Urban Extension Toolkit

A competent urban Extension workforce is critical to extending university research to address today’s complex issues. However, older models of training the Extension workforce do not always align with current needs. Urban Extension professionals face a different set of challenges than their rural colleagues including large and diverse populations and complex ecosystems of public and private organizations. The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) has identified the need to improve inclusivity, promote equitable organizations in Extension, and collaborate with diverse communities. This project support’s ECOP’s work and the ongoing work of the Extension professional organization, Epsilon Sigma Phi, by laying the groundwork for an Urban Extension Toolkit – a “playbook” of actions that Extension professionals and administrators can use to address specific challenges in urban communities particularly as it relates to policy, systems, and environmental change within organizations. 

With the development of an Urban Extension Toolkit, all Extension professionals in metropolitan areas and across LGUs would have access to a ready-to-use training and support system with an equity lens. This toolkit would include standardized measures that could be used by any program area while providing opportunities to reflect the local context and allow Extension leadership to evaluate their progress on becoming a truly equitable organization. Despite its focus on the urban context, it would also give professionals working along the entire urban-rural continuum the support and confidence needed to authentically engage with culturally diverse audiences. As of now, this toolkit will fill a resource gap for Extension professionals and provides an opportunity to leverage the priorities of NUEL—position, partners, personnel, and programs—and would help Extension remain relevant to diverse and urban audiences well into the future.