Wow – this week and next seem to be a mad rush to get everything done before the winter break. The result will be even greater need for a break that will only happen if I get everything done in time. Truth be told, the ‘break' is shaping up to be far more hectic than the norm so I will be glad to get back to work.

Today I met with the UC Davis Specialists and some of the AES faculty. It was great to hear what the Specialist Advisory Committee has been working on and hear a college update from Dean Dillard. The conversation throughout the meeting was positive despite the difficult nature of the topics (REC recharge rates, the recent outcome of the 2018 Position Call Process). Perhaps there is never gain without some pain. What really stuck with me was the statistic that Helene presented indicating that over 50 of the 67 UCD CE Specialists received an award in FY2017-2018! That is impressive! No wonder it is so easy to love the work of UC ANR. And no wonder UC Davis is top ranked in so many fields!

I spent some time over the weekend getting notes out to the last of the Ideation Workshop teams. I remain hopeful that most of the teams continue to develop their ideas. The teams had great ideas; my abbreviated summary of the ideas are below. Teams are open to additional membership and expertise. If you know someone who attended the workshop, be sure to ask the participant about the projects listed below. If any titles interest you, I would be happy to connect you to the teams for further discussion.

Synergists – Developing credit-based internship courses for UC students

Bond's Beach Party – Incentivizing and rewarding revenue generation by academics

Wolf Pack – Creating ANR stories to foster donor support

HAKZ Inc. – Building a food waste collaborative

Insight Out Explorers – Development of a platform for peer sharing of best practices to enhance fund development efforts

Zootopia – Fee-based adult learning opportunities as part of the UC ANR portfolio of offerings

Impact A-Team – Creating a Consumer's Report system for ag tech

A-Team – Developing a subscription service for online learning

Girl Party – Establishing scientists in residence within county-based Cooperative Extension

Flying Squirrels – Offering farm-to-dinner with a scientist events as a fundraising opportunity

ANR 3.0 – Expanding evaluation service offerings within UC ANR

Tomorrow I am visiting San Francisco and San Mateo County offices. Tomorrow will be my first time to visit the San Francisco space that we now rent a couple of days each week. Igor was successful in negotiating use of the space, and while it may seem a small step, it represents a door opening that could lead to an even stronger partnership and presence in San Francisco. Maggie Gunn attended the Ideation Workshop so I had a chance to meet her then but this visit will be my first chance to talk to her about her goals and challenges in her new position as 4-H Advisor and co-County Director. Given traffic, tomorrow promises to be a long, but exciting day.

Last week was a bit exhausting – so much thinking between the REC Director meeting and the Ideation Workshop, not to mention other meetings and obligations. But I have to admit that it was quite fun though I wasn't under any of the pressure that the Ideation teams experienced. At one point there was a comment about making time to be creative 1 hour per week – teams exceeded it last week. And the ideas were fantastic! I can't wait to see all of them move towards implementation. My favorite statement of the week came from the ANR 3.0 team in reference to all of UC ANR personnel: "You can't buy a better collection of experts". My favorite formula was the change formula:

(Dissatisfaction × Vision × First Steps × Support) > Resistance

The mathletes amongst us were quick to point out that if any one of those factors is zero, resistance wins. Overall, the week seemed to exceed Resistance but time will tell.

Amidst the thinking was the entertainment, compliments of Jim Farrar and Scott Brayton. If you didn't catch the livestream, you really missed out. My favorite part was that Jim couldn't help himself but to infuse education throughout the Pest Fest (I stand corrected that it wasn't all about bugs!).

Today is CORO graduation. CORO is a UC leadership program. This year Jim Farrar completed the program. Admission is highly competitive. Fortunately, the many talented individuals throughout UC ANR are recognized. As a result, UC ANR does pretty well with CORO participation. Congratulations, Jim! It's great to see Jim's other talents highlighted this week.

The SI Leaders will meet this afternoon to continue discussions about planning structures. Also, plans are underway for an SI conference in spring 2019. The SI Leaders are thinking something a bit different from past events. Stay tuned for details. Finally, during today's meeting, the SI Leaders will finalize a soon-to-be-released RFA looking for projects that build online educational resources targeted at reaching non-English speaking clientele.

