ECOP First Friday Update Available

On April 3^rd, ECOP held an informative First Friday Update.

• Lisa Townson discussed the progress of the Nutrition and Health Tiger Team
• Gregg Hadley provided an update from the Professional Development Committee, which included information on expanded recognition of Extension awardees at the September NEDA Meeting
• Tom Dobbins shared information about future Program Committee investments in the Program Action Teams
• Justin Rhinehart gave an update on the newly formed Artificial Intelligence Program Action Team
• APLU’s Doug Steele and Lewis Burke’s Dominique Foster provided a briefing on recent happenings in Washington, DC.

Webinar: A Comprehensive Overview of "A Study of Land-grant University Federal Capacity Funding"

Thursday, April 9 | 4:00-5:15 pm ET

This webinar is designed for individuals who have not yet had the opportunity to hear Wendy Fink’s presentation on the Tripp Umbach, Phase 1 report on federal capacity funding and would like to learn more about the Board on Agriculture Assembly's Federal Capacity Funding Initiative. The analysis and key findings are based upon survey results from 94 capacity-eligible institutions. The webinar will cover:

• What are USDA Capacity Funding Grant Programs?
• What does Capacity Funding Enable?
• BAA’s Capacity Initiative’s Three Phases​
• Phase One: Key Takeaways​
• What Can You Do to Help with This Effort?

Welcome:
Christopher Daubert, Chair, BAA’s Administrative Heads Section
Vice Chancellor and Dean
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
University of Missouri 

James Pritchett, Chair, BAA’s Communications and Marketing Committee
Vice President for Engagement and Extension
Colorado State University

Presenters:
Wendy Fink
Executive Director - Academic Programs Section, BAA and
Associate Vice President, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources 
APLU

Marcus Glassman
Executive Director, Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET)
Director, Governmental Affairs
APLU

Register here.

USDA NIFA Releases 2027 President’s Budget

USDA NIFA released the 2027 President’s Budget Request. The line by line is available here (see pages 21-42, 21-43, and 21-44). A full analysis is currently being conducted by Lewis Burke and will be available later this week. 

USDA General Terms & Conditions Update, NIFA GT&Cs Webinar Scheduled for April 15

NIFA will host a webinar on Wednesday, April 15 at 1:00 p.m. CDT to introduce the newly established USDA General Terms and Conditions and discuss updates to NIFA’s agency‑specific Terms and Conditions. 

Register here: USDA’s New General Terms and Conditions and NIFA’s Updated Requirements: A Comprehensive Overview

Save the Date: 2026 National Extension Directors & Administrators Annual Meeting

The 2026 NEDA meeting is scheduled for September 15-17 in Seattle, WA. Monday, September 14 will be a travel day for those attending the ECOP meeting on Tuesday, September 15. New administrator orientation will take place the afternoon of Tuesday, September 15, followed by a reception and dinner featuring a 4-H speaker.

Hadley to Chair ECOP Professional Development Committee

Gregg Hadley, Associate Professor and Kansas State University’s Assistant Vice President Director for Extension, has assumed the chairmanship of the ECOP Professional Development Committee. Gregg succeeds former chair Karl Martin, dean and director of the UW-Madison Division of Extension. Karl will join the ECOP Program Committee.

Webinar: A Comprehensive Overview of "A Study of Land-grant University Federal Capacity Funding"

Thursday, April 9 | 4:00-5:15 pm ET

This webinar is designed for individuals who have not yet had the opportunity to hear Wendy Fink’s presentation on the Tripp Umbach, Phase 1 report on federal capacity funding and would like to learn more about the Board on Agriculture Assembly's Federal Capacity Funding Initiative. The analysis and key findings are based upon survey results from 94 capacity-eligible institutions. The webinar will cover:

1. What are USDA Capacity Funding Grant Programs?
2. What does Capacity Funding Enable?
3. BAA’s Capacity Initiative’s Three Phases
4. Phase One: Key Takeaways
5. What Can You Do to Help with This Effort?

Welcome:

Christopher Daubert, Chair, BAA’s Administrative Heads Section
Vice Chancellor and Dean College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources University of Missouri

James Pritchett, Chair, BAA’s Communications and Marketing Committee Vice President for Engagement and Extension Colorado State University

Presenters:
Wendy Fink, Executive Director - Academic Programs Section, BAA and Associate Vice President, Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources APLU

Marcus Glassman, Executive Director, Council on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) Director, Governmental Affairs APLU 

Register here!

