Dear Extension Faculty, Staff, and Educators:
Summer is sizzling right along! I know my biscuits are burning (quoted from Yosemite Sam in the movie Roger Rabbit). Although it may seem we have been moving slowly in the process of Reframing Extension, consider that we only really started in October of 2007. In that context, we are moving at light speed. As with all forms of movement—with the possible exception of propulsion from cool fusion—friction is the enemy of acceleration and speed. No change of position can occur without a few differences of opinion and the expenditure of energy. Developing a new direction and plan has required a lot of thought and considerable energy. Despite these major challenges, however, we have arrived at a number of very important decisions and have begun implementing programmatic and operational changes that will transform Pennsylvania Cooperative Extension into a more valuable and significant force in the 21st Century.
Your time and energy in helping determine the direction of our organization has been greatly appreciated. The forward thinking and dedication by all to make Cooperative Extension a more agile and valued source of information is a testimonial to the quality of individuals currently in our organization and our ability to transform ourselves. During the current transformation process, communication will play a vital part in our success. Thus, the first major challenge and change is to do a better job of communicating. To communicate effectively, we must keep in mind that communication has three components: 1) the message itself, 2) the process of sending the message and 3) the process of receiving the message. It is administration’s responsibility to articulate and send a clear message. It is the faculty, staff, and educator’s responsibility to make sure they take time to listen and understand the messages being sent. Too often we have sent messages without reference to the larger context, the message was filtered, or the receivers were not listening.
In keeping with the need for effective communication, the first message of importance is that Extension administration is very serious about this transformation. As the transformation takes place, it will not be business as usual. The new design will help the organization better track how the tax payer’s investments are paying off, assure program quality and document our impacts.
The second message is that the reframing process has begun. The remainder of this communication is to let you know where we are in the process and what will be happening over the next year.
On March 20th, the Director made the following decisions:
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All extension faculty and educators will be members of Extension Natural Working Groups (teams)
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All faculty and educators will commit 60% of their extension appointment to Statewide Natural Working Groups (This doesn’t mean 60% of an educator’s time will be spent traveling outside a county, but that 60% of their time will be spent working on state level issues. However, if the statewide team agrees their expertise is needed in another county, they will be expected to provide assistance.)
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All educators will identify an area of specialization and several minor specialty areas (There will be no more generalists in the system although everyone needs a general knowledge of the areas they are assigned.)
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All Natural Working Groups and Program Teams will be self-empowered
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Statewide programs can only be delivered by group members or others trained to deliver the program (implication: no one can deliver a program without proper training to assure program quality)
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Statewide Working Groups must respond to local requests through a priority setting process (i.e. the requests must fit into the Working Group’s list of priority issues; not all requests must be met, but all effort should be made to meet as many requests as resources allow)
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Cooperative Extension offices will be maintained in all counties
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In the future, decisions on new investments and which programs to continue or discontinue will be made based on the return on investment into those programs
The matrix of Natural Working Groups by key issues is in its final phase of completion. To support this effort, a Glossary of Terms is being developed that will provide a dictionary of definitions including Natural Working Group, Program Team, State Program, Reframing Matrix, Issues, Special Initiative Issues, State Program Leader, Natural Working Group Leader, etc. This document will also spell out the role and expectation of each entity. Both should be completed by mid-August.
On May 15th, a decision was made to implement a new Extension time assignment form. The forms were sent out on June 7th and all individual time assignment forms have been received. This new process will replace the planning and reported time component of the CASPAR system. It will also provide a mechanism to track Cooperative Extension’s investments in each Natural Working Group and issue area. The current distribution of time assignments is available for each regional and academic unit, as well as the State Program Leaders. These will be shared with the Natural Working Group.
On June 6, the Regional Directors, Dr. Jackson and Dr. Calvin met to discuss administrative and organizational structure. The following decisions were reached:
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We will continue to have six regions with the same geographic boundaries. In the new system, regional boundaries only define the operational aspects of the organization and not the programmatic aspects. State programs are not to be bound by unnatural boundaries, such as regional or county boundaries.
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The physical location of regional directors will be left to their discretion. They can work from University Park or from a regional office.
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Each regional director will take on an area of specialization, which we are in the process of defining. The purpose of a specialty will be to make sure the organization has an administrator closely engaged in key initiatives that are important to quality improvement of the organization. Areas under consideration include staff and professional development, resource development, communication technology use enhancement, risk management and volunteer development, planning and reporting system development, and organizational development. Job expectations will be finalized and assignments to areas of specialization will be made by late August.
Decisions have also been made on the key metrics for “Excellence in Extension” that will be implemented in the new Natural Work Group (team) environment. These include:
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Economic impact
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Number of educational contacts
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Number of volunteers (hours): 4-H and Youth, Master Gardeners, Master Well Owners, Forest Stewards, and other (members on boards, etc.)
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Publications (refereed journals, book chapters, extension publications, etc.)
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Number of papers and posters presented at professional meetings
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Funded projects in support of program (Grants and Contracts)
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Alternative revenues (grants and contracts in counties, gifts and fundraising, in-kind support and services, and cost recovery)
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Partnerships in support of programs (funding provided, sponsor of programs, joint program partner, grants/contract partner, applied research partner)
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Awards (in-state, regional, national)
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Customer satisfaction
All Natural Work Groups and individual progress will be measured against these key metrics. We will also compare these metrics against the institutional investment in Work Groups and major programmatic issues.
It is our intent that full implementation of the new Natural Work Group will begin in spring of 2009. At that time, we will have the new reporting system in place. Thus over the next nine months, program leaders will be identifying Natural Work Group team leaders and members and working with the Natural Working Groups to develop a five-year program plan. In addition, the leadership team will be developing an individual and team evaluation system process, policies on marketing, communication, and publications, a new in-service model, and training on team operations and impact measurement. Longer term changes will include a new educator hiring process, new educator qualifications, a new cost sharing partnership process, grants and contract support, and FTE allocation to each Natural Working Group.
As we move forward, the leadership team will dedicate time to visiting one-on-one with educators and faculty in small group settings to communicate and discuss the transition and what it means to them and the organization. We have chosen this approach versus VTC or other mass communication methods in an effort to personalize the message and make sure we are present at key events and activities.
Although we have made major progress, we still have a long way to go. Our success in transforming the organization rests in all of our hands. If we want to do it, we can. Thanks again, for your patience and help in this difficult but exciting period of transformation.
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