Presentation at the 2007 Administrative Officers ConferenceSeattle, Washington, April 22-26, 2007

By Oscar Udoh

PLANNING PROCESS FOR THE SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

AND EXTENSION CENTER

Organizational Structure

The Organizational Structure of The SU Ag Center

• The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SU Ag Center or SUAREC) has a unique structure.

• The Center is an autonomous campus of the Southern University and A & M College System (SU System).

• The SU Ag Center is one of five campuses in the SU System.

Organizational of The SU Ag Center continued …

• Each campus is headed by a Chancellor who reports to the System President.

• The System is headed by a President who reports to the SU Board of Supervisors (the governing body).

• SU Ag Center has 3 Vice Chancellors - the Vice Chancellors report to the Chancellor.

- Vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance;- Vice Chancellor for Research;- Vice Chancellor for Extension. There are two directors (for Technology Services; and also

for the Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives- SCRI )

Research:

• The VC for research is assisted by the Associate Research Director.

• Research faculty and/or Project Directors report to the Associate Research Director.

• Some research faculty have appointment with extension.

• Most research scientists have joint appointment in teaching.

Extension:

• The VC for extension is assisted by associate or assistant specialists.

• Associate or Assistant Specialists report to the VC for extension.

• Research faculty who have joint appointment with extension also report their extension activities to the VC for extension.

* Most extension agents serve in more than one program area.

* There is a cooperative agreement between the SU Ag Center (1890) and the LSU AgCenter (1862).

Administration and Finance

The VC for Administration and Finance supervises:

• The Finance Department• The Facilities Coordinator• The Human Resource Analyst• The Office of Planning and Evaluation

Technology Services and the SCRI

• The Office of Technology Services combines technology, communications, and media relations to enhance research, extension, and teaching.

• The Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives (SCRI), created in 2004, is a satellite campus of SUAREC.

• SCRI focuses on 10 Parishes (Counties) where the majority of SUAREC’s target audience resides.

• SCRI assists in improving the socioeconomic environment in rural communities.

Mission Statement:

• The mission of the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center is to conduct basic and applied research and disseminate information to the citizens of Louisiana in a manner that is useful in addressing their scientific, technological, social, economic and cultural needs.

SUAREC Program Areas

1. Sustainable Agricultural Systems

2. Urban Forestry and Natural Resource Management

3. Nutrition and Health

4. Family and Human Development

5. Youth Development

6. Economic and Community Development

** These program areas were developed during a 3-day retreat of all SUAREC employees, August 2003.

Planning Process:

• Coordinated by the Office of Planning and Evaluation in consultation with the Chancellor’s Executive Council and a Special Planning Committee.

Chancellor’s Executive Council - comprises of the Vice Chancellors, Associate Research Director, Directors, and the Coordinator for Planning & Evaluation.

Special Planning Committee - comprises of the VCs, Directors, select faculty/staff from different units.

Planning Process continued

Sources of Information for Planning

• Parish (County) Advisory Council• Extension agents and extension specialists• Joint research/extension meetings• Surveys/evaluation of clients• Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES)• Community leaders and organizations• Commodity groups/organizations• Focus groups• Parish review (Conducted by LSU AgCenter in

cooperation with SUAREC)

Planning Process - Sources of Information for Planning

• Research faculty/staff• Other Land Grant Institutions• State and Federal Agencies• Local leaders• Southern University System• Assessment of previous plans, projects, and

program• Federal reports, Louisiana Performance

Accountability Reports.• Louisiana vision 20/20• Governor’s Poverty Eradication Initiative

Planning Process

• Extension agents meet and collect information from their parish advisory councils.

• Extension agents and research personnel organize meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, classes, and conduct surveys/evaluations during these activities to provide information for planning.

• Extension agents and research personnel carry out home visits, farm visits, and demonstrations and also collect feed back information.

Planning Process……….

• Parish advisory council – stakeholder inputs are used to establish priorities, goals and objectives consistent with state, regional and national issues based on the land-grant philosophy.

