Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
(N/A)
LINCOLN,NE 68583
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project focuses on a comprehensive plan to enhance Nebraska Extension's ability to facilitate connections and leverage educational resources and outreach to address recovery needs and help strengthen the resilienceof individuals, families,communities, and rural producers following a series of record-breaking extreme weather eventsin 2024.The increased cadence and severity of these events has tested the capacity of Extension to quickly pivot and rapidly respond to the immediate needs of people in impacted locations.A trusted resource in all 93 counties, Nebraska Extension is uniquely positioned to work across disciplines and engage with collaborative networks of specialists, stakeholders and partners to assess needs, identify solution-focused educational resources, and deploy a robust outreach campaign focused on meeting people where they are, with the resources they need, when they need them most. This project strengthens the capacity of Extension to work cooperatively and strategically to identify gaps and provide solutions during all phases of disasters while focusing on recovery. Targeted outreach, research-based and/or science-based educational resources, and learner-centered trainings and workshops will be deployed to support recovery and strengthen the resilience of Nebraskans when they are faced with future extreme weather events. Professional developmentand supportive resources for Extension teams will help increase their confidence and understanding of Extension's role in disasters. Project resources and best practices will be shared widely to help others increase their knowledge, gain skills, and inspire actionsthat strengthen their resilience. This project demonstratesNebraska Extension's commitment as a responsive and valued local partner in disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Through these efforts, Extension isdedicatedto helping all people co-create a better tomorrow.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goal.The overarching goal of this project is to increase Nebraska Extension's capacity to rapidly respond to recent extreme weather events and disasters by leveraging collaborative statewide, regional and national networks and provide expertise in support of educational resources and outreach to help meet people where they are, when they need help most.ObjectivesIncrease Nebraska Extension's capacity to develop and initiate Just-in-Time communications and outreach strategies focused on extreme weather response and recovery utilizing a Whole Community Approach.Provide resources, strategies, and training opportunities to support individuals, families, agricultural producers, and communities impacted by severe weather events.Strengthen the organizational capacity of Nebraska Extension by providing opportunities forExtension professionals to increasetheir knowledge of emergency management and Extension's role in disasters with a focus on response and recoveryin impacted regions.Evaluate, analyze and share the efficacy of the project outcomes to identify and promote best practices, improve the delivery of educational resources, and champion extension outreach efforts.
Project Methods
Objective 1 Methods:A faculty member will be identified and onboarded as a statewide Extension Educator who will serve as project manager and outreach specialist. They will work with the project team, Nebraska EDEN, campus networks, and community, local and state partners. The educator will work directly with Extension faculty and staff in communities impacted by severe weather and disaster events.Two part-time interns will be hired and positioned in locations impacted by disasters. They will support the project team,project manager and Extension faculty and staff with at least one intern focused on evaluations.Theproject team will facilitate four to six focus groups and conduct interviews with Extension faculty and staff, and stakeholders in communities and rural locations impacted by severe storms and disaster events. These discussions will identify resource and outreach needs as well aspopulations in the community with access and functional needs. Focus groups discussions will not be recorded but they will be transcribed, and the transcripts will help prioritize project outcomes.Develop and deploy a comprehensivemulti-media and outreach campaign that includes social media, web-based resources, public service announcements, radio spots and outreach activities promoting community resilience and service projects for 4-H/youth and adults.Objective 2 Methods:The project team will collaborate with Nebraska Extension's eight program focus area teams to identify existing resources and curriculum that can be immediately adapted, translated if needed, and shared with the public, stakeholders, and partners in the impacted locations. