Author: Michelle Gaston

Strategic Plan of Work in Ohio’s Urban Communities – June 1-2 Meetings

During the January 29 Summit on Extension in Urban Communities your colleagues, along with some external partners, began drafting goals for urban Extension for the focused strategy areas of Positioning, Programs, Personnel, and Partnerships (Ps).

In the last few months, a Plan of Work for Extension in urban communities has been under development with guidance from a steering council. The summit planning committee formed this steering council to keep the momentum going and further focus next steps. The four strategy group leaders have each taken ownership of one of the priority areas to summarize the context; clarify goals, drafts action steps, and suggest internal partner connections; and consider linkage between the other Ps.

Now that the goals have been initially drafted, we would like to invite others to work with the strategy groups to further develop action steps, timelines, measures, connections, and resources.

You are welcome to join any of the following meetings on June 1 and 2.
Personnel in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 1, 1-2 pm
Positioning in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 1, 3-4 pm
Programs in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 2, 9-10 am
Partnerships in Urban Communities – Strategic Plan of Work group meeting on June 2, 11 am-noon

Feel free to invite others. If you have questions or are interested in attending any of these Zoom meetings, please contact gaston.6@osu.edu for the link to the Zoom meeting.

Summit on Extension in Ohio’s Urban Communities

Strengthen Ohio by strengthening cities and urban-rural connections

January 29, 2020 at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus

This event follows the OSU Sesquicentennial Think Beyond Summit, Urban Universities, Thriving Communities on January 28, 2020

Purpose: To better understand and address:

  • Real-life context of Extension work in urban communities (scale, diversity, complexity, urban-rural interface);
  • Alignment with the National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) Framework and integration with university, college, and other converging interests;
  • OSU Extension’s strategies to be relevant locally, responsive statewide, recognized nationally; and
  • Strengthen Ohio by strengthening cities and urban-rural connections.

Who Should Attend: The event is open to everyone interested in how OSU Extension can better address Ohio’s urban influence and urban-rural interface.

Registration is $20 and includes morning refreshments and lunch.

Follow this link for more information about the Summit and registration (including an opportunity to have the fee waived).

Follow this link to watch this Pre-Summit Video Overview

NUEL December 2019 Steering Committee Update

Julie Fox participated in the National Urban Extension Leaders Steering Committee meetings last week and has shared these thoughts from the committee conversations.

Ohio State University Extension is not alone in:

  • working through what “urban” means for Extension as our states continue to address the scale, diversity, and complexity in our metro areas.
  • sharing the message of it’s not urban or rural, it’s both and …
  • addressing urban (and urban/rural) issues related to water, food systems, youth development, health, civil dialogue, etc
  • understanding that issues transcend city and county boundaries
  • exploring CITY support for urban Extension – in addition to COUNTY support
  • recognizing our responsibility to provide public value in our states (urban location and diversity of residents)
  • acknowledging that many counties have urban, suburban, and rural influence
  • discussing individual behavior change and community level change through PSE and collective impact
  • considering what’s uniquely urban about Extension in densely populated communities
    • positioning (awareness and accessibility – location/s, communications, etc.)
    • programs (audiences – relevance and impacts),
    • personnel (capacity, diversity, alignment)
    • partnerships (connection and reach)

For Your Calendars:

  • NUEL NC Regional Caucus Meeting, May 2020 in Madison, WI
  • National Urban Extension Conference, Atlantic City, NJ on May 17-20, 2021 at Bally (+NYC), Themes include Rural, Suburban, Urban

Please contact Julie if you have questions. fox.264@osu.edu

National Urban Extension Conference 2019 Recap

The National Urban Extension Conference was held May 20-24, 2019 in Seattle, WA. It is the only national gathering of Extension professionals who serve cities. The 2019 conference, “Innovation in the City: A Land Grant University Experience,” highlighted strong urban programming and Extension’s opportunity to support the university-level mission of land-grant universities in metropolitan regions. The conference educated and inspired with its urban focused presentations, mobile tours, and networking opportunities with the 350 attendees.