• The Parish Advisory Council is organized at the grassroots level by each extension program to involve clients, community leaders, state and local government officials, and other stakeholders in the process of identifying community needs and/or resources, programs and projects to address them.

Planning Process – Information Flow

Parish Advisory Council

Extension Agents

Extension Specialists

Joint Research & Extension

Meeting

Planning Process……….

• Information collected by extension agents is shared with extension specialists who in turn meet with research faculty in that specific program area to share useful information.

• Depending on circumstances, extension agents can discuss directly with research faculty.

• The Joint Research/Extension Exchange Meetings are held to dialogue, share ideas, and identify critical areas which warrant research by the Center to better serve the needs of clients.

Planning Process

• Extension Agents use information from focus groups, public forums, community leaders, and the client needs assessment to develop their annual plan of work.

• Agents’ plans of work are submitted to the specialists at the state office and used to develop the extension plan of work for each program area.

• The state specialists meet monthly with the Vice

Chancellor for Extension to report on progress of work (and problems) and to review and/or revise where necessary.

Planning Process

SUAREC develops the following plans to its funding sources:

• CSREES Rolling 5-Year Plan of Work

• 5-Year strategic Plan - submitted to the SU System

• 5-Year Strategic Plan - submitted to the Louisiana Board of Regents

Planning Conferences

• Strategic Planning: SUAREC holds periodic strategic planning retreats to provide a forum for sharing knowledge and information between research, extension, teaching, and other personnel and for creating a model designed to integrate all entities.

• The main goal is the exchange of information to ensure that research and extension programs in the Center as designed are relevant to the needs of the people of Louisiana and implemented to meet and address the needs of citizens.

Planning Process – Plan of Work/Strategic Plan

Joint research& extension

meeting

Meeting of VCs for extension

& research

Selection ofplanning

committeemembers

Selection ofFacilitators

& Recorders

PlanningConference

Writing Team

Planningcommittee

reviews plan

Office ofPlanning &Evaluation

Faculty & Staff -

Inputs/comments

Draft Plan(OPE)

Chancellor’s ExecutiveCouncil

Final Approval

Planning Conferences….

• Program Development Conference: The primary focus of the Program Development Conference is to bring together faculty and staff of the Center to create a comprehensive 5-year Plan of Work (POW) that meets and addresses the needs of the clientele/citizens of Louisiana.

• The major goal is to expose faculty and staff to an overall awareness and understanding of the problems/situations facing Louisiana citizens and the planned research and extension programs/projects to address them.

Planning Conferences….

For both strategic planning and program development conferences:

• Faculty and staff of the Center meet for 2-3 days.

• Prior to the meeting, information such as reports of accomplishments, accountability reports, previous plan assessment for accomplishments and shortcomings are provided to all and/or posted on SUAREC website.

• A Special Planning Committee - comprising of the VCs, Directors, select faculty/staff from different units is established to coordinate the event.

Planning Conferences…

• Faculty and staff are pre-assigned to different program area sessions.

• To ensure “thinking out of the box”, some faculty and staff are assigned to program area sessions other than their program areas of expertise.

• Extension specialists are usually assigned to their program areas of expertise.

• Facilitators conduct the sessions while recorders assist in recording the deliberations.

There are some advantages in being “small”.

Planning Conferences…

• Concurrent sessions are held representing each program area session.

• After exhaustive deliberations, facilitators, recorders and the writing teams compile the plan following the logic model.

• To ensure full participation, sign in sheets are provided

for overall conference and for each concurrent session.

• Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments are provided to keep participants from being “distracted”.

Planning Conferences

• Plans (drafts) are compiled per program area.

• Plans (drafts) are usually sent via e-mail to all faculty and staff for review, final inputs, and/or comments.

• Final inputs are incorporated.

• Draft plan undergoes review and scrutiny by the Special Planning Committee.

• Draft plan is submitted to the Chancellor’s Executive Council for review and approval.

Outcome Measures

• Completed plan follows the logic model approach.

