Request for Proposals: Marketing Firm for New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Project

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eXtension Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, requests services from a marketing firm experienced in providing marketing services to not-for-profit organizations with an emphasis in agriculture and the food production industry. Services are funded through a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture. 

  1. Background
    1. The eXtension Foundation, founded in 2006, is a membership-based non-profit organization designed to fuel Cooperative Extension’s growth, leadership, competencies, entrepreneurship, and stewardship for innovation and technology supporting Cooperative Education professionals. Cooperative Extension is a national system of educational outreach from land-grant universities/colleges located in every U.S. state and the territories. eXtension generates value for its members and partners by offering professional growth and learning and fostering innovation at member institutions.
    2. Locations. eXtension is a national organization and operates as a multi-state entity: we are incorporated in Missouri. Given the broad geographic distribution of our staff and Board of Directors, we are also a virtual organization highly reliant on video conferencing and other tools for collaboration in addition to email.
  2.  Communications & Marketing Function.
    1. Assigned duties. One employee has been assigned communications, marketing, and engagement duties: the Communications & Engagement Manager, who is primarily responsible for providing proactive and strategic communications to our members and to the Land-Grant University system.
  3.  Overview: Scope of Services, Please address the following required services in your proposal:
    1. Coordinate an audience assessment and program awareness campaign in Year 1 (November  2019 – August 2020) to support the Bridging the GAPS (BG) program and position this program as a valuable, trusted, resource for fresh produce growers in select communities across Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. 
      1. Conduct market research 
        1. Determine current levels of awareness of fresh produce growers in regards to surface water pathogens and what steps they are presently taking to protect against these pathogens. 
        2. Determine fresh produce growers understanding of regulatory requirements for ag water treatment in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
        3. Survey what existing water treatment systems are used
        4. Survey whether employees are trained in the use of the water system, maintenance, and repair.
      2. Determine best channels, including Cooperative Extension, for reaching the target audience with BG program resources and information.
      3. Identify potential messaging strategies to better engage target audience to engage with BG Program and CES resources
  4. Bridging the Gaps Program 
    1. Background
      1. Preventing foodborne illness and the protection of public health is objective 7.1 of the US Department of Agriculture 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. Sanitary irrigation water for produce is mandated by the USDA, including monitoring, treating and verifying compliance. Proper food sanitation is imperative to prevent situations like the Yuma, AZ  outbreak in the spring of 2018 that ultimately resulted in 210 reported illnesses from 36 states, 96 hospitalizations, 27 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and five deaths. The outbreak was linked to romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma region.
      2. In March 2019, FDA published a rule called Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption; Extension of Compliance Dates for Subpart E, which:
        1. Extends ALL provisions of Subpart E (Agricultural water) other than sprouts including the safe and sanitary quality, annual inspection, and postharvest water monitoring requirements.
        2. FDA has stated that the reason for this extension is to allow time “to address questions about the practical implementation of compliance with certain provisions and to consider how we might further reduce the regulatory burden or increase flexibility while continuing to protect public health.”
        3. Until the process of consideration is finished, the water requirements are the Rule.
      3. A multi-state, interdisciplinary team of public and private sector experts have partnered together to create a curriculum designed to help producers 1) Understand the regulatory requirements for ag water treatment in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), 2) Find the right water treatment system for their farm, 3) Developing standard operating procedures that will be effecting in treating water on their farm and to monitor its implementation, and 4) Ensuring that the proper system is implemented correctly and that employees are trained in its use, maintenance and repair.
