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Posts Tagged: Program Planning and Evaluation
The UC ANR 2022 Annual Report is online
UC ANR's 2022 Annual Report is now live. The report highlights Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension projects that clearly contribute to UC ANR condition changes and public values, demonstrating the organization's vision to improve the lives of all 39 million residents in California.
“Kudos to all for giving us these impact stories,” Vice President Glenda Humiston said. “These are what capture stakeholders, lay audiences, legislators and policymakers at all levels. They want to know what's in it for them.”
The Program Planning and Evaluation unit collaborated with UC ANR academics, program staff, and Strategic Communications to compile more than 50 vignettes that highlight the impact of our organization statewide during 2022.
Feel free to publicize our efforts and impact by sharing the annual report via email or social media with friends, the public, policymakers and potential donors. The annual report is posted online on the UC ANR "About" page and the direct link is https://ucanr.edu/2022annualreport. A few printed copies of the annual report are available.
If you have any questions about the annual report, please contact Christina Becker at christina.becker@ucop.edu.
New interactive map tool shows UC ANR’s impact
The UC ANR Impact StoryMap highlights measured changes in conditions resulting from programmatic efforts and serves as evidence of benefit to the public. This StoryMap is intended for an internal audience to help us find and learn from examples of how UCCE advisors, specialists and other academics have documented economic, social, health or environmental impact.
Measured changes in conditions are identified by UC ANR Public Value in the interactive map. This map includes all the changes in condition from the Condition Change Impact Stories compilations from 2018-2021 and will be updated every year. You can click each dot on the map to see more information about the related story and impact. The identified locations are the county offices where the academic who reported the outcome is located.
Please note that data on location where the changes in conditions occur are not currently available. For example, if a UCCE advisor serves more than one county, the dot will be in the county where the advisor is based while the project may be in a different county. The Program Planning and Evaluation team may investigate ways to collect location information for potential future iterations of the map to show external audiences where impacts occur.
As you scroll through the StoryMap, you'll see highlighted examples of UC ANR's impact for each Condition Change.
You can use this tool to:
1) See how your colleagues are measuring a change in condition that you are interested in changing.
2) See how your nearby colleagues are measuring benefits to community in your area.
Leadership and government relations can also glean local impact stories that have significant condition changes for strategic communications and advocacy.
To learn more, view the 26-minute video describing and demonstrating the Impact StoryMap at https://youtu.be/h6XEgMFb_MA or visit Program Planning and Evaluation's Impact Numbers and Stories webpage.
Humiston visits UCCE in San Diego County
Vice President Glenda Humiston visited San Diego County on Aug. 3. The day started with UC Cooperative Extension San Diego advisors and staff introducing themselves and County Director Oli Bachie briefing Humiston on San Diego County agriculture, current programs and new UCCE positions to be filled soon. Bachie also highlighted some of the constraints UCCE San Diego faces implementing research and extension programs, and voiced the need for expanded facilities.
Following Bachie's briefing, Humiston interacted with the advisors and staff. She spoke about current funding opportunities for UC ANR, employee salary equities, and the need to communicate with local elected officials and stakeholders about the role of UCCE and the value it provides to the community. Over a light lunch, Humiston entertained questions from advisors and staff – ranging from her vision for the future of UC ANR to the path she took to become VP. At the conclusion of lunch, Bachie and other UCCE advisors and staff led Humiston on a field tour so she could meet UCCE collaborators and see firsthand some of the agricultural production in San Diego County.
The tour started with a visit to an avocado grove in Escondido where Ali Montazar, a cross-county UCCE advisor for irrigation and water management, has an active research project. Montazar's project addresses water use and efficiency in avocado, one of the primary crops grown in San Diego County and much of Southern California. Although the steep and hilly terrain made accessing the site difficult, this stop provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the research and extension activities of the county and cross-county advisors.
At the next stop, Humiston had the chance to visit Ken Altman, the largest horticultural producer in the country, at the Center for Applied Horticultural Research in Vista. During the visit, Altman briefed Humiston about his nursery and the extent of his business. Altman grows a large variety of nursery crops for indoor and landscape purposes, and employs over 6,000 people all over the country. Altman also spoke about the facilities at CfAHR and his willingness to offer research and laboratory space for use by UCCE San Diego. A long-time collaborator with UCCE, Altman expressed his commitment to support UC ANR's research needs and described the benefits he sees from UCCE partnering with local producers. While the laboratory at CfAHR is currently unused, Altman reiterated his desire to share the space with any interested UCCE San Diego advisors. Humiston and Bachie thanked Altman for his generous offer of support and facilities.