Contribute to the National AI Asset Map for Cooperative Extension

In partnership with the National Digital Extension Education Technology (NDEET) initiative and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) Broadband Program Action Team, the Extension Foundation is asking for your help in cataloging efforts related to the use and adoption of artificial intelligence across the Cooperative Extension system.

NDEET is leading the development of a National AI Asset Map, a comprehensive inventory of AI-related work happening across Extension.

The survey collects information across a broad range of AI-related activities, including:

• Trainings, workshops, webinars, and presentations
• Publications, papers, and news articles
• Research projects and data sets (e.g., crop data, applied analytics)
• AI specialists and personnel
• Partnerships and collaborative initiatives
• Tools and technologies (e.g., websites, chatbots, applications)
• Governance, ethics, and policy efforts
• Events, videos, and outreach materials

Submissions may serve both internal and external audiences and may span all program areas. 

Learn more and complete the survey.

New Leaders in Programs and Professional Development

During the Spring Meeting in Oklahoma City last month, two new Cooperative Extension System Leaders were announced. Lisa Townson, University of Rhode Island, is Chair of the ECOP Program Committee, and Karl Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, is Chair of the ECOP Program Committee. Click on the images below to learn more about each Chair. Thank you Lisa and Karl!

Lisa Townson, Chair
ECOP Program Committee Chair

The ECOP Program Committee actively identifies, recommends action on emerging future Extension programs, program related issues, and delivery systems important to the Extension System and scans the System to identify critical issues and determine if an issue requires a rapid system-wide response. Guided by ECOP, the committee oversees the work of the Program Action Teams (PATs). The committee also currently provides leadership for the National Extension Diversity Award recognizing, honoring, and promoting inclusive programming for and with diverse audiences.

Karl Martin, Chair
ECOP Professional Development
Committee

The ECOP Professional Development Committee actively identifies, recommends, and directs professional and organizational development activities for Extension Directors and Administrators and all Extension professionals. This includes leading some First Friday Events and the orientation and onboarding session for new Extension Directors and Administrators at the annual NEDA Meeting. The committee also provides leadership for the national Excellence in Extension awards.

Learn more about the organizational structure of ECOP using it's organization chart.

Update on Efforts to Build Capacity - ECOP will spend a block of time on building capacity funding during the July face-to-face meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. This is the next step in a process lead by ECOP Past-chair, Bev Durgan, Dean of Cooperative Extension, University of Minnesota. A few weeks ago, a dialogue session on the initiative was conducted with Extension Directors and Administrators attending the PILD meeting. Notes from that meeting are available upon request.

A long-term joint “Capacity Funding Task Force” of Administrative Heads, agInnovation and Cooperative Extension is also in progress. The tri-chairs of the group advancing this effort are Bev Durgan, University of Minnesota; George Smith, AgBioResearch Director, Michigan State University; Moses T. Kairo, Dean, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Other members are:

• Steve Lommel, Associate Dean and Director, NC Agricultural Research Service
• M. Ray McKinnie, Virginia State University
• Jason Henderson, Vice President for Extension and Outreach, Iowa State University
• Dennis Becker, Dean of the College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho
• Malcolm Warbrick, Director of Federal Relations, Penn State University
• Tom Thompson, Associate Dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Virginia Tech, Director of CALS Global
• Stacey Stearns, Communications Specialist, University of Connecticut
• Rich Bonanno, Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement, North Carolina State University
• Stephan Goetz, Professor of Agricultural and Regional Economics, Penn State University and Director of The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
• Jeanette Thurston, North Central Executive agInnovation Executive Director
• Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
• Staff lead: Doug Steele, APLU VP Office of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources

APLU has distributed a Request for Proposals to consulting firms that will help the group gather data, author a report, and develop common and consistent language surrounding this issue. Several firms have expressed interest and some have formulated preliminary proposals. Full proposals were to be examined by the tri-chairs last week after an APLU triage. 



Collaborations Between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant Institutions - A new publication from the Southern Region Rural Development Center titled, “Collaborations that Work Analysis of Successful Extension Efforts between 1890 and 1862 Land-Grant Institutions” is now available.