• Expected output and outcomes are included in the plan.

• Performance indicators or key success indicators are also part of the plan - quantifiable measurements that reflect the critical success factors of SUAREC.

Some Performance Indicators

• Percent of clients who gain new knowledge/skills, awareness and/or change attitudes.

• Percentage of clients who adopt healthy recommendations • Percentage of clients who change behavior• Number of volunteer leaders (trained to lead youth

participants)• Number of youth participants involved in community

activities• Percentage of clients who adopt recommendations • Percentage of clients who utilize skills to gain positive

economic results• Percentage of clients who adopt healthy recommendations

Outcome Measures: Example – Child Care/Family & Human Development Program

• Rationale: The SUAREC Child Care Training Program provides a comprehensive and consistent child care training program in eight parishes statewide.

• The program offered child care centers and family child care providers an opportunity to maintain their licenses by taking the required 12 hours of educational training. The state requires that child care providers have 12 hours of continuing education credit annually.

Outcome Measures continued ….

Output Measures:

• A total of 32 classes offered with 50 providers participating in each session.

• • Classes are made available to a diverse

population of participants including: African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, and other races.

Planning Process – Outcome Measures

Expectedoutputs

Evaluationduring

activities –S.T. outcome

Follow-up survey-how many haveutilized skills/

knowledge

Determinationof impacts –

Behavior change

Outcome Measures continued ….

Outcome Measures: • 1. Short term – Evaluation conducted during each

session to determine (among other things):

a) if the sessions and topics were relevant to participants’ needs;

b) what new skills/knowledge participants gained; c) if the skills/knowledge participants gained will be useful; d) d) will participants use skills/knowledge gained?

• Percentages of the responses are calculated and reported as short term outcome.

Outcome Measures continued ….

• 2. Medium term

• Number of participants who completed the classes – their savings by attending SUAREC free classes versus attending privately conducted and paid for classes.

• Follow-up evaluation of participants to determine those who are contemplating to apply for the Child Development Associate Credential.

• Follow-up evaluation of participants to determine those who have started filling out forms to apply for the Child Development Associate Credential.

• Follow-up evaluation of participants to determine those who actually applied for the Child Development Associate Credential.

• Percentages of the responses are calculated and reported as medium term outcome.

Outcome Measures continued ….

• 3. Long term

• Follow-up evaluation of participants to determine those who actually updated their Child Development Associate Credentials.

• Evaluation of participants to determine how the Child Development Associate Credentials have enhanced their child care center operations.

Planning Process Support

• VC for research and VC for extension in constant (weekly) consultation regarding programs and activities.

• Network with peer institutions – 1890, 1862, 1994, etc.

• Joint research/extension participation in proposal reviews to ensure relevancy of research and funded projects to clientele needs.

Quarterly Reports

• An online report for the Louisiana Performance Accountability System (LaPAS).

Due Dates:1st Quarter: October 10 (July 1 – September 30)2nd Quarter: January 10 (October 1 – December

31)3rd Quarter: April 10 (January 1 – March 31)4th Quarter: July 10 (April 1 – June 30)

Supporting Documentation for Quarterly Report

• Sign-in sheet• Picture (in case of a very large audience)• Agenda for workshop, training, class, seminar, etc.• Materials presented• Daily (personal) log• Individual contact log (for home/office visits, e-mail,

telephone, personal visits, etc.) • Media sources – original newspaper, Journal, or other

publications, articles, etc.• Evidence of publications – special publication, technical

bulletin, newsletter, research report, research highlight, newspaper, etc.

Some Challenges

• Low or inadequate levels of funding• Inadequate manpower – faculty and staff• Divided loyalty• Faculty/staff buying into the plan• Culture of evaluation• Problem with faculty/staff submitting

reports on time

Contact information:Oscar Udoh

E-mail: oscar_udoh@suagcenter.com

Telephone: 225-771-2262 ext. 225

141 Ashford O. Williams Hall

P. O. Box 10010

Baton Rouge, LA 70813

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