Where Credit is Due
Projects raise the profile of and expand Extension’s value
Earned PROMOTION
T he Cooperative Extension System (CES) makes a powerful difference in this country. We know this because Extension is constantly gathering quantitative and qualitative evidence of the outcomes of its programs—on farms and farmers, youth development, public health, the
Team members talk about the importance of spreading the word about the value Extension creates.
environment, local economies, and more. Extension educators and researchers observe, interview, survey, measure, and analyze. They publish papers, give presentations, develop databases, collect more feedback, crunch more numbers. But just as CES itself is often referred to as a “best-kept secret,” the combined effect of the work CES does is not as well-documented or widely known as it could be. One reason appears to be that Extension is, by design, a decentralized system— with professionals working at hyperlocal levels in every state and U.S. territory. CES folks are most effective because they tailor their work to suit specific com- munities. And there are only a few, still-emerging methods and platforms for compiling standardized Extension program data on a large scale. Also, the system just doesn’t talk about its successes enough, says Matt Hanson, a project manager with University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension: “CES is often the humble player at the table, and we don’t want to offend our partners by taking credit for the pivotal role we play. We defer.” Hanson leads one of the projects in the 2023–2024 New Technologies in Ag Ex- tension (NTAE) grant year that have the potential not only to increase Extension’s impact but to give a higher profile. (Watch the video on page 39 to hear these team leaders talk about the importance of promoting the value Extension creates.)
youtu.be/7cqN11vzFhY?si=6xHq6lQuJQgWRdkw
Another project in the “demonstrat- ing CES’s value” category, from the University of Tennessee (UT), couldn’t be more aptly named in the context of this discussion. “Measuring Extension Collective Impact,” co-led by UT’s Dr. Soghra Jarvandi, is about creating a standardized, national system that captures Extension programming’s effects on the health of diverse audi- ences. (See page 43.) It’s building on an NTAE-funded project from 2021- 2022. To do this, it will start by piloting a process to create a data management platform for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Diabetes Preven- tion Program (DPP). The pilot will compile data from just three states— Tennessee, Georgia, and Arizona. But Dr. Jarvandi says the hope is that
CES is often the humble player at the table, and we don’t want to offend our partners by taking credit for the pivotal role we play. We defer. —Matt Hanson Project Manager University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension “
SOFT SKILLS & HARD DATA Hanson’s project (see page 42) ap- proaches this opportunity from a professional development perspective. He and his team want to create a na- tional Extension learning center that will improve educators’ effectiveness. It would focus on best practices in pro- gram development and educational delivery, bringing key commonalities to educators’ work that could lead to even more profound results. The UW team expects that one of the major effects of their program will be increased job satisfaction among educators, which contributes to staff re- tention. Investing in retaining talented, committed educators is a key to ensur- ing that CES can deliver solid pro- gramming with measurable benefits.
2021–2022 NATE-funded Diabetes Prevention Program publication (Click thumbnail to read.)
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2023-2024 YEARBOOK | EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE
EXTENSION FOUNDATION/NTAE | 2023-2024 YEARBOOK
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