COVID-19 Social Distancing Strikes Movement

In response to preventing the spread of COVID-19:

• The ECOP Meeting set for this week is transformed to a Zoom meeting on March 18. Contact Sandy Ruble sandyruble@extension.org for more details.
• ECOP's Health Director is assembling a state-by-state list of outward-facing Extension websites dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic that contain resources for public consumption. Summary of be posted by eXtension! Contact Roger Rennekamp rogerrennekamp@extension.org for more details. 
• ECOP Leadership considers scheduling a Learning for Leaders aimed at systems-equipping Extension Directors and Administrators.
• eXtension releases virtual.extension.org, Resources for Extension Professionals Working Online, a means through which Extension educators and administrators can share with their Cooperative Extension colleagues various resources and guides about teaching and working virtually. To share resources with eXtension, email to contact-us@extension.org.

Stay tuned to email and this blog for further details.


2020 National Recognition Opportunity - Land-grant Cooperative Extension professionals and institutions deserve recognition for excellence through the annual National Cooperative Extension Awards Program. 1862 Directors and 1890 Administrators are encouraged take this opportunity to nominate by May 1. For complete details go to www.aplu.org/CESawards. Self-guided prep forms are available from download. Contact Sandy Ruble sandyruble@extension.org for more information.


Extension's Behavior Health Strategic Plan Bumps Up - Last week’s Monday Minute announced the Rural Community Action Guide. This resource supplements the Extension Opioid Crisis Response Workgroup's Report to ECOP and impact essential resources found at opioidresponse.extension.org. The Guide also highlights the PROSPER Partnership Model as one of three “Evidence-Based Prevention Strategies That Work” for Cooperative Extension. That Model is guiding plans for the formation of state partnerships among states choosing to participate in the new behavioral health network. Professionals from across the System can connect on this important issue through the National Behavioral Health Extension Network (NBH e-NET); contact Greg Pliler at 515-294-4426 or nbh_enet@iastate.edu.


Data Collection for Census of Agriculture Special Studies - Last chance to respond to the 2019 Organic Survey and the 2019 Census of Horticultural Specialties. NASS is collecting the data through March. Producers can respond online, by phone, or mail. Promotional materials for websites, social media, newsletters, email signatures, and more are available on the NASS Partner Tools webpage. Results for both Special Studies will be available at www.nass.usda.gov this fall. Stay connected with us on Twitter @usda_nass for the latest information!

Learning for Leaders - Spotlight on Engagement

Economic Engagement: Benefits of Collaboration among Extension and Campus-Based Outreach is a natural progression from our NEDA session on engagement. The newly formed APLU Commission on Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) provides opportunities for collaboration between Cooperative Extension and CECE member institutions, both land-grant and public. On 12/7/18 Sheila Martin, VP for Economic Development and Community Engagement, met online with 21+ Extension Directors and Administrators. ECOP Executive Committee member Scott Reed (Oregon State University) moderated a discussion of Extension leaders discussing their engagement experiences, unique to each institution. Dawn Mellion-Patin (Southern University), Marshall Stewart (University of Missouri) and Ashley Stokes (Colorado State University) served as panelists. Click Here to view PowerPoint and here for the YouTube version of the recording. Send questions, comments and other ideas for sharing on this topic or any of those listed in the Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders archive to ecopblog@gmail.com.

SAVE THE DATE: Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders, featuring 4-H Grows!, will take place 3-4:00 p.m. ET, Friday, January 4, 2019.


Campus Engagement Tool for Extension - Thinking of ramping up efforts to enhance campus engagement in 2019? Check out the summary of the work of the Section from NEDA. There are 12 categories that include Relevant Action, Challenges and Opportunities and Resources Needed. ECOP thanks Marshall Stewart, University of Missouri, for this excellent summary to share across the System as one of four Big Ideas from 2018. The archive of all materials from 2018 NEDA in Portland are available at https://ecopmondayminute.blogspot.com/p/2018-neda-meeting.html.


Cooperative Extension Moves Forward on Big Ideas - During 2018, ECOP Past-chair, Chuck Hibberd, worked with the ECOP Executive Committee (includes the past chair and the chair elect and a representative of every region) on four Big Ideas to both mobilize and build capacity for Cooperative Extension Administrators and Directors. The March and July 2018 ECOP meetings focused on dialogue on current capacity and future directions in four areas of adding value to campus mission, private resource mobilization/development, developing and leveraging reporting themes, and internationalizing extension. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to the ECOP Monday Minute to provide updates on the latter three big ideas.


Focus on Mental Health Training: Getting involved in the solution - eXtension Foundation Behavior Health Co-fellows Courtney Cuthbertson, Michigan State University, and Jami Dellifield, Ohio State University, request the assistance of Directors and Administrators to respond to an important 5-10 minute survey by specialists. The survey will help to identify individuals who are working in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)®/Youth MHFA®, Trauma,  a Trauma Informed Approach, or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The survey also will help identify how many Cooperative Extension professionals have attended training or are interested in one of the content areas. Results will be used to help build a national support network and expand or enhance multi-state and individual state efforts. Please forward this request as appropriate. The survey and contact information can be found here.

The eXtension Foundation integrates Fellows to forward their mission of helping Cooperative Extension professionals find more innovative ways to generate local impact. Fellows spend one year advancing knowledge on applied innovation in specific topic areas that move Cooperative Extension professionals & Impact Collaborative project teams forward.

Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Planning Committee: L-R, Chuck Hibberd, Co-chair for CES (ECOP Past-chair),
George Hopper, Co-chair for ESS (ESCOP Chair-elect), Rosalind Dale, representing 1890s,
and Jody Jellison, representing 1862s

Topics for the Joint ESS/CES-NEDA Meeting: September 23-26, 2019 - The Planning Committee thanks all who participated in a recent survey to help identify the topics for the 2019 Joint Section meeting. Click Here to view the summary. Members of the committee are reviewing these result to narrow down the possibilities and come up with a theme. The next meeting is set for December 19. Administrative support is provided by Executive Directors Rick Klemme, Eric Young, Alton Thompson, Robin Shepard, Mike Harrington, Executive Administrator Albert Essel, and Assistant Director Sandy Ruble.