AES and UCCE collaborate to find solutions

A key to the success of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources for over a century has been its research-extension continuum.

UC ANR is composed of the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) and UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE). The AES is not a place, it's the collective faculty members who are federally funded through the Hatch Act of 1887 and based at UC's AES-designated campuses in Berkeley, Davis and Riverside. UCCE specialists and advisors are federally funded through the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 and located on campuses and throughout the state.

Linda Forbes, Strategic Communications director, has been collecting examples of successful outcomes resulting from collaborations among AES and UCCE academics and sharing them in an email campaign to encourage further networking and partnerships.

In general, AES academics do most of their research on campus, UCCE specialists conduct more research in the field and UCCE advisors work directly with Californians to apply knowledge developed from AES research. In a simplified explanation of the research-extension continuum, UCCE advisors bring problems they see in the field to the attention of UCCE specialists and AES academics, who try to solve the problems, then recommend solutions for advisors to apply in the field. In effect, UCCE advisors and specialists bridge communication between campuses and communities.

Unlike in most other states, UCCE advisors also do their own field research, often collaborating with farmers and other community members.

Numerous successful collaborations take place across this network and the entire UC system to bring research-based solutions to local communities. See some examples at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Collaborations. Suggest other examples by emailing Forbes at lforbes@ucanr.edu. Visit the UC ANR directory to find AES and UC ANR experts working in your fields of interest.

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