Performing Department
Agricultural & Human Sciences
Non Technical Summary
The NC State CYFAR 4-H Military Partnership Professional Development and Technical Assistance Project is designed to build capacity, to support military services in the development of 4-H programming, and to extend the synergy of a historic partnership. Through professional development, communication, and evaluation, the project combines the knowledge and resources of Extension and military services. Building trust and sharing responsibility creates opportunities for supporting our military families as we nurture and support youth. Supporting the three strategic objectives of providing professional development and technical assistance to Land-grant institutions and Cooperative Extension systems, supporting the accessibility of 4-H positive youth development programs for military-connected youth and families, and integrating 4-H Military partnership programming into ongoing Extension programs for youth and families, this proposed program endeavors to strengthen this collaborative partnership. The project initiatives align with the goals of developing self-directed and contributing citizens through positive youth development and take an approach that is local and international, technical and visionary, and meets the needs of a diverse audience of Extension 4-H faculty, staff and volunteers, military installation staff, and our military families.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The overarching goals of the CMPC-PDTA program are threefold:1. To provide professional development and technical assistance to the Land-grant institutions and Cooperative Extension Systems, in collaboration with other organizations, to ensure continued development and implementation of the 4-H program on military installations. The CMPC-PDTA program, collaboratively through the Extension system will provide the components of professional development and technical 5 assistance in keeping with the CYFAR Guiding Principles.2. To support the development of Cooperative Extension's educational 4-H positive youth development programs (in local, often rural communities) for military-connected youth based on identified needs and soundly grounded in research.3. To integrate 4-H Military Partnership programming into ongoing Extension programs for children, youth, and families - ensuring that military-connected youth continue to be a part of Extension 4-H programs and have access to resources and educational opportunities.
Project Methods
The CMPC-PDTA supports the implementation and capacity of the 4-H Military Partnership and Outreach Support Program and integrates the military partnership programming into ongoing Extension programming, supports 4-H programs on installations and support all military-connected youth through efforts with Land grant institutions, Extension, and other partners. These objectives will be met through stakeholder engagement, professional development, communication, and evaluation.Stakeholder Engagement: Two primaries entities, Extension and the military services including Guard and Reserve, are stakeholders in this project. 4-H Military Liaison or Extension Military Liaison are appointed in each of the 54 states and territories and serve as representatives and boundary spanners for Extension. Within the military services, each branch has appointed representatives to speak on behalf of their service. In assessing needs and determining efforts to provide the most robust support without duplication, the 4-H Military Working Group (MWG) guides the process. The 4-H MWG includes 4-H military liaison representatives from each of the Extension regions, the services 4-H youth program specialists and military service representatives. The 4- H Program Leaders Working Group (PLWG) charters the MWG and provides the support and connection to the overall Extension 4-H programming efforts. Throughout the project, various needs assessments will be collected to ensure programming is mutually beneficial and meeting the needs of Extension and military services. An informed project baseline will be provided by data gained from previous and newly conducted needs assessment surveys.Professional Development: Composed of liaison focused programming, face-to-face, distance learning, and 4-H curricula for military-connected youth provide the primary professional development components.Regional 4-H military liaison meetings offer opportunities for updates in grant-funded projects, networking, and sharing, as well as identified professional development. These localized opportunities are part of a more extensive regional training and serve as a precursor to the national meeting.Hosting a pre-conference for 4-H military liaisons and interested county Extension faculty, staff, and stakeholders in conjunction with the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA) conference enables the MPPDTAP to combine efforts with a high quality existing professional development opportunity. A pre-conference, day-long event provides liaisons a full day of training and networking. Additionally, supporting the conference planners in offering multiple workshops specifically targeted to the youth development professionals working with military-connected provides additional support for those engaged in the NAE4HA meeting. Offering a wrap-up seminar for the military liaisons supports creating an environment to plan and set goals for inclusion of knowledge gained in programming and maximizes the synergy of the liaison group.The NAE4HA conference initiative begins with the 2020 conference in Boise, ID and extends to the 2012 conference in Nashville, TN. The 2020 conference will feature the "Understanding Military Communities" concept for new county educators. The program is a "grab and go" resource to use in onboarding 4-H educators, staff, and volunteers who are new to communities with a strong military presence. The local educator program is the precursor to the later "Supporting your State's 4-H Military Efforts program." Designed for the new 4- H liaison, liaison partner with military services youth development professionals and experienced liaisons to understand the broad 4-H Military Partnership, military culture as it relates to the liaison's state, and information for working with their services.Face-to-Face Regional Training: Three joint training events in each of the four regions provide youth program staff and local 4-H staff and volunteers opportunities to ensure military youth are more seamlessly integrated into local 4-H programs and to more clearly align their programming goals, identify mutually beneficial programming efforts, and create synergy around their team effort of supporting 4-H military youth. Year 1 regional training events will collaboratively host the 4-H military liaison regional meeting. In combining these efforts leading up to the launch of the NAE4HA pre-conference event, we can meet the specific liaison needs while making the best use of funds. Subsequent year will still include liaison efforts and allow for structured time for liaisons to share. The NAE4HA effort will replace the full-day regional liaison meeting. Webinars will also be scheduled throughout the year will focus on the topics identified through the need assessments. The webinars provide ongoing support for new employees within both entities of the partnership and meet staff and professional development needs.Communication: Building upon the synergy of existing initiatives including the MWG, the 4-H marketing campaigns, and the Extension conferences, the goals in this area support and highlight the work of the total partnership. These efforts enable the 4-H MPPDTAP to grow, to understand, increase participation and build capacity to meet the project objectives. These efforts include web-based communication, marketing initiatives and conference calls for intentional partner engagement. The primary tool for web-based communication is a website to serve as a repository for resources, a space for highlighting partnership success stories, and a network to connect all members of the partnership with various end-users and military families. A formal relationship with a marketing expert will be established to develop strategies for using existing resources and identifying needed additional materials for the specific military family. The marketing expertise also will promote the purpose and intent of the 4-H Military Partnership and highlight the work accomplished by the Inter-Agency Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding to support military families through a partnership with Extension. To enhance communication with all partners, 4-H Military Liaisons can connect through quarterly conference calls providing space to briefs, announcements, and sharing. Including in these calls are supporters such as USDA, military services, National 4-H Council, and the PLWG providing an opportunity for a stronger partnership. Similar to the 4-H liaisons, service representatives have a quarterly conference call to share trends and needs and provide a planned opportunity to enhance the work of the 4-H MPPDTAP project and the support of 4-H for services.Evaluation:Working with military services and National 4-H Headquarters, 4-H MPPDTAP will develop a 4-H Military Partnership Reporting System for installation use. This is a systemwide approach to participation data collection at the services level, enabling us to report 4-H programming on installations more effectively and provide needed data to local and state Extension programs as well. In providing an accurate portrayal of how many youths are impacted by 4-H programming, how many chartered clubs with officers are functioning on installations, and what content is delivered, 4-H programming on installations can be clearly supported and evaluating by Extension. The evaluation reporting system will support the Return on Investment project by providing stakeholders and investors the opportunity to evaluate and share program impacts. This data will inform the overall project management and may also impact marketing strategies. Evaluation efforts will continue to be refined with opportunities to explore the continued impacts of training and implementation of programs. When feasible, prior program participants may offer feedback from programs.