      4. This curriculum, Bridging the GAPS – Approaches for treating water on-farm, is a four-module curriculum designed for a producer audience. This curriculum has been piloted on a limited basis to make initial improvements to improve its effectiveness. This curriculum is ready for a broader implementation. Being part of the current New Technologies for Agricultural Extension federal grant will bring the additional resources of the NTAE team to work alongside the Bridging the GAPS team to expand its scope and refine its effectiveness to impact the safety of the national food supply, particularly irrigated produce. The associated eXtension Fellow and action team will develop documentation to create an eFieldbook to support the curriculum and and possibly seek expansion opportunities through assisted market research.
    2. Audience & Location
      1. Fresh produce growers in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee. 
    3. Specific Crop and/or Product Involved
      1. The food safety landscape is continually evolving, and the fresh produce industry is no exception. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 has emphasized prevention of foodborne illnesses rather than responding to outbreaks.  In response to FSMA, the FDA has finalized 21 CFR Part 112:  Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Produce Safety Rule). This regulation has fundamentally changed the expectations of produce growers, particularly with respect to characterization of foodborne pathogen risks and application of appropriate mitigation strategies. 
      2. Currently, the safety of produce relies on the implementation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) to prevent microbial contamination during growing, harvesting, and packing. Because irrigation water is one of the most likely points of pathogen contamination during fruit and vegetable production, the Produce Safety Rule calls for rigorous water testing in order to verify the microbial quality of surface-source irrigation water that will contact the edible portion of the plant during growing, unless a water treatment method is used.  The testing expenses will greatly impact U.S. fruit and vegetable growers since many utilize surface water as an irrigation source or source of water for herbicide and insecticide sprays. More importantly, quantifying generic E. coli does not always indicate a food safety risk.  If we are to begin reducing the risk of produce contamination, effective mitigation strategies must be utilized in irrigation water application systems.   
    4. Key Performance Indicator
      1. Program evaluation is essential to determine the overall impact of the curriculum on our stakeholders. In the short-term, participating growers’ knowledge gained, attitudes towards agricultural water treatment technologies (including perceived cost/benefits of adoption), and intent to use water treatment technologies will be evaluated by our fellow. More importantly, the adoption rate of agricultural water treatment systems by participating growers will be measured to assess actual change resulting from the taught curriculum.
  5. Proposal Outline (Please organize your proposal as follows)
    1. Executive summary. Describe your understanding of the work to be performed and your firm’s ability to complete it within the March 2020 to August 2020 timeframe. 
    2. Professional experience. Provide a description of your firm including philosophy, size,structure, and qualifications. Include a list of current engagements in the agricultural sector or Cooperative Extension that you believe are comparable to the size, mission focus, and complexity of our organization.
    3. Team qualifications. Identify the specific individuals – partners, managers, and in-charge staff – who will be assigned to this engagement if your firm’s proposal is selected, including the qualifications and experience of each.
    4. Fees. Provide a firm estimate of the fees for services to be provided during each year of the proposed one-year engagement.
    5. Additional information. Additional information not specifically requested but nonetheless helpful in evaluating your proposal is welcome.
  6. Proposal Deadline
    1. The deadline for receipt of your proposal is March 2nd, 2020. Documents should be emailed to aaronweibe@eXtension.org. Proposals received after this date will not be considered. For additional information, questions, or clarifications, please contact me via email or phone at (667) 228-4583.
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Catalyst Team Panel Discussion, New Technologies for Agricultural Extension, February 24th, 2020