USDA-NIFA Grants Modernization Stakeholder Survey - NIFA has launched a short Stakeholder Survey to assist with the Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI). Participation is a crucial component in ensuring that GMI is successful and can help improve user experience over time. The agency requests that all relevant voices be heard. This survey is designed to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.




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.

ECOP Spring Meeting This Week

The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) is a standing committee created by the Cooperative Extension Section Rules of Operation. The 15-member board represents the 76 state, territorial, and 1890 land-grant universities in policy decisions, and provides nationwide program and organizational leadership. ECOP functions as a board of directors with authority to make decisions consistent with a common mission to strengthen Cooperative Extension at national, state and local levels, in concert with APLU and USDA-NIFA, to initiate strategic planning and identify nationwide issues that lead to program and budget priorities; represents the states, territories, and 1890s in legislative matters before Congress, and develops and maintains linkages and supportive relationships with other national organizations and associations. This week the ECOP board gathers for its Spring Meeting in Oklahoma City. Some of the themes of meeting are the annual launch of priorities selection process, sustainability of National Program Leadership, and collaboration with academia on microcredentialing.

Capacity Funding Whiteboard Videos Unveiled - At the recent Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) spring meeting in Washington, DC, three APLU produced videos were unveiled. These videos endeavor to explain the importance of federal capacity funding to those not familiar with those funds or even the Land-grant University system. They are themed around capacity investments using three example concepts. ECOP's YouTube playlist, Investing in People with Solutions in Food Security, is a great place from which to share and embed the videos. Each video, about one minute long, can quickly educate the untutored about capacity funding.

The AI Revolution: An Inflection Point for Higher Ed - At the 2023 Seattle APLU meeting, there was an interesting session regarding how Artificial Intelligence could affect the work of public universities. As we will have further discussions on this technology as a section, I encourage you to watch the video of this presentation. Tune in at 20:45, as the first AI panel is introduced.




Check Out New Land-grant Impacts Educational Materials - Impact statements from last year are captured with excellence in National Land-grant Impacts Database. Anyone can use the impact statements throughout the year to help tell the stories and accomplishments of land-grant universities’ research, education, and Extension. Join ECOP to congratulate the team of professional land-grant university communicators who recently prepared educational materials with 2024 impact stories and summaries highlighting outstanding examples of LGU impacts.

NAAAN Connect Goes Live - The North American Agricultural Advisory Network (NAAAN) has developed the NAAAN CONNECT platform to assist in growth and engagement. This is a community for extension and rural advisory services experts, practitioners, researchers, and those interested in agriculture across Canada, Mexico, and the United States to engage with one another.

Join NAAAN CONNECT to interact with colleagues and share your extension resources across the continent around themes of biodefense and biosecurity, soil health and water management, and building the next generation of leaders in agriculture. The NAAAN looks forward to hearing your voice and learning more of the work underway for food security in North America.

We are excited to announce a new chapter of engagement, collaboration, and work across our three countries.” – Chancellor Tony Frank, CSU System and Chair of the NAAAN Steering Committee.




$26 Million LAMP Program from USDA-AMS - On February 27th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of approximately $26 million for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to help local and regional food entities develop, coordinate, and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and local food enterprises. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is accepting applications for the grant program until May 14, 2024. Additionally, AMS has added to the suite of resources available to support communities and practitioners in local and regional food systems development.

Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting Reminder

The Cooperative Extension Section members and partners are once again encouraged to Save the Date for our upcoming Joint Experiment Station Section/Cooperative Extension Section-National Extension Directors' and Administrators' (Joint ESS/CES-NEDA) Meeting. The meeting will be held from September 25-28, 2022 at the Marriott Baltimore Waterfront. With the theme Building Trust, the Joint Meeting Planning Committee has engaged Trust Edge Leadership Institute to keynote, provide a working session, and detail a summary of meeting conversations and resources for action. The full meeting agenda, details to register, and hotel reservation information will be forthcoming here.

New National Agricultural Statistical Service Highlights Available - The Cooperative Extension Section of the Board on Ag Assembly has an MOU in place with USDA NASS that recognizes the value of partnership and collaboration to share resources and opportunities. Among the many NASS resources are four new survey Highlights available for corn, cotton, and rice chemical use surveys, and the floriculture survey. NASS Highlights provide easy-to-read summaries of key surveys for you to use and share with partners. Other NASS partner tools are located here.

