April 2006

Opening Remarks for District Extension Conferences
Dr. Jon Ort
N.C. State University

People. Knowledge. Progress.

That is what Cooperative Extension is about - always has been. And always will be. These concepts lie at the core of our mission. A mission just as relevant today as it was in 1914 when Cooperative Extension work began. An approach so powerful that it transforms our economy, protects our environment and empowers young people and families to achieve healthier lives and become community leaders.

In Johnston County, Doug and John Barbee made a daring but informed transition from tobacco to take advantage of a growing market for freshwater prawns.

In Greensboro, James Collier learned to manage his diabetes by changing his diet.

In Nash County, school facilities manager James Reuter implemented new practices to reduce students' exposure to pesticides.

All ... through working with Cooperative Extension. One by one, they and thousands of people like them across North Carolina are turning the knowledge they gain from Extension into the power to change their lives - and to make our state a better place to live.

Change for the Better: Because of your help, people are doing that. And now, we, too, as an organization are faced with making changes. When we gathered here two years ago for District Extension Conference, we took a major step on our journey to change our way of doing business - to begin setting priorities and establishing a clear identity and a reputation as the "best of the best" in helping people put knowledge to work.

At all levels, we sensed an urgency and commitment to making changes in the face of rapidly evolving and intense economic, environmental and social pressures; a greater public demand for accountability; increasingly strained financial resources; and a near overload of information sources available to today's people.

The "One Mission ~ One Vision ~ One Extension" handout you received this morning recounts the key milestones in our change management and marketing initiative. The initiative has involved extensive and intensive discussions. To be honest, these conversations were candid and not always easy. But we thought it essential, with so much at stake, that the discussions be thorough and represent the viewpoints of a large cross-section of the organization -- all ranks, all districts, all disciplines.

Our district extension directors and county extension directors have engaged in important discussions with some of our key stakeholders - our county managers - to learn their perceptions and, most important, the needs and issues as they see them. Carolina PR and the Core Team have taken a hard look at each of these and recommended ways to change the organization so that it addresses today's complex challenges and issues from a more integrated, holistic approach.

This involves more collaboration, more team work, more multidisciplinary approaches - in short, a more concerted approach to getting at root causes to help people achieve lasting solutions. It is an abstract concept, and we will spend some time today helping you understand what that is and how it should play out in your work and, indeed, throughout our organization.

Before that, we want to report to you some more immediate and concrete decisions we have made to help ensure that our organization remains strong, focused and positioned to achieve its mission. As stated in the handout you have received, we are committed to: 1) establishing a unified Extension identity; 2) formalizing and strengthening a collaborative program, operations and marketing infrastructure that includes both universities; 3) researching and adopting a program development model that emphasizes strategic relevance and importance; 4) and performance expectations to support Extension's desired outcomes by promoting and rewarding individual, team and organizational accomplishments

When I say "establishing a unified extension identity" - I mean something much more elemental than a logo. It is a process that begins by reaffirming our mission and determining our strategic priorities and our strategic advantage - the thing that makes us uniquely qualified to do what we do. And both our advantage and our strength -- we have found over and over again - is: our people, their approach to problem solving, · our grassroots network · and our links to the university system.

The 'One Mission ~ One Vision ~ One Extension' handout begins to describe that unified Extension identity, defining what we are as an organization and what sets us apart. Our mission - as I have said - remains unchanged. Our focus, our strategic priorities and our goals - they will sound very familiar to you -- but when you look deeper you will see that we are changing.

The most obvious and recent example: The merger of N.C. State University's 4-H and family and consumer sciences departments, creating an integrated and critical mass of committed faculty. These faculty, along with other faculty at both institutions and in the field, are addressing each of our three major strategic program priorities: strong food, forest and green industries systems, environmental and natural resource protection, and empowered families and young people.

We also are committed to creating a better marketing infrastructure, strengthening our educational program development model and linking these two functions more closely with operations. We are creating new positions to ensure that we make a big impact - and that we are recognized for that impact.