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New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Catalyst Team Panel Discussion
February 24th, 2 – 3 PM ET
Available for eXtension Members
Register Here

 

As part of eXtension’s New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, the eXtension Foundation partnered with four existing programs aligned with USDA strategic goals across Cooperative Extension in year one to explore new methods and models for program scale and implementation. These initiatives are being documented in a series of eFieldbooks to inform the system of the models, learnings, and outcomes. Professional development opportunities will be created and delivered centered upon these learnings and offered to the entire system beginning in 2020 through the new FlexLearn platform.

Scott Reed, Fred Schlutt, and Jimmy Henning are the eXtension Catalyst Team. These former Extension Directors work to identify early stage, high potential projects and programs across Cooperative Extension to partner with eXtension through this NTAE initiative.

eXtension will be accepting project nominations with potential impacts aligned with objectives identified in the USDA strategic plan for 2018-2022. Identified projects can partner with eXtension to rapidly scale the project, create professional development opportunities based upon the learnings, and help highlight your projects as a national model for the Cooperative Extension Service.

This panel discussion will discuss the four NTAE projects for 2019-2020 and why they were chosen, outputs of these projects, and how projects can be nominated for consideration in 2020-2021.

 

About the Catalysts

 

Scott Reed
Professor Emeritus
Oregon State University

Scott Reed (Scott) is a career Extension educator trained as a forester and economist. He began working in the private sector where he discovered the value of partnerships with university outreach activities. Early in his career, Scott spent ten years at the University of Minnesota where he was initially an extension specialist in timber harvesting and economic development before stepping into leadership positions of program leader and field center coordinator. Moving to Oregon State University in 1990, he served as associate dean in the OSU College of Forestry before becoming dean and director of the OSU Extension Service. Before retiring in 2019, he was vice provost for university outreach and engagement. More than 20 organizations have honored Scott for a variety of accomplishments. His contributions were recognized in 2018 with the coveted Ruby Award from the Joint Council of Extension Professionals. Scott holds BS and MS degrees from Michigan State University and a PhD from University of Minnesota.

Jimmy Henning
Extension Professor & Extension Forage Specialist
University of Kentucky

Jimmy Henning is Extension Professor and Extension Forage Specialist in the Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Kentucky. His extension program focuses on hay and haylage production and nutritional quality as well as pasture establishment and management. He is a co-founder of the Kentucky Grazing Schools and the UK Forage Variety Testing program.

He has served in Extension administration for 14 years including almost ten years as Associate Dean of Cooperative Extension at the University of Kentucky. He returned to the faculty in 2017.

Dr. Henning is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture.

Fred Schlutt
Retired Cooperative Extension Director
University of Alaska-Fairbanks

Dr. Fred Schlutt is a career 40 year Extension professional, having worked in Texas, Wyoming, Maine and Alaska. Dr. Schlutt served the past 10 years as the Director of Alaska Cooperative Extension, during which he served as the 2017-2018 ECOP Chair.

Molly Immendorf – Moderator
Impact Collaborative Lead Design Manager
eXtension Foundation

Molly Immendorf leads the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the Impact Collaborative process. This includes all aspects and events related to the Impact Collaborative including the Innovation Skill-Building Kit, the Impact Collaborative Summit, and Engage and Empower Online. Prior to joining eXtension Foundation in 2017, Molly was the Instructional Design and Technology Specialist for almost 19 years at University of Wisconsin – Extension, Cooperative Extension. Molly has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Communications and Technology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a B.S. in Design and Merchandising from Drexel University.

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Pre-Work

Welcome to innovation and the Impact Collaborative Facilitator Training! This email will help you prepare for a successful virtual training experience. It will let you know what to expect during the training as well as give you your first assignment which should take about 60-90 minutes to complete. It is important that you complete this pre-work. This will set the stage for your success in this learning experience. 

What to expect:

During the 3 sessions, you will learn a process customized for helping you facilitate and coach design thinking, rapid prototyping, and lean experimentation principles in order to turn an idea into a compelling innovative project concept ready to grow through attracting and catalyzing key stakeholders and strategic partners.

Over the course of 3 sessions, you will learn the Impact Collaborative Innovation Kit process. You will be active and engaged throughout, sharing your progress and outputs. At the conclusion of the 3 sessions, you will leave with comfort and confidence to coach or co-facilitate an Innovation Skill Building Experience.

Questions? Please contact your learning experience facilitators, Molly Immendorf mollyimmendorf@extension.org or Annie Jones anniejones@extension.org . 