At the San Diego County Farm Bureau headquarters in Escondido, Humiston met with its president, Mary Matava, and discussed the importance of Farm Bureau as both collaborator and clientele, and the importance of keeping good relationships with the local UCCE office. Both reiterated the mutual benefits that come from a strong working relationship between UCCE and Farm Bureau. They also discussed UCCE San Diego's office lease, and the need for facilities that satisfy the requirements of the UCCE office, such as storage, laboratory, greenhouse and commercial standard kitchen space.
“Regardless of whether UCCE San Diego continues to lease the Farm Bureau offices, UCCE San Diego will show its presence and visibility at the Farm Bureau building at least on a rotational basis and will continue to collaborate with the important partner that is Farm Bureau,” Bachie said.
The final stop was at Escondido City Hall for a brief tour guided by Jennifer Schoeneck, deputy director of economic development for the City of Escondido. Also in attendance were leaders from nearby community colleges. Schoeneck provided detailed information on a currently unused warehouse facility that the city intends to remodel and retrofit so it can be used as an agricultural hub. Various agricultural technology companies, universities and colleges would use the space together to conduct research, teach and support agriculture within San Diego County. Humiston expressed her appreciation for the potential of the center and said that UC ANR will look at opportunities to collaborate with the city to develop the facility into a broad-spectrum agricultural hub.
Throughout the field tour Humiston was accompanied by Eric Middleton, UCCE integrated pest management advisor; Chandra Richards, agricultural land acquisitions academic coordinator; Robert Padilla, digital media specialist; Jan Gonzales, project coordinator and community education supervisor; Shirley Salado, EFNEP community education supervisor; Lea Corkidi, staff research associate; and Sue Lake, administrative officer.
By the end of the visit, Humiston and the group had gained a deeper understanding of UCCE San Diego programs, projects, challenges and opportunities.
Save the date for UC ANR statewide conference on April 24–27
The 2023 UC ANR statewide conference will be held on April 24–27 at the Fresno DoubleTree and Fresno Convention Center in Fresno. Please mark your calendars and plan to join your UC ANR colleagues.
For the first time since 2018, ANR academics and staff from across the state will gather to share best practices on how to elevate and amplify their research, extension and education efforts.
The conference is also the official kickoff to UC ANR's 2025-2040 visioning process. We will begin identifying the challenges facing California and set a course detailing how we can more effectively address them over 15 years.
For more information, please visit the conference website at https://ucanr.edu/sites/statewideconference2023.
If you would like to propose a presentation, fill out the request form at https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=38880. All suggestions will be evaluated by the Learning & Poster Session Committee.
For more information, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/statewideconference2023.
UC ANR celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15-Oct. 15
Hispanic Heritage Month is Sept. 15 through Oct.15 and Ricardo Vela, manager of UC ANR News & Information Outreach in Spanish, has planned educational activities for colleagues and friends to attend throughout the month.
Each year, UC ANR celebrates the culture and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Latinos comprise 40% of California's population and a growing portion of UC ANR's clientele. Our Latinx colleagues help to customize UC ANR's outreach for the Latino community, from immigrants to native-born citizens.
To start the celebration, the newly formed Latinx & Friends Affinity Group will meet for the first time on Sept. 21. To register, visit https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=38886.
“UC ANR is giving us this fantastic opportunity to share our stories of struggle, success and dreams within a safe space,” Vela said. “This space is open to all of us who are Latinx/Hispanic or of Latinx/Hispanic descent, allies and friends to discuss the many cultural identities.”
The September events will be held via Zoom for UC ANR colleagues:
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 12-1 p.m. Jose Pablo Ortiz-Partida will discuss the results of an environmental justice study he conducted in the San Joaquin Valley. Ortiz-Partida is a senior water and climate scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Events scheduled for October will be conducted in Spanish and open to the public on Facebook Live:
Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1-2 p.m. – Susana Matias, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology at Berkeley, will discuss healthy living, obesity and breastfeeding.
