Coordination, Capacity Building and Community Engagement to Expand Urban Extension in Springfield, MA Fellow: William Miller, University of Massachusetts Team Work Plan Fellow Report: A strong and committed project team was established with two members from Central Extension Administration, a veteran 4-H Educator and an Extension Faculty member with content knowledge in urban planning and five years of experience working in Springfield, MA. The project team was convened, and members agreed to participate and serve in leadership roles for the organization. Project goals and potential activities and approaches were discussed. Based on these initial discussions, a more detailed plan of work was drafted by the PI which was subsequently refined with feedback from team members. A key aspect of the project is to build on existing programs and capacity within the UMass Extension organization and the University more broadly. We conducted internal scanning and identified UMass Extension programs and activities that are currently engaging individuals and organizations in Springfield, MA. We identified areas of potential alignment for these programs and activities with other initiatives occurring within UMass Extension as well as at the college and university. In addition, the PI plays a significant leadership role in Urban Extension at the state, regional and national level and is exploring possible areas of synergy. We also Identified UMass Extension staff and faculty with interest and expertise related to potential future programming in Springfield, MA. We compiled a list of model urban extension programs, which will still need to be evaluated with regard to their relevance for Springfield, MA as well as their connection to the potential programming capacity of UMass Extension. We began to Identify professional development resources to build staff and faculty skills to engage urban audiences. Team members will be attending a highly regarded training program (Coming Together for Racial Understanding) which will be offered regionally to Extension Professionals in March 2023. We will continue to seek additional professional development opportunities and resources for team members and for our staff more broadly. We have contacted a variety of community partners who are based, or who deliver programs in Springfield, MA. Several individuals who work in the area of Urban Agriculture and Food Systems have agreed to serve on a panel and present the work they are doing to our staff and engage in an interactive question and answer discussion in February. We are laying the groundwork for a series of interactions, culminating with a large-scale event (or events) planned
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