Our Story — Post Forum Tales
After both types of forums (in person and virtual), the success of the Strategic Doing™ groups was influenced by leadership of each group. In Strategic Doing™ language, each group had a “Chief Doing Officer” (CDO) whose role was to keep the group on track and assist in convening the group. The CDO taking on this role can change throughout the process (even
once per month). We found that having a Forum Committee member as part of those groups and as someone who understood the Strategic Doing™ process and obj ectives of the forum, helped create success.
Delaware 2018 Forum
In our forums, Extension personnel supported the Strategic Doing™ groups at some level. In some cases, groups identified a “big idea” that was doable within three months. In other cases, as the groups learned additional information post-forum, there was a need to pivot or amend the “big idea.” Lastly, we did have a group or two that disengaged from the process altogether for a variety of reasons; they didn’t realize the time commitment, members became pulled in other directions or once the “big idea” was determined to be too big, they disbanded. Regardless of the outcomes of the Strategic Doing™ groups, we found that frequent check -ins with group members was important. We also found that support for the Chief Doing Officer and reports to the broader community of progress or pitfalls helped to keep the community abreast of changes and primed them for continued engagement.
Here are some of outcomes of groups we’re calling Tales from Past (2018-2019):
● A team at the Maryland forum pursued seed funding from the University of Maryland to assess stress felt by Maryland's farmers. This assessment ultimately led to a $1M Rural Opioid Technical Assistance grant awarded to the University of Maryland. ● The Ohio State University funded $4,000 in mini grants to implement Strategic Doing™ activities developed during the Ohio forum. ● A special 16-page supplement published by Delmarva Farmer provided health and economic information to farmers and agricultural professionals reaching 12,000 readers. ● Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training was provided to agricultural service organizations around Maryland. Delaware Extension received funding to underwrite three MHFA trainings in 2019 and six in 2020. Agriculture, health care, school and faith- based professionals have been attending these sessions. ● A radio show, which aired on Baltimore's public radio station WYPR raised awareness about the stresses of farming.
64
Powered by FlippingBook