn more about the organization and our work by reading the Extension Foundation’s 2023 Annual Report.

Reminder for 2024 PILD Participants - The ECOP Program Committee asks Extension Directors and Administrators with delegations attending the PILD Conference to raise awareness of the concurrent sessions by the ECOP Program Action Teams (PATs) slated for the 8:15-10:00 a.m., April 16, 2024 as described in the final 2024 PILD Conference program. This will be an excellent opportunity for PILD attendees to understand how various PATs work, what they do, and account for the benefits locally. 

Also, please be mindful that Extension Directors and Administrators who are attending the PILD Conference should mark their calendar to attend their in-person meeting on, Monday April 15, 2:00 p.m.




National Cooperative Extension Awards Nominations Reminder - Now is a good time to check in on the status of preparing nominations for the three categories of National Cooperative Extension Awards offered by ECOP and USDA-NIFA. The deadline to submit nominations online is about five weeks away, May 1, 2024. Letters from respective members of Section are required for the individual and team Excellence in Extension award nominations. The gateway to all of the details may be found at awards.extension.org. Questions about these awards may be directed to Sandy Ruble, Assistant Director, Cooperative Extension System/ECOP at sandyruble@extension.org. The value of the prizes exceed $38,000 annually. 

JCEP Excellence in Extension Engagement Award Applications Due May 31 - JCEP’s Excellence in Extension Engagement Award recognizes high-quality, evidence-based Extension work with documented outstanding outcomes and impacts. The award is for an individual or a team, members of these seven JCEP organizations, whose programs are driven by local needs, grounded in scholarly practice, adequately evaluated, showing adoption beyond initial audiences, within or across states, and bringing innovation to Extension. First place is $750 and includes being an invited speaker at ELC 2025 with registration waived. Honorable mention receives $250 and ELC 2025 registration is waived. Applications open at PILD and are due by May 31. Details and application are at www.jcep.org/awards. Also online is a synopsis of The Remote Online Initiative from our 2024 winner, Dr. Paul Hill, Extension Professor & Program Director, Utah State University.




Demystifying the Panel Review Process for Grant Funding - NIFA offers several technical assistance events to help prospective applicants understand NIFA funding opportunities. Supporting material from these events — which also provide guidance on grant development and grant management — is available here. The next session, that may be of interest is Demystifying the Panel Review Process for Grant Funding on May 2, 2024, 12:00 PM ET. Click here to register to attend and submit questions ahead of time. While this session is conducted by NIFA, the concepts taught in the session will be transferrable to other granting agencies.

USDA Outlines Vision to Strengthen the American Bioeconomy Through a More Resilient Biomass Supply Chain - USDA has released a plan that will boost biomass supply chain resiliency for domestic biobased product manufacturing, while also advancing environmental sustainability and market opportunities for small and mid-sized producers. The report — Building a Resilient Biomass Supply: A Plan to Enable the Bioeconomy in America — calls for three broad areas of activity: (1) research, development, and demonstration for innovation in newly emerging biomass supply systems; (2) capacity building to expand existing biomass supply systems; and (3) market development and assessment to match biomass supply to demand for the biobased products. Read more here on how this roadmap will strengthen biomass production and preprocessing systems.