Here is your homework and agenda to get you ready to innovate: 

  • Read through the Innovation Skill-Building Experience Workbook. This is the basis for the session lessons and activities.  You may want to print a copy locally to take notes during the sessions. 
    • Sessions will be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, February 18-20
      • Begin: 9 AM PT / 10 AM MT / 11 AM CT / 12 PM ET 
      • End: 1 PM PT / 2 PM MT / 3 PM CT / 4 PM ET
    • We will cover the following levels in each session:
      • 2/18 Intro, Levels 0, 1, 2 and 3 pt. 1
      • 2/19 Levels 3 pt. 2, 4, 5 and 6
      • 2/20 Coaching and facilitation practice and wrap-up
  • This video and reading playlist will help you understand the purpose of the Innovation Skill-Building Experience and eXtension’s Impact Collaborative [30 min total]:
  • Watch Introduction to Extension 3.0 | Mark Lubell [6 min]
  • Read Your Role in Innovation Depends on Where You Sit [5 min estimate]
  • Watch How to Manage for Collective Creativity [Linda Hill]  [17 min]
  • This video playlist will give you important background knowledge about Design Thinking and the Impact Collaborative Innovation Kit [31 min total]:

What to bring to the Innovation Skill-Building Facilitator Training?

  • A copy of the Innovation Skill-building Experience Workbook.
  • 2 pads of sticky notes in 2 different colors – will be used in week 2
  • Pen or pencil(s)
  • Blank paper or notebook paper
  • An open mind and willingness to sometimes be uncomfortable

We look forward to meeting you next week.  It’s our goal to create an engaging, fun experience for everyone.

Your facilitators: Molly Immendorf and Annie Jones, eXtension Foundation

Your facilitator-coaches: 

  • Tira Adelman, eXtension Foundation
  • Ashley Griffin, eXtension Foundation
  • John Porter, Nebraska Extension
  • Kit Sanders, North Carolina Extension
  • Aaron Weibe, eXtension Foundation
  • Jason Weigle, Nebraska Extension
  • Allison Young, Kentucky Extension
  • Chuck Stamper, Kentucky Extension
  • Stacy Wang, NDSU Extension
  • Bekah Sparks, MS State Extension
  • David Keto, UWYO Extension
  • Donna Schwarting, Idaho Extension
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Multi-State Bridging the GAPs Program Partners with eXtension Through USDA-NIFA Cooperative Agreement

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As part of eXtension’s New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement with USDA-NIFA, the eXtension Foundation is partnering with four existing programs aligned with USDA strategic goals across Cooperative Extension in Year 1 to explore new methods and models for program scale and implementation. These initiatives are being documented in a series of eFieldbooks to inform the system of the models, learnings, and outcomes. Professional development opportunities will be created and delivered centered upon these learnings and offered to the entire system beginning in 2020. 

One initiative identified for partnership is an on-farm water treatment education effort led by a multi-state team from North Carolina State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Florida. This program is titled Bridging the GAPs: Approaches for Treating Water On-Farm. GAPS refers to Good Agricultural Practice(s). 

Dr. Chris Gunter, Vegetable Production Specialist for NC State Cooperative Extension, is serving as an eXtension Fellow funded to produce an eFieldbook focused on providing end users (producers) the information needed to determine viable options to meet current water quality standards and methods to ensure compliance. In addition, the eFieldbook will be a model for Cooperative Extension to use as a learning resource. An eFieldbook is a digital, curated, peer-reviewed collection of program resources that provide multimedia communication and interaction between and among experts, individuals, teams, partners, and other content contributors. Professional development opportunities will be delivered to the entire system through eXtension’s new FlexLearn platform to provide information and support for replicating this model across the system. FlexLearn will be available for the entire system in Spring, 2020. 

Through funding by eXtension’s NTAE Cooperative Agreement, Bridging the GAPs will receive direct support from a third-party marketing firm specializing in agriculture that will conduct market research and an audience engagement initiative that establishes baseline measures for reach and utilization of Extension information, measures growth in reach and utilization of Extension resources and information, and determines best practices for using technology to engage target markets. 

