Cooperative Extension – Extension Foundation

Impact Collaborative Workbook Redesigned and Released

The Extension Foundation is excited to announce the release of its redesigned Impact Collaborative Workbook, now available publicly as an interactive PDF. This format enhances collaboration, especially for participants in a virtual Impact Collaborative method training and for participants exploring the process independently.

Established in 2014 by the Extension Foundation, the Impact Collaborative serves as a national network of Land-grant university professionals focused on empowering communities to co-create sustainable solutions through Extension programming. The initiative has evolved to meet the needs of Extension professionals, guided by their feedback.

A key feature of the Impact Collaborative is its comprehensive skills curriculum, which has trained hundreds of Extension professionals to rethink program development and serve as resources within their communities. The interactive Impact Collaborative Workbook facilitates dynamic engagement, allowing teams to collaborate effectively from different locations.

Thousands of Cooperative Extension professionals have participated in the Impact Collaborative, which plays a crucial role in delivering national programs and services. In 2023, a needs assessment was conducted to ensure the initiative continues to address the evolving challenges faced by the Cooperative Extension system.

The new interactive Workbook is now available. For more information, please visit the Impact Collaborative website.

New Technologies for Ag Extension 2023-2024 Yearbook Now Available in the Extension Foundation Library

News, Publications

The New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) 2023-2024 Yearbook is now available as the latest addition to the Extension Foundation’s publications library. This vibrant publication captures the progress of dozens of projects funded through the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program—a cooperative initiative between the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA), the University of New Hampshire, and the Extension Foundation.

NTAE’s mission is to incubate, accelerate, and expand promising work that enhances the impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in communities nationwide. It also provides scalable models that can be adopted or adapted by Extension teams across the U.S.

Spanning 72 pages and presented in an engaging, magazine-style format, the Yearbook offers a comprehensive look at how NTAE-funded projects are transforming human, environmental, and community well-being. The publication also highlights an NTAE-supported technology initiative focusing on artificial intelligence. Through illustrated feature articles, Q&A interviews, and embedded videos, readers will explore innovative efforts across key themes, including technology, climate resilience, youth development, health, and equity.

Additionally, the Yearbook highlights the critical work of ECOP’s Program Action Teams, showcasing how these teams contribute to advancing the Cooperative Extension System’s priorities.

The Extension Foundation’s library houses an extensive collection of resources, with topics ranging from technology to strengthening the resilience of farms and rural communities. Explore the entire library here and sign up to receive notifications about future publications.

October 18, 2024/by Aaron Weibe

New Extension Foundation Publication: “Pumpkin Smash Playbook”

Extension, News, Publications

The Extension Foundation has released a new title. “Pumpkin Smash Playbook” shares how the University of Illinois Extension and community partners organize and host Pumpkin Smashes, fun community events that collect pumpkins for composting. The team hosted its first Pumpkin Smash in 2019. Since then, the organization has refined the process of planning, funding, and running Smashes. This playbook details how to organize a similar event in your community.

Smashes teach people about the importance of composting and help keep pumpkins out of landfills. But they also provide Extension organizations with an opportunity to increase Extension’s visibility and reach new communities, particularly in urban areas.

“Pumpkin Smash Playbook” was written by Kathryn M. Pereira, an Extension educator with the University of Illinois Extension. It’s the latest publication released by the Extension Foundation for the Cooperative Extension Service. It was made possible with funding from the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) grant program.

The Extension Foundation has recently added new titles to its library, including the New Technologies for Ag Extension 2022-2023 Yearbook. The 83-page Yearbook – presented in a lively magazine format – documents dozens of projects funded through the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) program, a cooperative agreement between USDA NIFA, Oklahoma State University, and the Extension Foundation. The goal of the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) grant is to incubate, accelerate, and expand promising work that will increase the impact of the Cooperative Extension System (CES) in the communities it serves, and provide models that can be adopted or adapted by Extension teams across the nation.

You can find the entire library of publications here.

