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January 31, 2007
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January 2007
Editor: Jerry Thomas (thomas.69@osu.edu)
Have submission ideas? Next month's editor is Bill Grunkemeyer (grunkemeyer.1@osu.edu)
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Hopefully, everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season. December marked the end of Don Lacy’s tenure with our Community Development program area as he retired at the end of the year. We will miss his contributions to our program unit as Extension Specialist but I am pleased to report that he still forwards various emails with links to helpful resources and materials. In anticipation of filling Don’s position, we recently initiated a survey of education program needs related to his assignment. I hope to report the results of that survey in the February CD newsletter.
You will recall that Tom Worley and I sent out a similar survey related to program needs and opportunities related to Deanna Tribe’s position. There should be information in the near future the status of the process for filling her CD Extension Specialist position at Piketon. Deanna attended the December retirees dinner and reported that she is staying busy consulting on several projects.
We are planning to open our new CD web site in February. One of the new highlights will be the streaming video of our economic development programs with summary modules prepared and delivered by our CD faculty and educators. These are intended to provide educational overviews of economic development programs that we support as well as various economic development strategies that communities can use to promote community economic development. Other programs will be developing similar electronic modules which can be used for professional development and shared with our community partners to educate them about community development opportunities and strategies.
There are four more opportunities this year to participate in the Foundations of Practice Component 1 – Understanding Community and Their Dynamics. Mark your calendars and plan on participating if you have not done so yet. Later in the newsletter, you will find information about one of the sessions we are sponsoring from Component 2 - Developing Successful Community Initiatives. Consider participating in that session as well. Many of the insights and skills presented at these sessions are useful across program areas and help us to build successful communities.
Basic Introduction to Community, March 13/14 and September 18/19
Instructor: Stephen Jeanetta, University of Missouri
Community Demographics, March 20/21 and September 25/26
Instructor: Andy Lewis, University of Wisconsin
Community Economics, March 27/28 and October 2/3
Instructor: Bill Pinkovitz, University of Wisconsin
Community Power Structure, April 3/4 and October 9/10
Instructor: Janet Ayres, Purdue University
Community Situational Analysis, April 10/11 and October 16/17
Instructor: Anne Heinze Silvis, University of Illinois
Week of April 17-18 is skipped due to NACDEP conference
Community Sustainability, April 24/25 and October 23/24
Instructor: Mary Emery, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Community Development Approaches, May 1/2 and October 30/31
Instructor: Tim Borich, Iowa State University
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For a complete update on the CD Unit’s vision, strategic plan, teams and other resources please direct your browser to: http://comdev.osu.edu/CDProgramResources.doc
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Take advantage of this chance to meet with peers and Ken Martin to discuss current and upcoming CD programming and related issues.
Community Development Regional Meetings Scheduled - 2007
Holmes County, Sharon Strouse, Feb. 13, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Fayette County, Pat Brinkman, Feb. 27, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Athens County, Penne Smith , March 2, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Wood County , Doris Herringshaw / Alan Sundermeier, March 6, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Hamilton County, Glenn Welling/Deb Carney, April 10, 2007, 9;30 - 12 p.m.
Guernsey County, Cindy Bond Zielinski, May 15, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Trumbull County, Steve Hudkins, June 8, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Sandusky County, Mark Koenig, July 13, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Center at Piketon, Julie Fox / Jerry Iles , July 25, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Medina County, David Civittolo, August 10, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Jefferson County, Ken Simeral, October 12, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
Montgomery County, Brian Raison, November 6, 2007, 9:30 - 12 p.m.
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Ohio CD professionals hosted 9 Extension professionals from Penn State
University and 10 from West Virginia State University on Dec 6-8. The tour began in Cleveland, traveled to Medina, Bellville, and ultimately Columbus. Nearly 20 Ohioans participated in all or portions of the visit. Future collaborative efforts were discussed around three primary areas: small business/entrepreneurship, the knowledge economy, and sustainable development.
The planning committee was chaired by Greg Davis (davis.1081@osu.edu).
Joe Konen and Jerry Thomas also served on the committee. Please contact Greg for more follow-up information.
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The Successful Schools – Successful Communities (SS-SC) process is a tool that OSU Extension - Community Development is developing to help local communities reach deeper levels of engagement with their schools. The goal of the SS – SC process is to improve the quality of life in communities by improving the quality of education for all community residents. School – community engagement is a proven method to achieve this objective.
The quality of life in a community is directly dependent on the quality of their schools and because schools draw the vast majority of their resources from their communities their quality is dependent on the vitality of the community. Research has shown that school - community engagement is mutually beneficial. Communities benefit from a growing pool of citizens who are prepared for higher education, for jobs in the knowledge economy, and to be contributing citizens. At the same time schools benefit from community members who better understand the challenges schools face today. This understanding yields community members who pitch in to help and support the schools as volunteers and as taxpayers.