Reaching Women in Agriculture: A Guide to Virtual Engagement - This guide, developed through a partnership between American Farmland Trust and University of Vermont Extension, brings together information, tips and tools to deliver effective and engaging online (and hybrid) education for farm and ranch women on topics related to farm viability, resilience and conservation.



Seeking Nominations for the Board on Human Sciences Awards - BoHS member institutions listed here are eligible to nominate leaders in the human sciences for these awards. Each award has specific criteria for eligibility. Awards will be presented at APLU’s Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, November 6-8, 2022. BoHS will provide travel expenses and appropriate recognition. The APLU Annual Meeting is a gathering of higher education leaders from across North America, with the goal to share best practices and strategies; strengthen community amongst public and land-grant universities; and make lasting connections with colleagues. Learn more about the different awards using the links below. All award materials should be submitted to Kim Scotto, BoHS Associate (bohs@aplu.org), by July 29, 2022.
--> Ellen Swallow Richards Public Service Award

--> Lifetime Achievement Award
--> Outstanding Engagement Award
--> Undergraduate Research Mentor Award

1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) Program Opportunity - The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and Extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University. CBG supports teaching projects in the food and agricultural sciences in the areas of curriculum design, materials development, faculty development, and others. CBG strengthens research and Extension programs in need areas of studies and experimentation, program development support systems, and more. CBG applications must address at least one of the following NIFA strategic goals: sustainable bioenergy; food security; childhood obesity prevention; or food safety. Applications deadline is August 31. For more information, read the CBG funding announcement. NIFA is hosting a webinar about this program on July 14 at noon EDT.

Leadership Transition for NIFA

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced that Dr. Parag Chitnis (pictured left) will serve as Acting Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) upon the departure of Dr. Scott Angle. “Dr. Chitnis brings more than 31 years of scientific research and experience to the Director’s office. He has been instrumental in providing steady leadership and support to NIFA during its transition to Kansas City last fall, in addition to playing a lead role on NIFA’s Project CAFÉ (Collaboratively Achieving Functional Excellence) initiative which aims to help NIFA maximize business operations to better serve its customers,” said Secretary Perdue. “We thank Dr. Angle for his many contributions to NIFA and service to USDA and U.S. Agriculture.” For more information, read the USDA press release. 

ECOP Meetings this Week - Extension Directors and Administrators can the learn more about the ECOP Meetings occurring July 21^st  and 23^rd by viewing the APLU Commission on Food, Environment, & Renewable Resources (CFERR) Calendar for July 2020. All members of the Section are encouraged to attend the USDA/REE National Partnership Virtual Webinar Updates on July 22^nd. 

USDA Agricultural Innovation Agenda Listening Sessions - The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) in partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) invites Extension Directors and Administrators to participate in the USDA Agricultural Innovation Agenda Listening Sessions on Monday, July 27^th and Tuesday, July 28^th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET. The Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) seeks to stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40 percent, while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. Participants are encouraged to share this invitation with producer groups. Use these links to learn more and register:

-- Monday, July 27^th  from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET
   Driving Innovation Through Breeding Technologies in Livestock and Dairy Production, and

-- Tuesday, July 28^th from 3:00-5:00 p.m. ET
    Conservation Data to Improve Environmental Outcomes/Productivity in Farming Systems. 

Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee - The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has completed their review of the evidence on nutrition and health, and their Scientific Report is now available online. The final report, which provides critical information to inform future Extension programming, reflects the Advisory Committee’s full examination of the evidence using three rigorous approaches: data analysis, systematic reviews, and food pattern modeling. The Report includes their conclusions and advice to the United States Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, their rationale and, finally, their recommendation for future research. The public is encouraged to submit comments to the Departments on the Scientific Report. This is an ongoing public comment period that will end on August 13, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

NIFA Invites Partners’ Continued Participation in Capacity Grant Budget Pilot for FY 2021 - In FY 2020, to enhance financial accountability for capacity grant funds, NIFA implemented a high-level capacity budget submission process as a pilot. Over 30 institutions voluntarily participated in that pilot. For FY 2021, NIFA has decided to continue the successful FY 2020 pilot and allow institutions to get additional experience preparing and submitting these budgets. NIFA intends to require capacity grantees to submit high-level capacity grant budgets with their grant applications in FY 2022 (with the exception of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) grantees, who already have budget submission requirements). Webinar information will be posted on NIFA’s capacity budget resource page, along with sample budgets and updated FAQs. 