The Ohio State University had 17 in attendance at the conference. They were Beth Boomershine, Deb Carney, Nicole Debose, Margaret Fitzpatrick, Julie Fox, Michelle Gaston, Mike Hogan, Sue Hogan, Elena Irwin, Laquore Meadows, Suzanne Mills-Wasniak, Stephen Moore, Amanda Osborne, Roger Rennekamp, Tony Staubach, Robin Stone, and Rebecca Wade-Mdivanian.

Ohio State Presentations and Posters at NUEC’19

Watch for upcoming blog articles on a number of these topics.

  • Maggie Fitzpatrick – Growing into your New Home
  • Julie Fox – Essential Competencies and Innovative Practices for Urban and Latino Engagement
  • Julie Fox – Staffing: Preparing the Urban Extension Workforce
  • Mike Hogan – Increasing Diversity of MGV Programs
  • Elena Irwin – Keynote: The Urban-Rural Continuum and Connection
  • Suzanne Mills-Wasniak – The Shelter Farm
  • Amanda Osborne – Beet Food Waste
  • Tony Staubach – 4-H in the First American City

Amanda posterSuzanne posterMaggie poster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keynotes, Leading Edge Dialogues, and Mobile Learning Workshops

The keynote presentations each day were very focused on urban Extension and covered the topics of Innovation in the City; What Matters to Metro; Diversity, Complexity, and Scale; and The Urban-Rural Continuum and Connection. The Leading Edge Dialogues for Extension leaders spotlighted six critical issues facing urban universities and cities. Each featured an opening from a panel of experts then participants delved into group discussions about the topic. Participants choose from 10 mobile learning workshops which were half-day, off-site learning opportunities about Seattle.

To learn more about the conference and sessions offered visit the conference website. Stay tuned to the Extension in the City blog for more articles about the conference.

The next National Urban Extension Conference will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 17-20, 2021.

Franklin County 4-H Clover 5K and Walk & Serve

More than 650 individuals participated in the Franklin County 4-H Clover 5K and Walk & Serve on April 6, 2019. This year, many of the 4-H youth demonstrated a new level of ownership in the planning, preparing, and presentation of the service projects that benefitted 19 non-profit organizations. They share first-hand stories about the organization’s mission while participants work on needed items for the clientele of the organization. Each non-profit finds the Walk & Serve a great place to bring awareness to their need, but also remark how important it is to keep fanning the flame of “serving” in all ages. More than 2,100 service projects were donated to various charities in one day. 4-H clubs from every part of the county dedicated a portion of their day to making this event successful. Follow this link for more information.

Publications Available from the Kettering Foundation

The Kettering Foundation has made available all three of their flagship publications for download as full issues, as well as individual articles.

The 2018 issue of Connections focuses on experiments in organizational innovation. Download here.

The 2018 edition of the Higher Education Exchange focuses on a research question that has structured much of the foundation’s work during the last year: How can an organization align itself with a democratic citizenry? Download here.

Public goods are often seen as the domain of institutions and experts. The Kettering Review is a journal of ideas and activities dedicated to improving the quality of public life in American democracy. Download here.

How Affordable Housing Efforts Can Make Cities Healthier

Cities nationwide are experiencing housing-related challenges, with a growing share of the population unable to afford to rent or own a home. Residents struggle to afford not just a place to live, but a stable home that supports their health and well-being. Follow this link to read this is an excerpt from Affordable Housing and Health: City Roles and Strategies for Progress.

Sourced from CitiesSpeak

RWJF: Reimagined in America Webinar – February 21

The power of data can create powerful change. It can serve as a rallying point and common platform to help residents, community leaders and advocates come together to set goals and drive change to improve health and well-being.

On February 21, 2019, at 2 p.m. EST join the next Reimagined in America Webinar: What Can the World Teach Us about Building a Culture of Health to:

  • Learn how communities around the world are using data to empower local leaders and residents to bring about change.
  • Get inspired by successful data collection and community engagement programs from abroad that are now being used in U.S. communities.
  • Explore what is needed to help more communities advocate for healthier solutions.

Click to register for the webinar

Sourced from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation