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Long-range or strategic planning is a systematic way to
approach and manage change. Through the process, Extension becomes
aware of current issues and prepares for emerging problems in a
rapidly changing society.
In a one-year concentrated effort, the strategic planning process
sets the stage for a defined long-range program cycle of four to five
years. In starting the program cycle, the process demonstrates the
importance of citizen involvement in program development. The
benefits are both county and statewide goals that focus programming
toward accomplishing the Extension mission and a sense of renewal
when program direction is affirmed or deliberately redirected.
Context of this phase in total program development. Strategic
planning is a way to manage change - Extension can plan for and
respond to emerging issues in a rapidly changing society. To
position itself for dealing effectively with needs, Extension focuses
its strategic planning on dimensions that relate to identifying
current and emerging issues both internally and externally.
The process continues beyond issues identification, however, and
interacts with program development phases of annual planning, program
implementation and evaluation throughout the program period.
Long-range and annual planning should be closely integrated. Changes
in a county's economy and demographics make it important to review
program direction periodically, with program direction being reviewed
at least annually when specific priorities are selected. [See
next chapter.]
Extension's strategic planning effort consists of seven major
components:
- Establishing organizational vision that is translated throughout
the Extension system,
- Matching vision with reality - determining local needs that will
drive Extension programming,
- Determining programmatic response with targets and means, and
developing educational resources and outcome measures,
- Developing annual program plans - localizing the goals to action
plans,
- Implementing the long-range Extension program,
- Monitoring progress through continuous review and reports,
- Reporting outputs/outcomes - evaluating results and
accomplishments, and interpreting to stakeholders.
The Extension Council's executive board or board of advisors
[See more on this group on pages
44-45, 48-49.]
should play a strong role in the long-range program process. In its
leadership role, the board can help Extension faculty to:
- Establish long-range goals/objectives and decide which ones will be
evaluated for impact in the 4-5 year period.
- Develop priorities among long-range goals/objectives to help
concentrate the Extension efforts on the most pressing problems that
education can address.
- Coordinate the work of all program committees and task forces to
increase interdisciplinary effort toward issue-based problems.
Major steps in developing the long-range program include planning,
setting priorities and interpreting these to stakeholders.
[13]
County faculty and executive board leaders decide how citizens will
be involved in identifying critical issues, gathering and analyzing
background data, determining program relevance and support, and in
setting priorities for program action.
It is essential to bring a wide range of county interests into the
process, including people not previously involved in Extension
programs, to gain their understanding and support for the overall
Extension educational program. Strong representation from the
county's leadership increases the quality of the study group. This
includes key leaders from various communities, organizations,
racial/ethnic segments, men and women of all ages. Inclusion of
people who are not Extension Council members is recommended for
expanding the knowledge and influence of the study group in
identifying critical concerns.
Submitted issues are sorted and combined with similar concerns to
identify "big picture" issues. Faculty will organize the issues into
categories related to current statewide goals. Analysis will
determine whether issues are problems or suggested solutions, adding
background data for clarification.
Step 4 - Write the Long-Range Extension Program [LREP].
The Extension Council and faculty will prepare a document to serve as
a reference for the 4-5 year period in annual planning and program
evaluation.
The LREP is distributed to help interpret how Extension intends to
focus its program efforts and secure resources for addressing the
broad educational program. Special activities should be planned to
increase the visibility and use of the LREP, including: media week,
published features related to priority issues and objectives,
Extension Council annual meeting, and personal visits to public
officials.
Decisions made during the strategic planning process serve four
important implementation purposes:
- To review and focus the direction of the whole Extension program.
- To review current Council structure and needed organizational
support.
- To develop short-term or annual plans to achieve results in
priority areas.
- To establish benchmarks for evaluating progress toward achieving
desired results over the 4-5 year program cycle.
By definition, issues are matters of wide public concern. Important
concerns are identified in a systematic, public process. Therefore,
keeping community leaders and the public aware of how Extension
addresses the issues is important. Effective interpretion increases
the support and participation in education that is offered on county
issues. It also increases people's understanding of changes and/or
results occurring within the issues.
The Cooperative Extension System is a partnership of county, state
and federal governments and includes various levels - national,
regional, state, county and individual. Each level contributes to
the program and goals of the total system, even though program
objectives and activities are more specific at the county and state
levels.
While national initiatives are set at the federal level to address
issues confronting many states and localities, program development is
an interactive process. County priorities are defined by local
people in advisory groups and then move to the state level for
convergence with the research and knowledge base of the university.
The result is a cohesive statewide program plan that relates to
statewide and national issues. The statewide plan, in turn, becomes
the basis for the more specific program plans and related activities
of Extension staff to meet the priority needs of people in their
communities.[14]
A tangible outcome of the strategic planning process is The
Long-Range Extension Program, the document the Council and
program committees use as a reference in annual programming decisions
and in interpreting the local Extension educational effort to other
organizations and leaders. This publication is distributed to key
leaders who participate in issue-identification and others who are
influential about county Extension programs.
The document clearly outlines the purpose of the long-range program,
who participated in the planning activities, and issue identification
process.
The Long-Range Extension Program describes the issues
submitted at the county level in the four major areas defined for
statewide accountability - 1) Health, safety and well-being; 2)
Stewardship of the environment and natural resources; 3) Economic
competitiveness, viability and stability; and 4) Development of life
skills and leadership qualities. In these categories, issues will
be in priority order and include statements with these points for
each listed issue:
- Definition of the issue: clarification of its meaning as
understood by the study group submitting this concern;
- Description of the issue: why the issue is a problem,
consequences of the issue, brief supporting data to reinforce its
significance in the county and/or region, components needing change
or improvement, problems to be addressed and who has them;
- Long-range goal/objective(s): results to be achieved over the
multi-year period, identification of targeted audience, and action
the audience will attain in connection with the problem/need; and
- Indicator(s) [Desired outcome]: signs/measures, evidence to be
collected that is used to document later program results or
achievements.
The Long-Range Extension Program then becomes the working
paper or "program blueprint" for the Extension Program Council and
cooperating groups as they address the issues and major problems in
the county. It is the first reference that county Extension groups
should use when they do annual program planning.
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