Scott Reed Receives Ruby Award

Scott Reed, Oregon State University

Scott Reed, Vice Provost-University Outreach & Engagement, Director-Extension Service, Oregon State University, has been chosen as the 2017 to receive of the highest recognition by Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP), the Distinguished Service Ruby. As the recipient, Scott will deliver the prestigious Ruby Lecture on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, during the 2017 ESP National Conference in Wilmington, NC. Scott currently represents the Western Region of the Cooperative Extension System on ECOP, and in the past served on ECOP’s Budget & Legislative Committee, Private Resource Mobilization Task Force (Chair) and represented ECOP as Chair of the AHS/CES/ESS Communications and Marketing Committee. Registration for the conference is available at http://conference1.espnational.org or contact 208-736-4495 or espoffice@espnational.org for more information.

Health Insurance Certified Educator Training on Smart Choice Basics - With health insurance policies in the news and summer soon turning to fall, health insurance enrollment season will soon be here. Extension Educators may want to offer the 1 hour Smart Choice Basics course to help reduce confusion and increase understanding among consumers they serve. Remember, the law doesn't change the principles of selection taught in Smart Choice Basics. The Health Insurance Literacy Initiative Team of the University of Maryland Extension and University of Delaware Cooperative Extension is offering a certified educator training on Monday, August 21, 1:00-4:30 p.m. Eastern. Registration is $25 through Eventbrite. Chair of the ECOP/ESCOP Health Insurance Action Team Virginia Brown, vbrown12@umd.edu is a point of contact.


FSA Beginning Farmer Mentoring Program Opportunity - Recently, USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) has been working with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Service Corps of Retired (and working) Executives (SCORE), a nonprofit resource partner of the SBA, to develop a peer-to-peer mentor network intended to improve the financial literacy and profitability of agricultural businesses—particularly new farm, ranch, and rural businesses. SCORE offers free or low-cost, one-on-one business coaching that can help businesses develop a business plan, navigate legal and financial preparations in getting started, identify new markets, develop strategies for growth, and more. This resource, already available nationwide to small business owners, can be accessed through USDA’s new farmer website. USDA works with SCORE to increase producer awareness of the mentorship services, complementing Extension resources. USDA is stepping up efforts to recruit experienced farmers and ranchers to become SCORE mentors and roll out new participating states every 3 months over the coming year. A collaboration of SCORE and Extension is currently active in Connecticut, Iowa, and Minnesota; with 5 more states in the queue. This new USDA/SCORE initiative serves as an opportunity to complement new farmer educational resources and is an additional resource that Extension colleagues can offer to producers.


Capacity Funding Reality: Declining Real Dollar Federal Support - USDA-NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy sometimes mentions that Cooperative Extension “local boots on the ground” has lost about a third of its footprint. While this is clearly not a good news story, it does speak to the on-going challenge that Extension Directors and Administrators across the country must come to understand. Bill Hoffman, Chief of Staff to the Office of the Director at NIFA, found the article that documents Sonny’s statement. The article is found in Choices, the magazine of food, farms and resource use, and the principal outreach vehicle of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, AAEA. Choices provides peer-reviewed articles exploring the economic implications of current food, farm, resource or rural community issues directed toward a broad audience. Sun Ling Wang, an Economist with the USDA's Economic Research Service, published a paper in Choices titled “Cooperative Extension System: Trends and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture” in 2014.

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.

TEConomy Capacity Funding Report Released

USDA-NIFA commissioned a study by TEConomy Partners, LLC www.teconomypartners.com to examine the value of capacity funds that provide resources for Extension and research in agriculture, natural resources and community/family/youth development. The report highlights the findings of this research and can be summarized in three points stating that Capacity funds
    a) result in relationship building and partnerships that lead to change in behaviors for agriculture, communities, families and individuals,
    b) provide the infrastructure and the stable, ongoing source of funding to enable quick response, drawing form the land-grant research base, to address issues important to communicating, families and individuals in every corner of the country, and
    c) are leveraged by state and local funds as well as a wealth of additional financial and human resources that results in a high return on the federal investment.
The detailed study highlights can be found at bit.ly/CapFunding_HL, and the link to the full report can be found at bit.ly/2osfr4M.


