The Rural E-Commerce Extension Initiative: A National Demonstration Project

Bo Beaulieu Director Kathy Ibendahl Curriculum Specialist

The Changing Rural Economy Agriculture and manufacturing are no longer the foundation of job expansion Most jobs now being created are in the service- producing sector The majority of today’s firms employ only a handful of people To remain competitive, these small firms must embrace those innovations that help level the playing field e-Commerce represents one of the tools available for improving management and marketing capacity of these firms

Project Goals 1.Invest in promising, existing Extension programs in three pilot states (Nebraska, New Mexico, & Mississippi) to assist in refining, testing, and expanding their application nationwide. 2. Catalog current and emerging e-commerce educational products being produced by CES educators for use with rural small businesses, governments, and communities.

Project Goals (Continued) 3.Strengthen the capacity of Extension educators to become engaged in the delivery of sound e-commerce programs relevant to small rural businesses, governments, and communities. 4.Initiate the conversion of e-commerce educational resources to comply with e- Extension protocol in order to expand access and use by Extension educators and customers across the United States.

Pilot Projects Mississippi State University Principal investigator: Beth Duncan - Two e-commerce workshops expanded - Providing information about content, processes with implementation and delivery of effective programs. University of Nebraska Principal investigator: Connie Hancock - Surveying participants of past UN e-commerce training to identify successes, challenges, and needs.

Pilot Projects (Continued) New Mexico State University Principal Investigator, Bob Coppedge - Updating the T-ABCs program - Developing new e-commerce community development curricula

The Initiative’s E- Library An extensive catalog of e-commerce training materials, research, and other resources produced by land-grant institutions.

Building the Capacity of the Extension System: How? Providing Extension educators with ready access to the best research being generated by land-grant faculty on e-commerce Strengthening the ability of Extension educators to feel more comfortable and confident in delivering e-commerce educational programs through training workshops

Building the Capacity of the Extension System: How? Identifying and expanding the quality of e- commerce educational curricula available to support the e-commerce educational programs of Extension educators Helping facilitate the building of a learning network among e-commerce Extension educators across the U.S.

Integration Into eExtension To integrate e-commerce information into the future eExtension system for use by Extension educators and customers throughout the US. Team of subject matter experts to determine “the best of the best” e-commerce information available. Incorporate the information into multiple modules to create a preferred, trusted, tested, peer-reviewed educational package available to every county in the nation.

Two Key Dimensions of eExtension Internal Use –Targets Extension educators –Curriculum and other educational products External Use –Targets consumers –Short responses to various consumer requests INTERNAL EXTERNAL

Integration Into eExtension

Our Future Plans Build on the success of this conference by delivering training to other regions of the U.S. Monitor the changing needs of rural businesses in the e-commerce arena Invest in individuals who are positioned to develop educational programs/activities that respond to these changing needs Keep the knowledge and skills of Extension educators cutting-edge

E-Commerce Newsletter Plan to launch new e- commerce newsletter for Extension educators and others Will provide timely updates on new educational resources, research studies, upcoming workshops, etc. Also want to highlight business success stories Other ideas?