You'll see the timelines for these positions on page 3 of the handout under the heading "Destination - Success: Where do we go from here":

A marketing director will be hired to report to Ray and me. This person will develop an organizational marketing plan, create materials to help you tell the story of your impact to key stakeholders, and help position statewide programs to increase our reach, our effectiveness and our public image. A job description has been drafted, and we are moving ahead with recruitment. But we are not waiting:

Our communications units are working on new materials to help us tell the Extension story in a more powerful way. If you take a look at the poster "Marketing Materials Under Construction" you will get an idea of what is under development right now as we work toward an ultimate goal of having a strategic and cohesive marketing plan, guided by a marketing director and linked closely to our overall organizational priorities and direction.

Now, the second position: We intend to hire an evaluation specialist who will help us determine what issues are most urgent now and in the future. This position will be housed within the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, as will a new educational program development specialist who will help us strengthen the integrated nature of Cooperative Extension. We are advertising now for these positions. These positions alone will not cause our organization to change. But they will provide the expertise, leadership and organizational support we need to ensure that change occurs across Extension.

This afternoon, your program leaders and district directors will tell you how our educational program development model is changing - and what that means for them and for you. In sum, all of you - and both Ray and I, too -- must shift our focus: · From small, separate programs ... to large, integrated programs · From department or county focus ... to a One Extension focus · From competing priorities ... to integrated priorities · From resistance to change ... to embracing change · From diffused efforts to being the best of the best in our unique niche This is a process.

Our destination is SUCCESS, but it is an ongoing journey. Change will not happen overnight. It will happen incrementally. But it will happen. And as it does happen, we will be the leaders in delivering lasting solutions to today's highly complex problems. Problems like disappearing jobs. An obesity epidemic. A potential biosecurity pandemic. And a dangerous decline in science literacy among our school students.

Our university system wants to respond - UNC System President Erskine Bowles has indicated that the 16 institution system of which we are a part WILL respond. At the same time, our national Extension leaders are grappling with the very same issues that we are discussing today. We - North Carolina Cooperative Extension's people - are in a position to lead - a position to lead both the UNC system and our national Extension system - in addressing these issues in a powerful way!

These are complex challenges. They require not just science-based solutions but solutions that are grounded in an understanding of people, the environment and their social, political and economic systems. And that is what we offer. That is what we do.

Karen McAdams -- you may know her -- she is an agent in Orange County. Right before Christmas, she was written up in the Chapel Hill News for receiving a lifetime achievement award from the local cattleman's association. What she said to the reporter - it is a common saying that has become cliche - but I want you to listen to it because it really captures what I am trying to get at here about how our strategic advantage plays out in real life.

"People don't care what you know," she said, "unless they know how much you care." Karen cares. And her constituents know that - and they are willing to vouch for it. Excellent programs, not mediocre programs, and excellent people yield excellent marketing results. Karen's story - and there are hundreds of Extension people across this state with similarly remarkable stories - reached thousands of readers in her local community.

And that same story is there for countless others around the world because of the Internet. That is marketing. And a strong example of the link between excellent programs and excellent marketing opportunities.

The article about Karen closed with what I consider a telling quote: "My greatest joy is having the honor of serving the rural community and farm families." It reminds me of something that our very first Extension youth development agent, Ira Schaub, once wrote. He said, "Extension work is a philosophy ... And the satisfaction that one gets in seeing the improvement in the standard of living ... of the people served ... is the most satisfying remuneration that anyone can experience."

People. Knowledge. Progress. It worked 92 years ago, and it works today. Yes, some very important things must change within Extension if we are to stay positioned as the go-to resource to meet the evolving needs of our communities. Clearly, we have had some things pegged for quite a long time. You are our greatest asset, and I need you to join us on the journey we are describing today. Your willingness to embrace change, your ideas and your commitment are essential to our collective success.