STRENGTHENING COOPERATIVE EXTENSION CAPACITY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE

<b>Project Methods</b><br> During the 2021-2022 SLSN Grant, district level, interdisciplinary teams were created to help UGA Extension prepare and respond to emergency situations. The teams were trained in foundational elements (ex. ICS 700, CERT) to build capacity for response.Counties updated their Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs) to outline procedures for emergency response and partnerships were created and/or strengthen with state and local agencies associated with emergencies in response to plan creation.Since the conclusion of the SLSN 21-22 grant, the teams report a lack of clarity in their roles moving forward, county personnel have not been trained in their response procedures and while partners work more directly with UGA Extension, additional alignment is needed to ensure all entities are responding effectively.Based on these needs, the efforts are being divided into three categories: 1)internal capacity building within teams and clearer guidance from administrative and district leaders; 2) stronger alignment with external partners, including the development of more clear operating procedures and communication procedures; and 3) develop and implement county-level personnel preparedness training aligned with the COOPs and materials with offices to prepare them for potential emergencies. For the internal capacity building, the project leadership will use feedback from the end of the SLSN 21-23 close-out survey to identify specific training requested by the teams.These will be a combination of program area-specific content as well as team building and readiness activities.As appropriate, state and local agencies and other state Extension systems will be invited to conduct the trainings.The administrative and district leadership will work on developing proposed county operating procedures, including when and how to activate teams, communication strategies between teams, districts, and administration, and identify materials needed for a seamless implementation. To build a strong partnership with external agencies, several activities will occur. First, the administrative and project leadership will collaborate with partnerships to determine and elucidate best practices in inter-agency communication.Second, joint training and learning opportunities will be developed and planned to assist personnel in working with other agencies.Finally, opportunities for formalized partnerships (ex. Grants) will be identified and explored.To develop and implement county-based personnel preparedness training aligned with the COOPs, district, and team leaders will work with county Extension offices to complete and/or refine plans based on recent emergencies in the area.County personnel will be engaged in yearly, scenario-based exercises to build skills in recognizing a potential emergency and executing a plan of action. Both county and district personnel will be solicited to provide input on resources needed for emergency response in the offices and counties.Existing, research-based information will be identified, and where missing, new materials developed. All documents developed will be reviewed by district teams to ensure clarity of purpose and ease of implementation.Where possible, teams will have a multi-lingual individual to help facilitate clear communication with audiences for whom English may not be their first language. In Georgia, many farm and ag laborers speak Spanish, and toolkit materials and social media messaging will be made available in Spanish to reach this audience. Field experts will be recruited to peer review new toolkit materials. Experts will be identified through the EDEN network and other sister institutions participating in the project. The Extension Materials Assessment Tool (Braun, McCoy, & Finkbeiner, 2014) will serve as the primary guide for this process.Evaluation:The aim of the proposed project is to develop systemic readiness in support of emergencyresponse through a multi-pronged strategy: (1)Strengthen/expand internal capacity for UGA Extension to prepare and respond to disasters and emergencies; (2)Strengthen alignment, coordination, and communication protocols and processes with local, state, and federal agencies that have a designated role in emergency response; and (3)Develop and implement county-based personnel preparedness training aligned with Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs). In order to determine whether these strategies are successful, we will conduct both process and outcome evaluations for each project activity.Process Evaluation. The goals of our process evaluation are to describe how well the projectactivities were implemented under specific circumstances and in specific settings, to identifychallenges and missed opportunities, and to provide information for increasing project efficiencyand effectiveness. The process evaluation questions are guided by the activities described in ourlogic model. All project staff will collect process evaluation data. Drs. Bowie, Brown, and Martin will develop forms for each process evaluation question and protocol, will train staff (as appropriate) on implementing process evaluation measures, and will be present at select data collection points to ensure compliance with the protocol.Outcome Evaluation. The goal of our outcome evaluation is to determine the effectiveness ofeach project activity in meeting the project objectives. Evaluation questions willmeasure each short-term outcome and the training-related medium-term outcomes described inthe logic model. Data will be collected by project staff. Dr. Brown will provide leadership forthe development of all outcome evaluation protocols and measures, in consultation withDrs. Bowie,Martin, and Post, as well as CoPIs Tedrow, Griner and Moore will train appropriate project staff in outcome evaluation protocols and will be present at selected data collection points to ensure protocol adherence. Individual quantitative data will be collected online through structured surveys. Detailed checks for data fidelity will be conducted prior to the analysis of data files using statistical software.Project communication will occur among co-PIs and Extension agents through one-on-one phone calls, conference calls, online meetings, and face-to-face meetings. Communicationwith sister, agencies will occur via email, conference calls, and face-to-face meetings. The team will work to distribute materials developed during the project and provide training opportunities for their response team members. The University of Georgia uses an internally developed web-based system for financial reporting, budgeting, personnel, and departmental accounting.