Extension awards recognize programs that have achieved outstanding accomplishments, results, and impacts in addressing contemporary issues. Whether an individual or a team is recognized, the awardees gain inspiration and motivation and may attain promotion and/or tenure. The Western Region Program Leadership Committee oversees a special award…

The North Central Region Aging Network (NCRAN) formed out of a need to strengthen the potential for meeting curricular and educational demands related to the topic of aging. By pooling resources, establishing interactive and consistent methods of idea sharing, working collectively to assess community needs, and launching professional development…

In response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) was formed to answer oil spill-related scientific questions. However, peer-reviewed scientific discoveries were not reaching people whose livelihoods depended on a healthy Gulf of Mexico. GoMRI and the four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs partnered to…

Using a stratified random sample and real-time virtual focus group sessions, we evaluated the regional administrative model, addressing personnel supervision, program direction, financial management, and administrative leadership. We concluded that the regional administrative model remains a highly charged topic, there is no common understanding…

Washington's 4-H program is transitioning from a predominately single-county faculty model to a regional system. This article highlights survey results regarding the level of awareness and buy-in that Extension administration, faculty, and staff have concerning the regional model and how communication about the model took place. While most…

The Extension services of Washington State University, Oregon State University, and the University of Idaho established Pacific Northwest Extension Publishing (PNW Publishing) in 1946 as a mechanism of regional cooperation and cost savings. Other regions followed suit in the decades that followed. Today, PNW Publishing is the last standing…

The SR4-HVAG combines the efforts of states to provide quality educational programming for volunteers and Extension professionals using an advisory group system. An advisory group rather than a council was created because the group provides programmatic input rather than sets policy. The purposes of the SR4-HVAG are to: provide a mechanism for…

More research is needed to help states evaluate Extension delivery model alternatives. Given funding trends, access to all programs requires regional systems with county offices. The traditional county model provides access to an office but only to some programs. While there will be many differences, only states with specialized educators can make…

People facing unemployment or who are underemployed need access to community and financial information and resources 24/7. Collaborating with community agencies and organizations, FCS educators developed a website with comprehensive local and state resources and educational tools that the consumer might otherwise not have been aware were…

Public expectations are rising, and budgets are falling for many public services, including the Cooperative Extension System (CES). Economists suggest specialization of CES educators is one means of handling this dilemma. This article examines changes in the opportunities perceived by Minnesota educators of moving from a cluster-county form of…

Survey responses from 228 Pennsylvania extension staff revealed time- or travel-related reasons inhibited inservice participation. They preferred regional locations over any other, though they were receptive to having some inservice programs delivered using distance education technologies. A pilot test of quarterly satellite inservice programs was…

Internet inservice training was offered to 150 county Extension agents representing six southeastern states, who used Web-based materials, an online pretest/posttest, and listserv discussions. Questionnaire responses indicated that most agents were very receptive to this method. Pretest/posttest scores show that the training resulted in a…

In South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, 32 extension agents used inservice training materials on the World Wide Web and engaged in discussions via a listserv. Postprogram responses from 16 were strongly favorable of this type of training for certain topics. (SK)

Reviews advantages and disadvantages of four extension delivery methods: partnerships, master volunteer programs, information centers, and regional programs. Concluded that the key is matching individual, community, and emerging needs with the right method. (SK)

A survey of the poor in three western Oregon Counties indicated that rural poverty is heterogeneous and people in poverty have a variety of needs. Some implications of this survey for Extension programing are identified. (Author/SA)