Topic areas and programs were identified by a three-member Catalyst team consisting of former  senior Extension leaders that address USDA strategic goals. The Catalyst Team includes:

  • Scott Reed, Former Vice Provost University Outreach & Engagement, and Director of Extension at Oregon State University
  • Fred Schlutt, Former Director of Cooperative Extension at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks
  • Jimmy Henning, Faculty, Plant & Soil Sciences Department, and Former Director, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky

About the Bridging the GAPS Program

A multi-state, interdisciplinary team of public and private sector experts have partnered together to create a curriculum designed to help producers: 

  • Understand the regulatory requirements for ag water treatment in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
  • Find the right water treatment system for their farm
  • Developing standard operating procedures that will be effective in treating water on their farm and to monitor its implementation
  • Ensuring that the proper system is implemented correctly and that employees are trained in its use, maintenance and repair.

The team includes members from North Carolina State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Florida. 

This curriculum, Bridging the GAPS – Approaches for treating water on-farm, is a four-module curriculum designed for a producer audience. This curriculum has been piloted on a limited basis to make initial improvements to improve its effectiveness. This curriculum is ready for a broader implementation.

Being part of the current NTAE  federal grant will bring the additional resources of the NTAE team to work alongside the Bridging the GAPS team to expand its scope and refine its effectiveness to impact the safety of the national food supply, specifically irrigated produce. Dr. Gunter and the action team will develop documentation to create an eFieldbook to support the curriculum and and possibly seek expansion opportunities through assisted market research.

About the eXtension Foundation

The eXtension Foundation is a membership-based non-profit designed to be the engine fueling U.S. Cooperative Extension’s advancement in making a more visible and measurable impact in support of education outreach from land-grant universities/colleges located in every state and territory. eXtension provides an array of opportunities for Extension professionals that foster innovation creation, the adoption of innovations at member institutions, and increased impact of Extension programs.

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eXtension’s Impact Collaborative Announces Innovation Facilitator Training for 2020

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BECOME AN IMPACT COLLABORATIVE  INNOVATION FACILITATOR 

February 18th – 20th, 2020
12 – 4 PM EST
Registration Deadline: February 13th, 2020
Location: Virtual

 

This year, our Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training will be delivered virtually and there is no limit on the number of individuals that can participate. This training is for individuals from eXtension member institutions and the cost is included with membership.

*Participants must have the approval of their Extension Administrator or Director to participate. 

Register Here

About the Innovation Facilitator Training

This training will provide individuals with a new way of looking at program and project development to help new and existing programs across your states and institutions identify gaps in their planning, ensure they are most ready for implementation, and have explored all considerations to maximize local impact. 

Locally trained Innovation Facilitators can be an asset in helping teams develop their projects or programs more quickly, and connect those teams with resources available nationally. They can work locally with teams through our design-thinking process to bring fresh ideas aligned with institutional goals.

There are currently 107 Innovation Facilitators across Cooperative Extension working locally to catalyze innovation in their own states and institutions, and supporting Extension teams regionally and nationally.

Who Should Participate?

Our recommendations to Extension Directors and Administrators for selecting individuals to participate include:

  • Individuals such as a program leaders
  • Individuals that work closely with your leadership team
  • Already possess strong confidence in facilitation skills
  • Can be effective in working alongside leadership teams and other program leaders to catalyze innovation throughout the organization.

 

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CRM for Extension – Wrapping Up

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Stephen Judd is serving as the eXtension Foundation Customer Relationship Management Fellow. This post is an update on progress on this funded Fellowship from the USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement.

Making a decision about using a customer relationship management (CRM) system for an Extension organization is a major undertaking. The decision can have long-range effects on your organization’s business processes, costs, and user satisfaction. Changing CRMs can also be a major project, so making a good decision upfront will help prevent additional cost and frustration later. Take time to critically analyze your existing business processes, goals, users and their needs, and the resources you have to invest in CRM. Ensure that the CRM you choose aligns with these goals, will be able to grow with your organization’s use cases, and will be be manageable with your technical resources.