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: Protecting domestic water supplies from contamination due to severe weather and flooding; Mitigating safety risks in the home landscape and on acreages, farms and ranches following a disaster; Addressing risk and promoting the safety of youth and adult volunteers involved in service projects focused on disaster response and recovery; Responding to people withfunctional needs in disaster recovery; Addressing food safety during power outages; Incorporating nutritious and affordable shelf-stable foods and how to utilize them following a disaster (special focus on dietary needs and cultural preferences); Resources to help small producers of specialty commodities navigate disaster recovery while strengthening their resilience to future disaster events.Collaborate and coordinate with government, non-governmental organizations, neighborhood and homeowners associations, agricultural groups and other community stakeholders to identify needs, facilitate outreach and provide research-based and/or evidence-based resources and learning opportunities to guide individuals, families, communities, and agricultural producers in recovery while increasing their resilience to the impacts of future disaster events.Facilitate opportunities for nonformal education and skills training including, but not limited to Communicating with Farmers and Ranchers Under Stress, Ambiguous Loss, Sleepless in Nebraska, Integrating the Needs of Children in Disasters, Farm and Ranch Recovery, Food Safety and Nutrition Following a Disaster, Emergency First Aid and Disaster Psychological First Aid. These educational programs have evaluationcomponents that will be consolidated with the year-end project report.Extension faculty and staff will participate in select Farmer's Markets and community events in impacted locations to provide support and share information and resources to community members and vendor producers who may have been impacted by extreme weather or know someone who has. Extension faculty and staff will track direct contacts and record and share relevant quantitative and qualitative data.Objective 3 Methods:Facilitateprofessional development trainings for Extension faculty and staff focused on Extension's role in disasters, emergency management 101, and the Health, Wellbeing and Safety of Extension faculty and staff involved in disaster response and recovery. Pre-tests, post-tests and training evaluations will be used to determine knowledge gained and course effectiveness.Promote risk management and safety protocols for youth and adults volunteering or working in locations impacted by disasters. Risk assessment resources, after action evaluations and incident data will be utilized.NE EDEN will review and update Flooded with Volunteers: Guide to managing 4-H and Adult Volunteers During Disaster Recovery (EC3048).Nebraska Extension's Water and Cropping Systems, Livestock Systems, and Horticulture, Landscape and Environmental Systems teams will have opportunities to increase their knowledge about damage assessments and Extension's role in providing assessments to emergency managers and Farm Service Agencies when requested. Pre-tests, post-tests and training evaluations will be used to determine knowledge gained and training effectiveness.Facilitate virtual and in-person professional development for NE EDEN focused on operations, emergency management, crisis communications, and resource management in response to severe weather events and all-hazards emergencies.Partner with NE EDEN to develop an All-Hazards Resource Guide and Checklist for Extension professionals to employ when their community or region experiences an emergency event or disaster. Extension faculty and staff will be provided with training opportunities using the guide and checklist. Training courses will be evaluated,and the results recorded in PEARS.Objective 4 Methods: This project relies on digital and nondigital, qualitative and quantitative data to assess needs, identify gaps, evaluate Extension's response protocols and educational programs, outreach and communications support. A variety of assessment timelines and approaches to include both standard and targeted assessments and strategies will be guided in part, by focus group discussions and surveys. This approach allows for assessments to also be designed real-time to help capture the impact of this project as it unfolds.An evaluation tool for internal and external programs will be developed for Extension professionals to access and use to contribute to the evaluation of this project's effectiveness. This tool will be housedon PEARS (Program Evaluation and Supporting System). If there is a need, evaluation resources will also be provided in languages other than English. The numbers of activities and participants will also be recorded in PEARS. Evaluation data will be used to guide and support future post disaster strategies focused on helping individuals, families, communities and producers become more resilient to future impacts from extreme weather events.Focus group discussionsand surveys of Extension professionals will determine needs, identify local populations with access and functional needs and gauge resources availability in communities impacted by extreme weather events. Focus group discussions will not be recorded but they will be transcribed, and a transcript will be made available to the project team.Interviews will provide key informants opportunities to sharetheir perspectives and observationson the response and recovery efforts in impacted communities. Key informants includeExtension instructors, local Extension professionals, partners, and stakeholders engaged in community response and recovery.Pre- and post-tests and program evaluationswilldetermine knowledge and behavioral change in Nebraska Extension professionals focusing on their level of confidence, competence and actions reflectingExtension's role in disasters.This project leverages FEMA's National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness and explores opportunities to utilizethe Nebraska Rural Poll to examine actions, motivations, and the attitudes of Nebraskans before and after a disaster event.