Wednesday I have a chance to catch up on some things, including follow up communications with the Ideation teams and a review of the REC rates for the upcoming year. Then it is off to Riverside on Thursday to visit with Eta, Chutima, and group and share our programs with the Global Food Initiative director to brainstorm about how we might leverage our efforts.

Friday is full of standing Zoom meetings. This week promises to be more traditional as far as creativity goes. But who knows, there could be a surprise around the corner.

I spent the day at the Ideation Workshop. The workshop is designed to get us to think differently. While that's not easy, illustrations of success certainly help. UC ANR definitely has that example. UC ANR raised over $110,000 this year on Giving Tuesday compared to last year's record-breaking total of $76,000. A huge congratulations is in order for the Development Services team, all of the Statewide Program Leaders, County Directors, the many, many donors and everyone else involved in making the day a success!

Last night after I heard that the group had exceeded their ‘stretch goal' of $100,000 I started to wonder what made the day so successful. I'm sure the Development Services team has far more, and better, information than I but here's what I have identified:

• Over the course of the year, the entire Development Services (DS) group have worked as a unified team focused a common goal, regardless of what their individual roles and responsibilities are;
• The DS group engaged others (unit and program directors) into the planning process to identify strategies that would resonate with prospective donors;
• The DS group created excitement throughout the building and division with gimmicks, costumes and other novel ideas; and
• The division was kept informed about the plans and progress as it all unfolded

We still have a day of ideating to go. My hope is that the process permeates throughout the division and great ideas emerge that the collective ‘we' can tackle. Imagine what we could accomplish as a focused group that is develops and gets behind a new approaches/strategies to a common activity or challenge!

One doesn't have to be in attendance to learn what we are learning, though the process would be different if you were working alone. During the workshop we have been exposed to the Doblin 10 types of innovation. Take a look. Plus each attendee will leave the event with the tools and know-how to use the process with their colleagues.

During the event I received a Creative Whack Pack. It's a deck of cards intended to stimulate creative thinking. I need to read through the cards and will share any I come across that are particularly interesting. If interested, I'm sure you can look this product up and learn more about it.

Stay tuned to see what I learn tomorrow!

I have trouble with long holidays. While I enjoy the time away, the longer I am away the harder it is to come back! As a result of unexpected closures last week, things were a bit less productive than anticipated making the time off seem a bit longer than planned. Nonetheless, we are all back to work now. However, it turned out to be something of a technology-challenged day. Nothing seemed to function properly (laptop, cell phone, landline phone, even the wall clock). Eventually everything straightened out and I'm ready for whatever the rest of the week holds.

Tomorrow starts early with Giving Tuesday. The REC directors are in town for a day-long meeting that begins at 8 AM. The intended outcome is a near-term financial plan for the REC system that will set the centers up for long-term success. There's much thinking and calculating to be done so it promises to be a bit of a brain drain day. Wednesday and Thursday are the Ideation Workshop – more brainstorming. I finished my homework and took some time to be creative over the long weekend so hopefully that leaves me prepared for the conversations (though technically I am an observer). In particular I am looking forward to the PitchFest at the end of the workshop. Part of the homework was watching (re-watching) a portion of a Simon Sinek TED talk. If you haven't watched it, I would recommend it. Despite the title, I think it really hits the mark on how we might all think about describing UC ANR and what we do – perfecting our elevator pitch.

In between the meetings this week is the BugFest on Wednesday. It sounds like Chris has accepted the challenge though I'm unclear if he will be in Davis to publically consume a pest. A clear videotape could serve as a suitable proxy.

It sounds like the UC ANR Advisory Committee will submit its report to the President soon. For those who have tuned into the Zoom-based monthly staff meetings, you are pretty much current on what we anticipate as the content of the report – no major changes to UC ANR structure or operations but some good ideas how to strengthen our workings across the UC system and, therefore, recognition and achievement of the UC ANR mission. No doubt there will be work to do as a result of the report, but there's always work to do and that's not a bad thing. Also out soon will be an update on the position call process. Stay tuned. Now that the smoke has cleared, at least in Davis things are getting back on schedule. In the meantime, take a listen to Lenya Quinn-Davidson on NPR. Great job, Lenya!