In an effort to expand our approaches to identify appropriate Communities of Practice that are relevant to the Extension system, a national survey was conducted of Extension field faculty/educators. The purpose of the survey was to engage all Extension field faculty/educators in identifying issues/topics they feel may be appropriate for developing new Communities of Practice.
A total of 985 responses were received from 62 land grant institutions. As to the issues/topics identified, there was some consistency across regions. Perhaps most striking was that many of the issues/topics are already addressed, or will be addressed, by existing and planned Communities of Practice. The only issues/topics among the top 12 overall that appeared not to be directly addressed are volunteers, weed control, sustainable agriculture, leadership, and agriculture marketing. However, some of these may be covered in existing and planned Communities of Practice. It is encouraging to note that a majority of respondents indicated that they would be willing to participate in a Community of Practice. And while a fair number indicated that they didn’t know, only a very small percentage said no.
We encourage all Extension staff to become more engaged in eXtension by participating in our current Communities of Practice, or just by going to www.extension.org
We have a wealth of information and educational resources to share. To participate, just go to the following website and get engaged.
To see the full report, go to the following website.
https://www.extension.org/wiki/Identifying_Needs-based_Issues_for_New_eXtension_Communities_of_Practice
For further information, please contact Michael Lambur, mike.lambur@extension.org