The Successful Schools – Successful Communities process is part of the Knowledge Economy Initiative of Ohio State University Extension. For more information or to get assistance in implementing this process in your community, contact:
Joe Konen, konen.2@osu.edu OR Chet Bowling,
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The Successful Schools – Successful Communities (SS-SC) process is a tool that OSU Extension - Community Development is developing to help local communities reach deeper levels of engagement with their schools. The goal of the SS – SC process is to improve the quality of life in communities by improving the quality of education for all community residents. School – community engagement is a proven method to achieve this objective.
The quality of life in a community is directly dependent on the quality of their schools and because schools draw the vast majority of their resources from their communities their quality is dependent on the vitality of the community. Research has shown that school - community engagement is mutually beneficial. Communities benefit from a growing pool of citizens who are prepared for higher education, for jobs in the knowledge economy, and to be contributing citizens. At the same time schools benefit from community members who better understand the challenges schools face today. This understanding yields community members who pitch in to help and support the schools as volunteers and as taxpayers.
The Successful Schools – Successful Communities process is part of the Knowledge Economy Initiative of Ohio State University Extension. For more information or to get assistance in implementing this process in your community, contact:
Joe Konen, konen.2@osu.edu OR Chet Bowling,
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Join OSU's Center for Farmland Policy Innovation and Business Retention and Expansion Initiative for our next roundtable series addressing strategies local leaders can implement to retain and expand their local agricultural sector. The purpose of the roundtables is to give local leaders interested in strengthening local agriculture the opportunity for small group learning from a topical expert and peer-to-peer exchanges. Local leaders in farmland protection (county commissioners, township trustees, planning and zoning officials, land trust leaders, etc.) are invited to participate in the discussion of this agricultural economic development topic.
These roundtables are free of charge. However, seating is limited (15-20) and an RSVP is required. All roundtables are held from 4pm-6pm. Dates, local hosts and locations for this roundtable are as follows:
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Host - OSU Extension Medina County
120 West Washington St.
Medina, Ohio 44256
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Host - OSU Extension Muskingum County
225 Underwood St.
Zanesville, Ohio 43701
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Host - OSU Extension Allen County
3900 Campus Dr.
Lima, Ohio 45804
To RSVP or for more information, please call the Center for Farmland Policy Innovation at: 614.247.6479, e-mail cffpi@osu.edu, or visit our web site http://cffpi.osu.edu.
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Two new policies briefs are located on the OSU Center for Farmland
Policy Innovation's web site: http://cffpi.osu.edu
"Farmland Protection Successes: Stories from Across Ohio" - Local
farmland protection in Ohio - It's been done! This publication and
presentation were developed to celebrate local farmland protection
activities across the state. Do you have a story to add? If so, email
us - cffpi@osu.edu.
"Farmland Protection Funding Options" - Download this policy brief that
covers the unavoidable question local governments must ask when
considering farmland protection - How can a local community pay for
farmland retention programs? What sources of revenue can a local
government pursue for farmland protection? In this policy brief, we
address the funding question by providing an overview of opportunities
to raise funds to establish or expand farmland protection programs. You
can also download the audio file of the roundtable session at our web
site.
. Visit http://cffpi.osu.edu/roundtables.htm to learn more.
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The OSU Extension faculty of Highland and Brown County's are preparing youth for their future through a program entitled Agriculture Reality. Students are "given" a 300 acre farm to operate and operating capital based upon their grade point averages. The Soil Conservation Service provides maps of the farm and discusses soil types and various aspects of the farm. The students also spend time with over 20 Agribusiness employees where they learn about the costs associated with the various farm inputs. Through the process the students are actively engaged in workforce and career development issues while learning basic economic principles.
Contact: Becky Cropper (cropper.1@osu.edu). Team also included: John Grimes, Nikki Eyre and Dave Dugan.
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Date: Thursday March 22, 2007
Time: 9:00 AM--3:30 PM
Location: Ohio State University
School of Environment and Natural Resources
333 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road
http://www.osu.edu/map/building.php?building=340
Introduction
This workshop is part of the Foundations of Practice Community Development Core Competencies for Extension Professionals framework on developing successful community initiatives. For more information on Foundations of Practice visit: http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/projects/corecomp/index.html
Designing effective public participation efforts enables people to have a voice in community issues. There are many reasons for involving the public and strategies for doing so. This workshop is designed to help you understand these dimensions and create meaningful public participation efforts.
Audience:
Extension professionals who have completed the Foundations of Practice I
New Extension professionals or professionals in all program areas wanting to improve their community initiatives (e.g., advisory groups, natural resource and land use plans, and program planning committees)
For more information on the Workshop and to register please click on this link:
http://comdev.osu.edu/docs/reg_fop_workshop.doc
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Online Breeze Conference
February through June, 2007
10 -- 11:30 a.m. CST
http://www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/projects/breeze/ecommerce/index.htm
Technology makes a difference! While access to broadband is important in many ways to successful community development, access alone is not enough. The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, in cooperation with the Southern Rural Development Center, is offering a series of five online training sessions titled eCommerce: An Opportunity Whose Time Has Come. This series, based on what we are learning about the role of the Internet in business and community development, will provide information and strategies for addressing community-based technology opportunities and eCommerce applications related to online government and expanding business opportunities.
Purpose: Provide cutting-edge information on Extension practices related to eCommerce and develop an informal community of practice.