Awards Q&A -
    WHAT? 2 Awards! The Award for Diversity is designed to focus national attention on innovative models and techniques that ensure that Extension programs equitably engage all appropriate audiences in an effective manner. The Excellence in Extension Award recognizes Cooperative Extension professionals who excel at Extension programming, make a positive impact on constituents served, and provide visionary leadership for the System.
    WHEN? Submit nominations by May 1
    HOW? Go to: www.aplu.org/CESAwards
    WHO? Direct questions to ECOP Program Assistant Sandy Ruble 202.478.6088 or sandyruble@extension.org.

Fred Schlutt, University of Alaska

Building Bridges For Energy Programming - ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt addressed National Extension Energy Summit attendees on April 4, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The biennial Summit is intended to enhance the sharing of ideas and programs among Extension educators. Dr. Schlutt spoke about recent discussions with the US Department of Energy (DOE) over how to expand linkages with Cooperative Extension, especially at the state level with Land-grant Universities. He asked meeting participants to work with ECOP to develop a list of national needs and program priorities to be shared in conversations with potential partners. Discussions are planned with members of the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professional (ANREP) National Extension Energy Initiative, many of whom were in attendance at the Summit, to organize the collection of the needs and priorities.

L-R: Judith Barth, JCEP rep. to ECOP-BLC; Jim Richards,
Cornerstone Government Affairs; Doug Steele ECOP-BLC
Chair, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and ECOP Executive
Director Rick Klemme. Not pictured, ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt.

Educating and Advocating on Behalf of the System - Nearly 300 extension professionals, administrators and volunteers met last week in Crystal City at the annual Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) annual Public Issues Leadership Development (PILD) conference. ECOP Chair Fred Schlutt presented an overview of Cooperative Extension including an update on the One-ask Proposal and an overview of the TEConomy capacity funding report. ECOP-Budget & Legislative Committee (BLC) Chair Doug Steele led an information session, National Leadership: Partnerships and Advocacy in Action, for Directors and Administrators. The conference culminated with Hill visits on Wednesday morning.


AFRI Foundational: Critical Agricultural Research and Extension - AFRI-CARE is designed to support research and Extension efforts that quickly yield solutions for critical programs that impede the efficient production of agriculturally-important plants and animals that can be rapidly implemented by producers. The application deadline will be summer-fall of 2017. Roughly $3 million will be available to fund proposals with an estimated capacity of $300,000. A webinar will be held on May 2 at 1:00 E.T. The webinar address is http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/afri-care/. Olivia Kwong olivia.kwong@nifa.usda.gov or 202-720-7536 is the webinar contact person.

TRUST: Are You Registered?

Author, business strategist
David Horsager

What’s the economic value of trust in the workplace? During the joint meeting of the Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Sections September 19-21, 2016 at Jackson Lake Lodge, WY, those focusing on Extension are invited to an exciting professional development opportunity 10:00- Noon, Wednesday, September 21, 2016. Co-sponsored by ECOP and the eXtension Foundation, David Horsager, renowned speaker, business strategist and author of the popular book The Trust Edge: How Top Leaders Gain Faster Results, Deeper Relationships, and a Stronger Bottom Line will engage Extension professionals in a fast-paced, interactive professional development opportunity. Registrants will be provided pre-work for the session, including a self-assessment, plus encouragement to read the book and view a video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHJ45j8GYic. All details about registration and lodging for the total meeting are at https://conferencereg.colostate.edu/Jackson2016. Early bird registration ends July 31, 2016. There is no separate registration for The Trust Edge professional development opportunity. 

