- Author: Wendy Powers
It is federal reporting time. Katherine and her team are hard at work assembling the reports based on stories a group of academics gleaned from Project Board. I had a chance to take a quick peak. Here's a sample of the great stories you will find on the Condition Changes webpage:
Change in condition: Participants saved money.
Program evaluation findings from 2020 indicate that EFNEP adult graduates reported an average monthly food cost savings of $58.10, which collectively saved California EFNEP families $1,532,445.
- Families in Los Angeles and Orange County saved an average of $80 and $95.40 a month on groceries, respectively, after participating in EFNEP's ESBA workshop series.
- Families in Tulare County saved an average of $44.50 on groceries per month after participating in Eating Smart Being Active.
Change in condition: Jobs created.
The French Meadows watershed restoration project partners have appeared on various forums highlighting the role of UCCE research in changing the pace and scale of forest restoration in California. UCCE's continued engagement with research, education, advocacy, and fundraising resulted in 3,100 acres of forest restoration within the 28,000 acres of federal and private land. In the year 2020 alone, the project generated jobs for over 100 contractors. In addition, it removed 1.4 million board feet of timber to a local mill and more than 1,200 tons of biomass to local renewable energy facilities to help offset restoration costs, and contributing to the local economy.
Change in condition: Improved productivity.
Through conversations and on-farm observations, it has been noted that those who attended the UCCE Watermelon Grafting Field days in 2019, have either increased their acreage of grafted watermelon in 2020 or plan to increase in subsequent seasons. Currently, the estimated total acreage of grafted watermelon in the northern San Joaquin Valley, the biggest watermelon region of California, has at least tripled from less than 200 in 2019 to over 600 in 2021. Growers mentioned that successful grafted fields can produce 15-25% more watermelon fruit than the non-grafted fields per acre on average, and the average plant population per acre in grafted fields is about two-thirds that in non-grafted fields.
Thanks to everyone for their great effort and contributions to Project Board. I will share more stories in the coming weeks. And, as we head into our long weekend, let's thank farm workers and their families for all that they do to ensure a safe, abundant food supply. The public value of their efforts is unrivaled.
- Author: Wendy Powers
Despite taking a vacation, I'm tied to the clock this week; a tidal clock. Activities revolve around the water level. While a bit frustrating to have to plan so carefully even on vacation, without attention to the clock, we would have missed the fowl fly ins and boating with the dolphins. We'd also find ourselves stuck in the mud with the gators, or waiting out in the river for the marsh to fill. I find it normally helps to know what the desired outcome is in order to adequately plan the strategy to achieve the outcome. That's not to say there weren't surprises along the way. We went looking for the brown pelican, and unexpectedly encountered the roseate spoonbill in addition to the pelicans. En route, we went off the beaten path, on an unplanned path, and came upon what claims to be the smallest church in the U.S. (non-denominational). It only seats 12 and there's no A/C, but cute nonetheless, and a nice stop along the way. We're out of season for the manatees in the rivers, but otherwise this is a great place for a Master Naturalist.
The Cal Naturalist program was recently reviewed. Thanks to Cheryl Wilen for leading the review committee and Jennifer Caron-Sale for her work organizing and facilitating the committee's work. Cheryl presented the committee's findings to Program Council during the July meeting. Program Council's recommendations to VP Humiston are almost ready to share with her.
Tomorrow's activities will be brief and perhaps limited to gator watching in our back yard/marsh. I'm hoping the internet connection is strong enough that I can participate in the WebANR about condition changes and using targeted outcomes to focus one's efforts. The ANR condition changes serve the purpose of providing a sense of structure to allocation of effort to the public value of ANR work. Of course, there's flexibility in the path to reach the goal. One just wants to be aware of the tides.
- Author: Jodi Azulai
Join us on Aug. 16 at 12 noon for “Putting Condition Changes to Work for Me.”
Understand ANR's new condition changes
- how they connect to Public Value Statements
- how you will use them in Project Board (website)
- other practical uses
- how ANR will use them
https://ucanr.zoom.us/j/963167636
(646) 558-8656 or (669) 900-6833
Webinar ID: 963 167 636
Our presenters are:
- Wendy Powers, Associate Vice President ANR
- Mark Bell, Vice Provost Strategic Initiatives and Statewide Programs
- Katherine Webb-Martinez, Associate Director Program Planning & Evaluation
- Kit Alviz, Analyst, Program Planning & Evaluation Cooperative Extension
This webinar will be recorded and linked to the Café Thursday WebANR page.