Summary

  • Why are we evaluating? – What organizational goals do you think CRM will help you achieve?
  • Constraints – Budget, technical resources, organizational directives
  • Users  – Who’s going to be using the CRM? Create personas and refer to them throughout the evaluation process.
  • Use cases – Prioritize and define the use cases for CRM in your organization. Think about how business processes can or should change.
  • Functionality – For the CRMs you are evaluating, will their functionality adequately address your needs. If not, can the functionality be added, given your resources.

A valuable avenue we haven’t discussed is to talk with other organizations about their experience with CRM. With any CRM there are implementation and user adoption issues that are experienced during implementation and use. Understanding what others have experienced can help your organization anticipate these issues and determine if a particular CRM can help minimize, or will amplify the issues. (Note that I’m happy to discuss CRM with anyone who is interested.)

I welcome feedback and questions at stephen.judd@unh.edu 

Previous post: CRM for Extension – Digging Deeper

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Building Skills in Innovation, A Learning Series for eXtension Members

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The Impact Collaborative’s Innovation Skill-Building Experience Online Series
Jan 16th, Jan. 23rd, Jan. 30th, & Feb. 6th
1 PM – 2:30 PM EST
Registration Deadline: January 14th, 2020

Led by Molly Immendorf & Annie Jones

Do you have a project idea that needs incubation, innovation, and ways to get to implementation and impact faster? Are you looking to learn about design thinking and lean experimentation combined with Cooperative Extension’s best practices for solving important community issues? Are you interested in becoming an Innovation Facilitator/Coach for future Impact Collaborative events and to support your institution’s teams and teams across the nation? Are you already an Innovation Facilitator or a team member who would like a refresher on the Innovation Skill-Building process?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then join us to explore the Impact Collaborative’s Innovation Skill-Building Experience (ISBE) in a whole new way. The ISBE Learning Series will meet weekly via Zoom over four sessions covering specific ISBE level building blocks to spark ideas, increase innovation, and turbocharge implementation to help create local impact.

Individuals and/or project and program teams are welcome to participate. 

Register Here

Molly Immendorf
Impact Collaborative Lead Design Manager
eXtension Foundation

Molly Immendorf leads the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the Impact Collaborative process. This includes all aspects and events related to the Impact Collaborative including the Innovation Skill-Building Kit, the Impact Collaborative Summit, and Engage and Empower Online. Prior to joining eXtension Foundation in 2017, Molly was the Instructional Design and Technology Specialist for almost 19 years at University of Wisconsin – Extension, Cooperative Extension. Molly has a M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Communications and Technology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a B.S. in Design and Merchandising from Drexel University.

Annie Jones, PhD
Facilitator Manager
eXtension Foundation

Annie Jones is Facilitator Manager for eXtension and also holds an appointment as Professor, Organization Development and Tribal Nations Specialist at the University of Wisconsin Madison, Division of Extension. Annie has worked with Extension for twenty-one years serving in a variety of capacities including Associate Dean, Special Assistant to the Dean for Strategic Directions and as a county-based Community Development Educator. Annie earned her PhD in Human and Organizational Systems with a concentration in Transformative Learning for Social Justice from Fielding Graduate University. While there, she also earned a graduate certificate in Dialogue, Deliberation and Public Engagement.

Annie’s areas of research include indigenous methodologies like the use of the Native American medicine wheel and cultural teachings to enhance planning and evaluation. Annie specializes in participatory and community-based action research.

Who Can Attend?:

This learning series is for eXtension members only as part of Engage & Empower Online. A list of eXtension members can be found here.

What Do You Need To Attend?:

This learning series will be facilitated through Zoom video conferencing. The link to the Zoom room for each Learning Circle will be sent to you after registration or available in the Engage & Empower Online Platform.

Additionally, components of this learning series will occur in the Engage & Empower Online platform. An account will be created for you and login details will be provided.

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CRM for Extension – Digging Deeper

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Stephen Judd is serving as the eXtension Foundation Customer Relationship Management Fellow. This post is an update on progress on this funded Fellowship from the USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement.

