Program Development Through the Plan of Work The next four years...

The Four Year Plan of Work It is once again time to begin preparation for the program planning process we utilize in Kentucky for the development of a new Four Year Plan of Work.

Why a Plan of Work? “Extension is a public agency supported primarily by public (tax) dollars.” “With increasing accountability for our time and resources allocated to Kentucky Cooperative Extension, we need to show that our actions are planned and deliberate.” “The Plan of Work is our ‘contract with the community’ - a public display of locally identified issues and our plans to address them.”

Why a Plan of Work? The Plan of Work is like the rudder for our ship… without a rudder, we would wander aimlessly without a course or deliberate direction…

The Plan of Work guides our program in the direction identified by local leaders

The Plan of Work helps us find a proper balance between Service and Education Service Education

The Plan of Work serves as a guide to the appropriate use of resources.

The Plan of Work process makes our efforts the people’s program

Without a rudder… Eventually, our ship would be lost…. and the biggest losers would be our clientele.

We need to: discover the issues affecting the people of Kentucky that we can address through educational programs. Those are the nuggets we must search for!

We call this process and you have a role in it!

Program Development is more than…. 1. looking at the results of the annual Extension Homemaker lesson ballot, 2. waiting for the in-service training catalog to come out to see if a specialist is releasing any new “canned” programs, 3. going to a national conference to see what kind of free program materials you can pick up, 4. doing whatever grant funding is available to support, 5. figuring out what will get you the highest performance rating from your District Director.

What are the issues affecting the people of Kentucky that might need to be addressed through educational programs? ASK!

W hen Detroit brings out a new car, do you think they do so without asking people what they want? W hy would Extension plan a program for the people without asking what they want?

Program development is a deliberate process through which Extension Agents engage representatives of their communities in designing, implementing and evaluating plans of action for addressing needs and issues they have helped to identify.

Program Development is……… a deliberate process through which Extension Agents engage representatives of their communities in designing, implementing and evaluating plans of action for addressing needs and issues they have helped to identify.

“But didn’t we just do that??? I just completed my POW!”

The Four Year Planning Cycle Four years ago, each county conducted a major needs assessment to identify program thrusts Extension should focus on in coming years. That information was used to develop the current 4 Year Plan of Work. Each year since then has been an annual “update” designed to keep that 4 Year Plan of Work current and relevant. We are now in the 4 th year of the current 4 Year Plan of Work. Time to start over again!!!

What has changed in your county in the last 4 years? What has changed in your county? Make a list!

What has changed in 4 years? Staff – new and different talents Funding – new tax, more grants, local partnerships bring new resources Agriculture – loss of tobacco, more part time farmers, new and different crops Population - increasing, decreasing, identification of underserved audiences, influence of urbanization, demographic changes. Families – opportunities, challenges, other agencies bringing new resources Health Issues – new challenges, new resources, new cures and new university partners Jobs – clientele traveling farther to work, competition for clientele time/availability Etc.

So, things do change! Each county has a current Plan of Work which was either: 1. developed by existing agents 4 years ago when things were different, or 2. was inherited by new agents who, for the most part, have not gone through a major needs assessment in the county in which they now work.

The Plan of Work Process: Has it changed since last time? We will continue to use the same Six Stage Program Development Process we have used for the last 4 year Plan of Work cycle. Although the process will not change significantly there are some components we need to emphasize and strengthen. The Plan of Work template or the document itself will continue to be based on the Logic Model and will change only to better explain expectations when filling it out.

The Plan of Work Process (cont.) Areas to Strengthen: Involvement of the community in the process 1. Go beyond our regular extension family. 2. Review and strengthen the makeup of our councils. Identification of measurable outcomes 1. Focus on the “outcomes” area of the Logic Model, preferably what people are doing differently as a result of involvement in Extension Programs. 2. There is now an opportunity to list multiple outcomes for you as well as you and your co-workers.

The Plan of Work Process (cont.) Identify Audiences 1. Be as specific as possible in defining targeted audiences. 2. In the Affirmative Action Plan (formerly Civil Rights Plan) you will be asked to identify your specific efforts to address the program needs of underserved audiences. Learning Opportunities – 1. List the planned educational activities which will bring about the desired results. -This is not a place to slot everything you do. -Will the activities listed result in the outcomes you plan to measure? -List activities separately along with resources and dates. Be as specific as possible with dates rather than “ongoing” or “year-round.”

So there you have it! An overview of the development of the 4 year Plan of Work.