UC Library Research Resources for UCCE
Did you know that you can borrow books or other material from any UC library, via interlibrary loan or document delivery? Books can be mailed to your office, and shorter works can be scanned and emailed to you. More information here.
A great place to start your research is with UC libraries' growing collection of subject guides, which provide an overview of key information services and resources relevant to researchers in a particular field.
UC Davis
- Information Resources for Cooperative Extension Staff (emphasis on agriculture, but provides an overview relevant to all users at remote sites)
- Food Science and Nutrition
- Community Development
UC Berkeley
UC Merced
- California Agriculture Resources Archive (CARA), a project to archive, preserve, and provide access to UC Cooperative Extension historic records
UC Berkeley
UC Merced
- California Agriculture Resources Archive (CARA), a project to archive, preserve, and provide access to UC Cooperative Extension historic records.
UC librarians are also in the process of developing webinars for UCCE staff on how to find and access information resources, as well as specialized subjects, such as citation management. To suggest a webinar topic, you would like us to cover, please email lrcabugos@ucdavis.edu.
Even experienced ANR people managers develop themselves
One of the ways ANR people managers have been developing themselves is by completing UC People Management Series Certificate modules and participating in monthly facilitated networking calls to review what they've learned, ask other supervisors for advice, and share successes. Participants enjoy scenario-based role playing, a fun and challenging group assignment, and networking.
Kim Delucchi, one of our participants was willing to share the following about her experience as a member of this year's cohort:
Why Participate in People Management Network Calls?
The perfect companion piece to the People Management Program are the monthly networking calls. They are a time to share and delve further into the skills learned from the modules and to discover real-life opportunities to use those skills. It is interesting to learn what your peers are dealing with as supervisors, brainstorm ideas on how to handle current situations, and find support in a confidential, caring, and nurturing environment. The networking calls provide lasting takeaways and are a chance to share your successes and challenges.
A new cohort will form in January 2019. If you are interested please fill out this survey.
Call for Applicants: Fall 2018 Pilot Staff Mentorship Program
ANR Learning & Development is delighted to announce a call for mentee applicants to ANR's first staff mentorship program.
This program will pair staff mentees who seek professional development with experienced professionals (mentors) from across UC ANR. See UC Mentors: Definition, Roles and Characteristics. The program will provide a supportive structure in which mentees can cultivate contacts, better understand ANR, gather information, explore challenges and enhance effectiveness as they design their personal growth and career paths.
The 9-month Mentorship Program (October 2018 – July 2019) will consist of
- Regular monthly meetings (conference video/calls) with your mentor, and
- Three in-person group sessions (Mentee orientation, Strength Finder session, Individual Development Plan/Celebration).
ANR Learning & Development will cover the cost of travel for the in-person sessions. Because this is a pilot, the program will be limited to 15 staff.
If you are interested, please fill out the survey by Aug. 14, 2018 https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25281
In selecting mentees for the pilot program, we will consider each applicant's survey responses, length of time with ANR, and unit/location. Our goal is to include a broad range of participants from across the division.
Call for Presentation Proposals: 2018 NAEPSDP Annual Conference
The National Association of Extension Programs and Staff Development Professionals (NAEPSDP) is soliciting proposals for presentations at the 2018 NAEPSDP Annual Conference. The conference will be held Dec. 10-13, 2018, at the Hilton in Old Town Alexandria, Va. The theme for the 2018 conference is Extension Excellence: Breaking down Barriers.
Presentation proposals will be accepted from NAEPSDP members and non-members alike for four different tracks and four different session types. Proposals from graduate student research or projects are encouraged.
Please read the 2018 Call for Proposals for all the details. To submit your abstract, click here. Submissions are due no later than Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, at 9:59 PM Pacific time.
NOTE: All presenters that attend the conference must also register for the conference. For conference registration information, go to www.naepsdp.org.
For more information, contact Marina Denny (mdd269@msstate.edu or 662.325.1175), Mississippi State University, or Sarah Baughman (baughman@vt.edu or 540.231.7142), Virginia Tech.
This month Lynda.com features negotiation, cultivating positive environments and how to make the most of your LinkedIn account.
Negotiation Foundations
When it comes to negotiation, shifting your mindset from “a battle to be won” to a “problem solving conversation” can improve your results dramatically. In this course, leadership coach, negotiation expert, and author Lisa Gates demonstrates the core skills of interest-based negotiation to get win-win outcomes every time here.
Being Positive at Work
Hardships at work affecting you? Consider Brenda Bailey-Hughes' techniques for stopping negative thought patterns and cultivating positive environments, relationships and habits here.
