Ideas to Assist Extension Field Professionals in Building Linkages and Alliances

Introduction

The Cooperative Extension Service mission is well defined in its delivery function and has a long tradition of education. Tools and ideas that work to accomplish the Extension mission are desired by field personnel. Other educators, researchers, community leaders, residents, and decision makers do not always understand the broad role of Extension in the larger scope of land-grant institutions. Specifically, the role of Extension field personnel as educators, not advocates, has sometimes inhibited the collaboration process at the local level. Because of this, Extension field staff have sometimes been put in the precarious position of being asked to provide education about policy issues, while the hidden agenda of a group is for the Extension representative to advocate for a certain position.

At the same time, Extension agents have raised a recurring question about their various roles as educators. One of these roles is to build partnerships and coalitions related to community issues. In this case, the role of the Extension professional must be explicitly communicated to potential partners. The interrelationship of issues and the demand for educational programs have created a conducive environment for building strategic linkages and alliances.

Tools

Within the strategic plan of the Family and Consumer Sciences program of Ohio State University Extension, a team of county, district, and state professionals has developed a series of tools to assist Extension program personnel with partnership building, educational delivery, and strategic positioning. The tools help to facilitate building effective linkages and alliances, while not compromising Extension's role in delivering research-based, unbiased information.

Assets, needs, and emerging issues were identified at an early stage of the strategic planning process. The tools and resources were developed based on what Extension agents were currently doing and their needs for specific tools to help build partnerships. The premise was that field faculty and staff did not need any more items added to their schedule or work program, rather, they needed to be aware of how to work smarter with what they were already doing. The series of tools and resources included the following.

• Compilation of successful collaboration efforts: A survey was conducted with county, district, and state Family and Consumer Sciences program staff to assess partnerships and collaboration efforts. The survey identified 59 different agencies or organizations with which Family and Consumer Sciences personnel collaborated.

• Successful partnership articles: Local and state Family and Consumer Sciences program staff contributed newsletter articles of successful partnerships and collaborations. The articles were published in the electronic statewide Family and Consumer Sciences Extension newsletter. Between 1996 and 1998, 14 articles highlighting local collaborations appeared in the monthly newsletter.

• Linkages Challenge: The Linkages Challenge is an annual self-assessment of skills and techniques to encourage county, district, and state Family and Consumer Sciences program staff to build linkages and alliances in their communities. Completing the challenge is rewarded with recognition at the annual meeting and an incentive that contributes to building linkages in the community.

• Resource list for agents: A resource list of established materials (electronic, print, and video) was developed and distributed to all county and district Family and Consumer Sciences personnel. The list addresses facilitation skills, leadership resources, conflict utilization, public policy education, and issues education. The list is reviewed annually to ensure the most current information is included.

• Videoconference teaching: Six videoconference sites throughout the state were used to teach county, district, and state program staff about the potential role of Extension education in family policy issues. The videoconference used facilities operated by four public entities (The Ohio State University, Ohio University, Ohio Department of Administrative Services, and Ohio Department of Human Services). None of these sites had been linked in this manner previously, nor had any of these entities contacted each other for cooperative videoconferencing.

• Internal and external grant resources: Internal and external grant resources were sought and used specifically to enhance teaching program personnel through innovative means such as videoconference, teleconference, and Internet. Modeling education delivery using various technologies was essential to broaden the skills of educators.

• Coalition Guide: Every county Family and Consumer Sciences agent was provided established materials on coalition building. These materials included strategies to avoid the perception of advocacy and to focus on the defined mission of educational delivery.

Each of these tools and resources was used and incorporated into the overall Extension Family and Consumer Sciences program as a means to encourage partnership building. Evaluation of each strategy was dependent upon the goals and objectives. While not all techniques were initially successful, each effort was evaluated based on innovativeness and use of emerging technology. For example, the videoconference used university facilities, an investment few knew how to use. Of the 33 respondents, 61% indicated that videoconferencing has high potential for application in Extension teaching and learning.

Conclusion

Providing specific skills and defining Extension's role in partnerships have been essential to helping Extension personnel fulfill their mission of providing unbiased education, yet be engaged within the community as a contributing partner. Fifty-eight percent of Family and Consumer Sciences Agents identified the Building Coalitions Fact Sheets as a tool that assisted them to be effective members of these partnerships.

Providing Ohio Family and Consumer Sciences Extension professionals with resources and tools to help build linkages and alliances has given those professionals a better understanding of their role within the overall mission of Extension. County agents and their community partners have recognized that Extension is not "everything to everyone," rather Extension has a specific mission, purpose, and function. This well-defined mission and purpose are the strongest asset that Extension brings to a partnership.