Once you’ve evaluated your candidate customer relationship management systems (CRM) against the basic functionality outlined in my previous post, it’s time to dig a little deeper and see how the CRM addresses the needs identified in your use cases. You should also have enough information at this point to ensure that the candidate CRMs align with your resources (budgetary and technical.)

Use your use cases

In one of the sample use cases, I stated “Reilly would like to be able to accomplish this using a mobile phone shortly after the interaction or through an email application, without having to log in to a separate interface.” This raises the question of whether a candidate CRM system will enable this type of interaction. Does the CRM have a mobile app or interface? Does the CRM integrate with your existing email application? Is there an additional cost associated the mobile app or email integration?

Another use case stated, “Sam uses the CRM to keep track of current council members, their roles, and term on the council for Sam’s county.” It is unlikely that any candidate CRM will have been designed specifically for tracking Advisory Council members. How could the existing features of the CRM be leveraged to track this information? Would it require custom development work or is it something an administrator could configure easily?

Go through all of your use cases and using the CRM Implications section, identify the features and functionality you have identified a need for. For each of these, assess the candidate CRM systems for their ability to handle. Some prioritization of needs may be necessary if the candidate CRMs aren’t able to provide functionality for certain needs.

Understand costs

Given your budgetary constraints, it’s imperative to understand the costs associated with the candidate CRMs. Many CRMs use a software-as-a-service model where the company hosts and updates the application and charges you licensing fees, based on the number of users (staff) or per contact. It will be important for you to have an idea of the number of users (staff) you intend to use the system and an estimate of the number of contacts (people) you plan to track with the CRM.

Other costs:

  • Hosting – if the CRM is one that you will need to host on your own servers, waht is that cost to your organization?
  • Integration – Is there a cost to integrating with other systems (this could be development or licensing costs)?
  • Administration – people from your organization will need to administer the CRM – dealing with new users, permissions, configuration changes, etc. What will be the cost to the organization of those peoples time?
  • Training – What are the resources required to train staff in the use of the CRM?
  • Development – If you plan to develop a custom CRM or customize one of the candidate CRMs, what will that cost?

Documentation and Training

Implementing a CRM will require training users in its appropriate use. The candidate CRMs should be looked at through the lens of the user and how easy they are to use. Examining the CRM’s documentation and support resources is an important step to determine how much you will need to invest in training and documentation development. If you are considering developing a custom CRM, don’t forget to factor in the cost of creating documentation and custom training.

Existing Data

It is likely that your organization already has a lot of information about the people you interact with that you would like to have available in the CRM. You should assess the candidate CRMs to determine how this information can be imported in bulk. Since you’ll probably have information coming from multiple sources, the ability to identify and eliminate duplicate records will be an important consideration.

Timeframe

Determine how long it will take to implement the candidate CRMs. Like most projects, it will likely take longer than you initially think. Does your project have a deadline? Can the CRM be implemented in phases? Who will be responsible for the implementation?

 

I welcome feedback and questions at stephen.judd@unh.edu 

Previous post: CRM for Extension – Evaluating the Basics

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CRM for Extension – Evaluating the Basics

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Stephen Judd is serving as the eXtension Foundation Customer Relationship Management Fellow. This post is an update on progress on this funded Fellowship from the USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement.

Virtually all customer relationship management systems (CRM) will have some common core functionality. These features are prerequisites for a CRM to be useful, but the implementations can be different. As an early step in your evaluation, assessing how this core functionality works, how configurable it is, and how it fits with your use cases is important. 

Common functionality

  • Contacts – the people you are keeping track of
  • Accounts – a grouping of contacts, could be a business/company, farm, organization, household, etc.
  • Lists / Campaigns – a set of accounts or contacts that share common attributes or interests
  • Reports – customizable views of the data stored in the CRM
  • Users – the staff who will be interacting with the CRM

People example

A CRM needs to be able to store information about people (contacts.) Typically, a contact will be a single record that has values for various attributes or fields (e.g., first name, last name, email, phone, address.) You should ensure that the provided fields will enable your use cases, or that custom fields can be easily added, given your organizational resources. 

