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Conducting Needs Assessments for UF/IFAS Extension

Conducting Needs Assessments for UF/IFAS Extension . Amy Harder, Professor & Director of PDEC. Agenda. Welcome and opening comments Overview of the process Questions for the review Developing the final report Interviewing and listening techniques Final thoughts/questions.

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Conducting Needs Assessments for UF/IFAS Extension

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  1. Conducting Needs Assessments for UF/IFAS Extension Amy Harder, Professor & Director of PDEC

  2. Agenda • Welcome and opening comments • Overview of the process • Questions for the review • Developing the final report • Interviewing and listening techniques • Final thoughts/questions

  3. Purpose of the Reviews • To assist counties in their efforts to plan and deliver high quality extension programs for their clientele • To strengthen the overall quality of extension programming in Florida

  4. Intended Short-term Outcomes • Increased awareness of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each county undergoing review • Target audience: County and state staff • Secondary audience: County stakeholders • How you accomplish this: Develop a detailed report with an emphasis on opportunities for action – specific recommendations

  5. Intended Medium- and Long-term Outcomes • Counties develop and implement strategic plan based on recommendations in final report • One-year accountability report and survey of county faculty • Improved social, economic and environmental conditions in the county, as appropriate for each program

  6. Final Product • Comprehensive, external analysis of the county extension unit presented in a concise summary report • Results are summarized across all units and are presented to UF/IFAS Extension administration

  7. The Review Booklet • Review Schedule • County Description • Mission • County Profile • County Budget • Organizational Chart • Demographics • Economic Impacts • Faculty Bios • Advisory Committees • 4-H Enrollment Data

  8. Review Team Roles • Chair • Time keeper/facilitator • Responsible for submitting final report to Dr. Tom Obreza (copy Amy Harder and Dean Place) within 14 days of review • Pay for county administrator’s lunch (will be reimbursed by IFAS) • Supporting Team Members • Take turns as “lead” for Q&A with faculty and stakeholders • Provide programmatic leadership for the development of the final report

  9. Program Presentations and Faculty Dialogue • Suggested Format – divide up the questions • Recommended questions can be found on the CPR Web site: http://pdec.ifas.ufl.edu/program_reviews/ • Program expert is the “lead” for the discussion • Everyone will probably lead at least once • Responsible for any “technical” questions • Chair is responsible for making sure program presentations stay close to 15 minutes • Q&A is most important – protect time for this

  10. Stakeholder Dialogue • Suggested Format – divide up the questions • Recommended questions can be found on the CPR Web site: http://pdec.ifas.ufl.edu/program_reviews/ • County faculty are not allowed to stay for the stakeholder dialogue • CEDs are not allowed to attend lunch with county administrator • Stakeholder dialogue sessions should begin with a short introduction of the purpose of the review

  11. Conducting a SWOT Analysis • What’s a SWOT analysis? • Organizational factors – county office only! • Strengths • Weaknesses...aka “challenges” in final report • Environmental factors • Opportunities • Threats • Useful for developing strategic plans

  12. What’s the Difference? • Challenge – Lack of technological expertise • County faculty and staff can be pro-active about seeking professional development in the use of technology • What is (or isn’t) happening in the county office? • Threat – Digital divide/lack of access to technology by clientele • Providing the appropriate infrastructure for clientele to access technology (e.g. high speed Internet) is not the role of Extension, but impacts what the county office is able to do • What’s happening in the big picture?

  13. Developing the Final Report • Format requirements • Consistency facilitates comparison • Achieving consensus • List your individual observations during the review • Determine where consensus agreement lies first, and move those items to a final list • Spend quality time discussing observations that are not agreed upon; set them aside if they are holding up the process • Recognize the expertise of each group member • Review your final list

  14. Preliminary Report • Should highlight the major components of final report; emphasize opportunities to build on strengths • Keep remarks broad, although more specific recommendations/observations may be made in final report • Leave time for questions and discussion • PowerPoint presentation optional • DEDs typically attend

  15. Short-Term Outcomes from Reviews

  16. Medium-Term Outcomes • New and more representative advisory councils • Reaching previously underrepresented audiences by providing programming in new locations • New partnerships with other community organizations • Infrastructure improvements • New marketing strategies to improve visibility

  17. Questions?

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