Categories
Announcements Extension Fellowships Innovation News Newsroom Technology UPDATE

eXtension Fellowship Opportunity – Customer Relationship Management Sandbox

This opportunity is open to all Land-Grant Universities regardless of membership with eXtension as part of our cooperative agreement with USDA-NIFA.

eXtension is funding an opportunity for a Fellow position to lead a process with a national committee and eXtension to explore and document needs and potential solutions for Customer Relationship Management functions in Cooperative Extension across the country. The Fellow will conduct and create needs assessments, user journeys, personas, and use cases as well as review and provide a landscape summary of potential solutions. Proactively managing multiple customer relationships, with multiple products, services, events and programs is a challenge for Cooperative Extension.  eXtension is requesting names of those interested in serving on the CRM Sandbox Committee working with the Fellow. eXtension is seeking a Fellow to work with eXtension and a national committee to explore what is needed by participating institutions, to review potential solutions and to create a “sandbox” with eXtension to test up to two solutions with participating institutions. A final report summarizing the process and the findings is due by July 31, 2019.

The NTAE-CRM Fellowship will begin by October 1, 2018 and will conclude July 31, 2019.  eXtension is a virtual organization and work will be conducted virtually.

The specific requirements of the fellowship include:

  1. Expertise with workflow and technologies supporting customer relationship functions.
  2. Knowledge and experience designing and implementing relational databases.
  3. Understanding Cooperative Extension and the unique audiences and relationships among those audiences, programs, evaluation, funding, and communication.
  4. Ability to work with all levels of expertise and positions.
  5. Experience conducting user needs assessment and analyzing workflows.
  6. Experience creating user journeys, personas and use cases.
  7. Experience writing recommendations for solutions.

The Fellow will report the results via eXtension’s web site. The Fellow is encouraged to develop a peer-reviewed paper for publication in an appropriate journal. The Fellow will use eXtension’s Zoom, Slack, and G-Suite to conduct the work of their fellowship.

Funding for the Fellowship comes through a cooperative agreement with USDA-NIFA to eXtension and includes: paid travel to one eXtension Impact Collaborative Summit planned for April 2019; and buyout of time from their current positions of up to $25,000. Additional funding may be available for testing up to two solutions.

Application Process

To apply please submit the following information in a PDF document to Beverly Coberly (beverlycoberly@extension.org):

  • A maximum 1-page letter highlighting your areas of expertise in CRM, technology and knowledge of Cooperative Extension.  
  • A copy of vitae/resume focusing on your expertise in technology and databases, educational or experience background working with CRMs.  Limit of 2 pages.
  • Letter of support from your institution Director/Administrator for Cooperative Extension

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee.

Questions regarding the application process should be directed to:

About the eXtension Foundation

The eXtension Foundation is a membership-based non-profit designed to be the engine fueling U.S. Cooperative Extension advancement in making a more visible and measurable impact in support of education outreach from land-grant universities/colleges located in every state and territory. eXtension provides an array of opportunities for Extension professionals that foster innovation creation, the adoption of innovations at member institutions, and increased impact of Extension programs.