Some attributes may require multiple values, like email. The contact record may have multiple fields – email1, email2, email3 – or it may have a separate record for each email address and allow you to relate them to the contact. Depending on what you know about the contacts you will be storing and how you plan to use the addresses, one method may be better than the other.

Considerations / Questions

  • Object and fields – Does the CRM you are evaluating have the types of objects (contacts, accounts, etc.) you will need, based on your use cases? If not, is there a way to create custom objects or fields, given your organizational resources?
  • Licensing / Pricing – What is the per user cost of the CRM? Is there a limit on contacts that can be stored? Is cost based on the number of contacts?
  • Permissions / Privacy – What information can different users view and edit? Do you need to restrict access for certain users? Can attributes/fields have view/edit restrictions or is it at the object (e.g., contact) level?
  • Types of records – Can there be different types of records and how does that work? You may want certain attributes only for certain types of records, for example, for volunteers you may want the year they started volunteering, but not want that field on other types of contacts.
  • Lists / campaigns – How does the CRM handle creating lists of contacts? Can you send email to these lists directly from the CRM or do you need to export to another system? Is there a cost associated with sending emails? 
  • Interactions – How can you track the interactions with contacts in the CRM? Are these visible to everyone, just the user recording them, or customizable? 
  • Reports – How difficult is it to create reports and run them? Can the report information be exported for use in other programs or visualizations? How is access to reports controlled?
  • Duplication – How does the CRM determine that records are duplicates of each other? Is there an easy way to merge them?
  • Integration – Can the CRM be integrated with other systems you are currently using (e.g., event registration, mass email)? 
  • Bulk data – What is the process to get existing data into the CRM?

Summing up

Given the personas and use cases you’ve compiled, evaluating the basic CRM functionality, as outlined above, will give you a good first pass at the CRM systems you’re evaluating. This will help you determine which ones should be evaluated further, and which are not suitable for your needs.

I welcome feedback and questions at stephen.judd@unh.edu 

Previous post: CRM for Extension – Use Cases

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eXtension Announces Futuring Technology Committee for USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Agricultural Extension Cooperative Agreement

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Through the New Technologies for Agricultural Extension (NTAE) Cooperative Agreement and In partnership with Oklahoma State University, the eXtension Foundation has formed a Futuring Technology Committee to serve as an advisor for several initiatives within the Cooperative Agreement. The committee is led by Dr. Jerry Thomas, Leader for Innovation and Change, Ohio State University. 

The committee will develop a technology trends in Cooperative Extension framework and deliver it through a white paper in 2020. It will also advise eXtension’s Artificial Intelligence Fellow, David Warren, Oklahoma State University, on his work with the Ask Extension project. Ask Extension is a new national initiative that will leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to pull together data sources from the Extension ecosystem to answer questions directly and accurately, and connect local citizens with their local Extension professionals, products, and services. 

Additionally, the committee will be sharing insights with the NTAE Communication Leader to assist with reporting on two audience engagement initiatives. Their work will also provide input to eXtension’s first Extension Educational Technology eFieldbook, led by Dr. Rose Hayden-Smith.

Members of the Committee Include:

Bradd Anderson, Missouri University Extension 

Bob Bertsch, North Dakota State University

Lendel Narine, Utah State University

Lindsey Shirley, Oregon State University

Courtney Owens, Kentucky State University

Greg Johll, University of Wisconsin

Kate Venturnini, University of Rhode Island 

Todd Hurt, University of Georgia

Roberto Gallardo, Purdue University

John Diaz, University of Florida

Steve Judd, University of New Hampshire

Jamie Seger, Design Lead, University Innovation Alliance

 

USDA NIFA logo

This work is supported by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2015-41595-24254 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

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