Who Should Attend: Extension educators who want to help their communities, local governments, businesses and entrepreneurs make more effective use of Internet technology.
This five-session online conference will use Breeze technology. Sessions will be held the second
Tuesday of the month as follows:
February 13, 2007, 11–12:30 a.m.
March 13, 2007, 11–12:30 a.m.
April 10, 2007, 11–12:30 a.m.
May 8, 2007, 11–12:30 a.m.
June 12, 2007, 11–12:30 a.m.
Each session will include one hour of instruction and 30 minutes of wrap-up and questions. More information on the individual sessions is available at the Web site listed above.
Registration Fee: $10 per session, or $30 for all five sessions. Online registration is available at the Web site listed above.
Registration Deadlines and Cancellation Policy:
The registration deadline is February 12, 2007 (if registering for all sessions) or the day before each session (if registering for 1-4 sessions). There will be no refunds for cancellations of single session registrations. Refunds for all other cancellations will be determined on an individual basis.
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The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) is pleased to announce the E-Commerce Strategies for Small Businesses and Communities training to be held June 4-6, 2007, at the Lied Lodge and Conference Center in Nebraska City, NE. This training will feature the new Extension educational curricula that has been developed as part of the SRDC and CSREES/USDA "Rural E-Commerce Extension Initiative: A National Demonstration Project." Registration will open Feb. 1. Additional details will be posted as they become available on the training's website at: http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/07training/index.html
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The Van Wert Innovation Center was established in January, 2005 to foster the adoption of innovative and entrepreneurial ideas and provide resources and processes to promote greater options for self- employment and self-sufficiency in the Van Wert area. After two years of operation, the Innovation Center is self sufficient, with operating costs covered by rents.
In addition to tenant space, the Innovation Center serves as an entrepreneurial training facility to assist entrepreneurs in establishing or expanding during the first stages of operation. Workshops on business plan development, financing and decision making are among training events that have been held in 2006.
Recognizing that innovation and entrepreneurship are drivers of regional growth and development, the Innovation Center is the number one community economic development priority for the Van Wert area. For more information, contact Nancy Bowen-Ellzey at 419-238-2999 or e-mail at nbowen@ag.osu.edu
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2007 E-Commerce Grants Program -- Request for Pre-Proposals
The Southern Rural Development Center, in partnership with its sister Regional Rural Development Centers, is pleased to announce another round of funding for its e-commerce competitive grants program. The intent of this program is to support the development or expansion of innovative educational resources focusing on key e-commerce topics.
This year, pre-proposals are being solicited; the deadline for these two-page proposals is March 15. A select number of persons submitting pre-proposals will be invited to complete a more detailed proposal for consideration by the National e-Commerce Extension Advisory Committee. These invitations will be made by April 1, 2007.
Please Note: This is a national competitive grants program open to any Extension educator in the U.S.
Full details are available in the attached document or online at http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/07rfp_pre.pdf.
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WRDC Director Job Announcement
Dear North Central Extension Directors --
The job announcement for the Western Rural Development Center Director position has been approved and posted on the Utah State University Web site. You may view the job announcement by following the link below. -- JS
https://jobs.usu.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1169849429594
Click the "Search Postings" link on the left.
Under position title, indicate "director."
Under department, indicate "Western Rural Development Center."
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Colorado State University is sponsoring a two-day conference, Renewable Energy Options: The Role of Extension Agents in the 21st Century Energy Economy in Denver, March 19-20, 2007. The conference will educate Cooperative Extension agents about the various types of renewable energies that are currently being developed.
Since the natural resources necessary to build a viable industry are owned and managed primarily by farmers and ranchers, Extension agents can help clients make informed decisions about the renewable energy options available to them. First, however, agents must understand the basic components required to build a renewable energy business. Then, they can help expand those businesses in their own communities. The conference will also cover the economic and social impact that developing renewables has on families and communities. Therefore, family and consumer science agents may be interested in this conference as well as agriculture agents.
Renewable Energy Options will feature some of America's most renowned experts on:
- Energy from agriculture, or biomass: how crops, woody materials, and vegetable oil can create biodiesel and ethanol.
- Energy from wind: how to recognize when conditions are right for installing a single wind turbine or a large-scale wind farm.
- Energy from the sun: how solar energy is collected through solar panels, photovoltaic cells and other cutting edge systems.
- Energy from geothermal heat: discover how the earth's heat can be harnessed to create electricity.
- Community development: individual farmers and ranchers aren't the only ones that benefit from investing in a renewable business. There may be new job opportunities, economic increases, and a boost in community involvement.
More than 20 speakers will attend the conference sharing their knowledge and helping agents understand the emerging role they can play. A few presenters include:
- James Fischer, Department of Energy
- Larry Flowers, National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)
- Mike Bowman, 25x25
On the second day of the conference, we're offering a field trip to NREL's National Wind Technology Center in Boulder, the Department of Energy's premier wind-test facility. Participants can see first-hand the scale of wind turbines that are most likely to be suitable for use in agriculture, at rural businesses, at rural schools, and at other larger commercial facilities.
To learn more and register for this informative event, go to: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/WR/energy.htm
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