As our communities age, it is increasingly important to address the needs of older adults and their families. Aging-friendly community initiatives can help older adults age in place in their homes or communities and support the well-being of their families and caregivers. We developed and evaluated the demand for and practicality of a facilitation…

Land-grant Extension institutions face increasing expectations to use data to communicate value and drive program and organizational development. In this article, we introduce the University of Wisconsin--Extension Data Jam Initiative, an integrated qualitative software, methods, and data analysis curriculum. The Data Jam Initiative is an…

Grandparents University ® (GPU) is a 2-day campus-based nutrition education program for grandparents and grandchildren based on constructs from Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior. This article describes how program theory was used to develop a working model, design activities, and select outcome measures of a 2-day…

Dwindling public funding as well as greater competition for grant dollars create a challenge for Extension. For Extension to remain a financially viable organization, educators have to be able to produce substantive, measurable program outcomes and impacts. Evaluative data can inform program development and delivery, and helps administrators…

Founder's Syndrome can create barriers to change in Extension programs. As a result, Extension staff have experienced challenges in effecting organizational change where Founders are present. 4-H Youth Development staff in Wisconsin applied a variety of strategies to move forward with 4-H programming, despite the influence of the Founders. Staff…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

Describes the University of Wisconsin Extension Program's Educational Telephone Network (ETN) which provides more than 150 credit and noncredit program series annually. Points out that ETN has proved to be an effective, low-cost means of meeting the increasing demand for continuing education. (JMF)

Features two approaches to studying teenagers' interests and needs. Wisconsin involves multiple agencies in a communitywide teen assessment; Louisiana aims to make 4-H programing more responsive and current. Both emphasize the importance of gathering data directly from teenagers. (JOW)

In the second of a series of statewide seminars sponsored by the Wisconsin Area Planning and Development Consortium Committee, 46 persons representing 23 institutions, agencies and commissions met to discuss the role of the state's colleges and universities in community and area resource development. The specific objectives of the meeting were:…

The purpose of this study was to compile a history of trade and industrial education for the state of Wisconsin by tracing the development of the significant aspects of this phase of vocational education since the establishment of the first trade school in 1906. Major chapter headings are: (1) Background and origin of Trade and Industrial…

A model for involving local planning and support committees in the process of planning Wisconsin county extension education programs was developed as a way of improving the planning of extension programs statewide. The key components of the planning model developed were (1) the use of influential officials and community representatives and (2) the…

This report describes the National Extension Leadership Development (NELD) Program. Section I offers interns' reflections on the meaning of NELD in Wisconsin. Section II is a history of NELD. Section III presents minutes of meetings of the National Advisory Committee. Sections IV-X provide overviews of the various programs offered through NELD in…

The nature of the Cooperative Extension Service in agriculture was examined to identify aspects that could be applied to the design of an educational extension service. To learn about the organization, programs, and priorities of Cooperative Extension, employees of the state extension services in California, Colorado, New Mexico, New York, and…

This report provides training activities for teachers, counselors, and other elementary-secondary staff members who are involved in the delivery of career education to students. Training activities are based on the practical training experience of sixteen school districts and two universities which comprise the Wisconsin Career Education…