October 17, 2023/by Aaron Weibe

Cooperative Extension Service Immunization Education Project: Vaccinate with Confidence Health Promotion Specialist

News, Newsroom

Cooperative Extension Service Immunization Education Project

Vaccinate with Confidence Health Promotion Specialist Position Description

This project is a collaborative effort among the Extension Committee on Policy (ECOP), eXtension, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It grew out of efforts undertaken by the ECOP Health Innovation Task Force. eXtension anticipates receiving funding for Immunization Education efforts. Key Extension leaders on this project are Dr. Roger Rennekamp, Dr. Michelle Rodgers, Dr. Caroline Henney, Ms. Ali Mitchell Dunigan and Dr. Chris Geith. This project will allow CDC and the Cooperative Extension System to address health disparities among rural and other underserved communities by facilitating discussions at the community level to address barriers and concerns about COVID-19, flu and other adult vaccinations. It is designed to help increase connections and communication between the community and health care practices, as well as increase accessibility and acceptability of local vaccination clinics and opportunities with the goal to and mobilize communities to implement public health programs to reduce health disparities, especially in rural areas. The four broad areas of emphasis for this project are:

A National Assessment
- Create a landscape report through a national assessment of current activities, locations and delivery of extension immunization education, community dialogue, and the cooperative delivery of immunization clinics. Timeline: April-July 2021
Vaccinate with Confidence National Campaign
- Work with all 111 LGUs who are eligible to apply for funding to support their customization and deployment of the Vaccinate with Confidence Campaign. The package includes materials from the CDC, professional development offerings by the Vaccinate with Confidence technical assistance team available to all LGU’s and funding. LGU’s will complete a standardized and simple online application organized around a rubric to ensure funding priorities, such as serving underserved audiences and collecting standard data. This information will be built into an application form briefly requiring a description of their planned implementation and their planned budget.
An Impact Collaborative Summit
- Work with eXtension Foundation to offer an Impact Collaborative Summit to develop opportunities for immunization education and clinics utilizing Extension resources, staff and locations as well as their partnerships with local health education resources, staff and immunization locations. This Summit will help potential pilot recipients incubate and plan to accelerate opportunities for immunization education in rural and underserved communities. Timeline: April 2021.
Implement immunization education and clinic pilots, community dialogues, and the cooperative delivery of immunization clinics. Timeline: May 2021-March 2022.
- Pilots will test out immunization education programs, community dialogue frameworks, and clinic models in rural and underserved communities that will include data collection and use of common metrics for reporting.
- A non-research report of what is learned will be created and shared with the Cooperative Extension System and collaborative leaders of this project. This report is to be a brief report and summary of the pilots from the pilot leaders.

This project is seeking a health promotion specialist (a full-time buyout from a Land Grant University (LGU) or a service contract) to provide expertise and coordination working LGUs to successfully deploy the Vaccinate with Confidence Health Promotion in a local context through the Cooperative Extension Service. eXtension will serve as the principal investigator for the project and eXtension will serve as a backbone for the project efforts. This position will work collaboratively with the Project Director, Assistant Project Director and the Operations Manager to lead this project. This position will report to the Project Director, Dr. Michelle Rodgers. The Health Promotion Specialist for this project will:

Provide expertise and coordination working with LGUs to encourage, recruit and assist them in the customization and deployment of the Vaccinate with Confidence campaign.
Work with the LGUs as they implement the Vaccinate with Confidence campaign to ensure local success and impact and provide a communications/promotion toolkit for LGUs’ use.
Offer different forms of professional development and other resources as needed throughout the project to support the Vaccinate with Confidence campaign package available to the 111 LGU’s and the selected pilot projects (approximately 20).
Assist LGUs to best utilize the Vaccinate with Confidence Campaign Packaging funding.
Connect and coordinate successful LGU pilot applicants with the Vaccinate with the Confidence Technical Assistance (Market Research Firm) service provider.
Work with the pilot projects in the design of their projects and in the deployment of their work.
Serve with the eXtension Foundation Team to deliver and serve teams and participants attending the Impact Collaborative for Immunization Education to expand the Vaccinate with Confidence campaign.
Work with the Evaluation team/firm to help insure the success of campaign and pilot efforts to achieve impact and provide consultation as appropriate.
Participate and learn about the Impact Collaborative and possibly serve on the Impact Collaborative Design Team.
Provide feedback and reports (quarterly and final).
Serve on the project advisory and planning team committees.
Work collaboratively with the 1890 and 1994 Engagement Coordinators.
Work collaboratively with the Evaluation Team.
Work collaboratively with the Immunization Education Fellow.
Participate and engage in the Connect Extension group.

The projected timeline for this position is April 1, 2021 through March 30, 2022: (dependent upon project funding)

February 12 until position is filled: Accept letters of interest and resumes
April 1, 2021: Start date for Health Promotion Specialist
April 1, 2021: Official start for the Project

If there are questions, please contact Project Director Dr. Michelle Rodgers, PhD, Associate Dean and Director, University of Delaware, mrodgers@udel.edu Mobile 302-635-4306.

Persons interested in this position should send a letter of interest and a resume to Brenna Kotar, eXtension Foundation at ceoassistant@extension.org. by February 19, 2021.

February 12, 2021/by Aaron Weibe