National Leadership in San Antonio This Week – The APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA), together with the Board on Human Sciences, meets this week in San Antonio, TX. The BAA includes committees on organization and policy (COP) for Extension, Experiment Station, Academic Programs and International Programs, plus the Administrative Heads (primarily deans of agriculture). The BAA is part of the APLU Commission on Food, Environment and Renewable Resources. Through a facilitated process, the BAA will continue its work to develop a public value statement, which is expected to be finalized by communicators before use with targeted partners, the public, and others early in the new year. ECOP meets in conjunction with Joint COPs. ECOP has a robust agenda including discussions on Extension as a national system, private resource mobilization, efforts with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and structure of the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees. Wrapping up Joint COPs is a meeting of the APLU Board on Agriculture Assembly Policy Board of Directors (PBD). Extension is represented by Daryl Buchholz, Kansas State University. For the Extension report to the PBD, see http://www.aplu.org/members/commissions/food-environment-and-renewable-resources/board-on-agriculture-assembly/policy-board-of-directors/baapbd-minutes/index.html. 

Competency in the City Webinar 7.21.16 – Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7308656474187965698 for a 3:00 p.m. ET webinar this week, July 21st, to learn results of a study on the unique aspects of serving the Extension mission in urban communities. Using competency identification, Extension can improve its ability to attract, develop, retain, and structure competent talent. The webinar also will include an update on the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Professional Development action committee as it works to establish best practices for developing the capacity and competency of urban Extension educators, specialists, and administrators working with multi-stakeholder agendas. Bringing increased attention to Extension urban programming, while maintaining a strong rural presence, is a 2016 ECOP goal. 

National 4-H Council Summer Update – Check out the National 4-H Council Summer Update http://4-h.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CouncilUpdateSummer16_FINAL-7-16-16.pdf. It includes timely information specific to the Grow True Leaders Campaign, results of the spring Paper Clover Promotion, 2016 4-H National Youth Science Day design challenge: Drone Discovery and more. Please share with others including county Extension educators/agents. For more information or questions, contact Kate Caskin at kcaskin@4-H.org. 

USDA-NIFA Capacity Funds Study – USDA-NIFA invites partners to view webinar recordings on the evaluation of its Capacity Programs portfolio, which represents nearly half of NIFA’s budget. In process is an evidence-based analysis of the value and return on investment of these programs. It is expected the project will result in a showcase of the impacts these programs make on food, agriculture, natural resource, and human sciences issues facing the Nation. TEConomy, a contractor, is conducting the evaluation in collaboration with APLU. To view the webinars, go to http://nifa-connect.nifa.usda.gov/p17yd09czm8/. Send comments to capacityeval@nifa.usda.gov.

ECOP Monday Minute 9.23.13 - Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence Database

Strategic Opportunities and Measuring Excellence Database – The ECOP database at www.excellenceinextension.org has been rebranded to include expanded salary data, the ability to input and retrieve impact statements, and new options for charting data. Scott Cummings, who manages the database, reports that of the 75 institutions in the Cooperative Extension Section, 35 have reported excellence data and 27 institutions have reported impacts. For more information on how your institution can be represented, contact Scott at s-cummings@tamu.edu. 

Galaxy IV Update – Among highlights of the Galaxy IV Conference last week in Pittsburgh, ECOP Chair Daryl Buchholz received the prestigious Ruby Award from Epsilon Sigma Phi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcIHoc1EUmY; the forward-looking, outwardly-focused Cooperative Extension centennial celebration was launched www.extension100years.net; Chuck Hibberd, ECOP Personnel Subcommittee co-chair, facilitated a discussion of the 21st Century Extension Professional Project, and ECOP chair-elect Jimmy Henning escorted and introduced USDA Secretary Vilsack for a keynote address. ECOP met during Galaxy. Action included approval of the 2014 budget, acceptance of the Cooperative Extension vote to continue the SNAP-Ed assessment for three more years, and a discussion of next steps for eXtension following release of the external review. 

Executive Director Search – The Northeast Extension Directors ask your help in identifying qualified candidates for executive director, replacing Linda Kay Benning who retires this year. In the national Cooperative Extension Director and Administrator structure, this position dedicates 25 percent full-time equivalent to national goals of ECOP and other time on regional priorities. The job announcement is available here with review of applications beginning 10.4.13. 

FY 2013 Capacity Funds – USDA-NIFA has an updated website providing final allocations for capacity/formula funds. See http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/awards/formula.html and here for a summary of how the agency calculated the final total funding levels for various FY 2013 programs. 

Household Food Security – USDA Economic Research Service has a new release on food security in the United States. Seehttp://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err155.aspx#.UkBo57zlUUs. "Ensuring an abundant and safe food supply for all" is a strategic priority for Cooperative Extension. See http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=4096.  

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.