Learning LinkedIn on Lynda.com
Harness the power of LinkedIn and discover how to make the most of your LinkedIn account. Follow Oliver Schinkten as he explains how to build a stellar LinkedIn profile and shares how to expand your network, look for new career opportunities, join groups, share updates and contribute your own thought leadership here.
- Author: Wendy Powers
This week I am up on the 46th parallel. It seems much further from Sacramento (38° N) than the coordinates suggest. The snow is gone as is the lake ice. Some damage that resulted from a hard winter has been left behind. While I'm sure the soaring eagles, lake loons and daffodils just coming into bloom are a welcome sight for many, we've lost the ice caves and the Northern Lights for at least a few months. You can't have everything – at least not all at once.
Technically, I'm on vacation. But with only 17 merit and promotion packages completed and 75 to go, making a dent on the 63 packages I downloaded before I left seems like an obvious thing to do when phone and WiFi signals are weak and my other options include power washing, painting, yard work or other repairs during an unseasonably warm week (up to 75° F).
As I read through the dossiers I continue to learn more about the work of UC ANR. While I previously wondered if we should be doing more to address the aging population (eating to live), I read about the inspiring work that at least one of our academics is doing to address the needs of this group. In a different dossier I learned more about the work of an academic whose efforts address, almost exclusively, the needs of underserved audiences.
Most, if not all, of the work we do is important. Having sufficient capacity to have a meaningful impact as opposed to being spread too thin is the challenge. With so many needs and opportunities in front of us, how do we decide what to do and what to not do? We can't do everything with finite resources, and do it all well. So as I read through dossiers, I can see how decisions have been made to shift and, often times, focus efforts towards the greatest need or the opportunity or the greatest impact. After all, the goal isn't to have individuals contribute to as many condition changes as possible, but to have individuals focus their efforts such that their work contributes to meaningful change in conditions. In order to direct sufficient effort towards a targeted change, one has to pass up other opportunities so as to avoid becoming stretched too thin.
Though I really need this vacation, if only to have time to read the bulk of the dossiers, I am missing, for perhaps only the first or second time, a MultiState Research Committee meeting that I have attended since 1997. Another example, that you can't do everything. Hopefully the group is having a productive meeting. Given all the new, young talent within the committee, I have no doubt they are planning great things. Perhaps I can catch up next year.
- Author: Wendy Powers
The new Public Value Statements (PVS) have been posted. While I certainly wouldn't state that these are ‘forever final' they are what we are going to work with for the foreseeable future. This version is markedly improved over the first draft, which were an impressive product given the timeframe provided to develop (a single 2-day meeting with no follow-up editing) and the fact that this was the first time leaders across the division were asked to come together and craft a set of PVS that reflected the breadth of ANR. If you think about it, that first draft was really a remarkable accomplishment! The most recent version of statements are a reflection of considerably more time to contemplate the draft statements, followed by several rounds of editing. The process as a whole resembles an ‘ideation' activity whereby the original brainstorms are improved upon in an iterative process. Had we been committed to the original draft statements, and unwilling to change, we would have missed the opportunity to use these improved upon statements.
When I think about change I am often drawn back to a conversation with a sibling and Bank of America's business model that embraces change. But it's not just Bank of America that seeks change as a key element of continuous improvement. Should you happen to be on a Southwest flight over the next week, take a look at the current issue of the magazine and see how the concept is embodied in the philosophy of Google as well. Heidi Zak's husband, a former Google employee, reflects that "this is how Google works. It's all about change; they're constantly changing the way they work because it creates room to innovate". A colleague sent this to me yesterday. As difficult as change can be, it's heartening to see that it can be effective (as well as a bit scary!).
The value of the PVS extend beyond the intended goal of helping us see how we can focus our efforts by spending time where we can derive the greatest impact. When Nancy Franz joins us in June for the WebANR, she plans to share with us success stories of how PVS have been used in Extension, to help us all better understand the opportunities before us now that we have 7 remarkable ‘elevator pitches' to share with those who don't really know the work and impacts of ANR. Our listeners might include ourselves (those of us who haven't had the chance to really get to know all of the work of ANR because we are so busy with our own work), prospective ANR colleagues, potential partners and allies in our efforts, and supporters who share our values and goals.
I think we are on the edge of something that is more powerful than any one of us could have imagined. So take a look at the PVS and find your own story in them. In the near term, we'll be sharing how the PVS connect to the 24 condition changes. Academics have provided feedback how their work connects to the condition changes and we know that programmatic staff connect to them as well. We're working to close the loop and determine how best to capture staff and academic impacts that move the needle on the condition changes.
Thanks to all for the contributions and feedback!