Summary
Non Technical Summary
The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center (NCERMEC or the "Center") will deliver risk management education to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters manage risks and position their operations for future growth and success. The Center, located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will identify and assess producer risk management education needs and emerging issues through efforts with several producer and stakeholder groups. Building on the needs assessment results, the Center will implement an annual competitive grants program for both education and exploratory projects that deliver or lead to producer-focused, outcomes-based risk management education. An Advisory Council will work with the Center to oversee the needs assessment and programming efforts and to implement the grants program, including review of proposals in accordance with the Extension Risk Management Education (ERME) Operational Guidelines. The Center will help build capacity for risk management education through training for educators, applicants, and grant recipients and will work with other ERME partners to deliver national capacity-building programming and address emerging issues as appropriate. The Center will maintain a comprehensive communications plan to administer the regional competitive grants program, document results, promote the ERME program, and maintain a strong national linkage with other ERME partners. The Center's overall efforts will address producer needs, increase the capacity of producers to adopt improved risk management practices and decision-making, and help support financially sustainable, competitive, and prosperous agricultural production operations and systems.
Objectives & Deliverables
Goals / Objectives
The North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center will deliver a four-part program that supports riskmanagement education through a) producer needs assessment to inform educators and educational efforts, b) an annual regional competitive grants program for producer-focused education projects; c) educational efforts to build the capacity of educators; and d) an evaluation, reporting, and communication strategy that documents and communicates program impacts.The education projects funded through the Center will help producers understand, develop, and implement risk management information, plans, tools, and practices to improve the performance and viability of their operations. The Center will require SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) outcomes from grant applicants as part of the proposal process and will require rigorous evaluation and reporting requirements of its funded projects to document and report the intended outcomes. The Center also has measurable objectives and intended outcomes for its own activities to evaluate and verify its program impact:Needs AssessmentShort-term objectivesConduct listening sessions and focus groups to identify emerging issues and risk management education needs.Publish reports to guide regional RFA priority language and educate the public, including a report of special emphasis and underserved producer audience issues and needs.Long-run outcomesThe regional RFA priority language and the portfolio of applications and funded projects will reflect current and emerging risk management education needs of the full range of agricultural producers across the region.Grants Program, Capacity Building, and EvaluationShort-term objectivesDeliver informational and training webinars and educational events and materials.Increase tracking of outcomes and impacts of both individual funded projects and the full portfolio of projects.Long-run outcomesEvaluation efforts will demonstrate increased levels of educational capacity, increased producer understanding and implementation, and substantial project impacts over time as overall education increases and project delivery improves.Reporting and CommunicationShort-term objectivesA portfolio of stories, blogs, podcasts, and other content as appropriate will be produced about funded projects and disseminated via numerous communications channels.Long-run outcomesCommunication of funding opportunities, project outcomes, and long-run impacts will increase the visibility and awareness of the Center and the ERME program among potential applicants and risk management education stakeholders.
Challenges
Project Methods
The Center will deliver a four-part program that supports risk management education through a) producer needs assessment to inform educators and educational efforts; b) an annual regional competitive grants program for producer-focused education projects; c) educational efforts to build the capacity of educators; and d) an evaluation, reporting, and communication strategy that documents and communicates program impacts. The Center will employ a number of methods to deliver programs and to document and report program accomplishments:Meeting with its Advisory Council twice each year for purposes of administering an annual competitive grants program, assessing and prioritizing producer risk management education needs, and reviewing applications for project fundingConducting annual needs assessment meetings and efforts with the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee, an Institutional Listening Group, and a Special Emphasis Stakeholder Audience Listening GroupProviding training to potential applicants and to new grant recipients to help project directors develop and carry out effective risk management education programs, evaluation efforts, and reporting requirementsPartnering with other Extension Risk Management Education centers to deliver an annual national conference for risk management educators and with center and other stakeholders and organizations to deliver other high-priority risk management education programming as appropriateAdministering an annual regional competitive grants program in concert with other Extension Risk Management Education Centers to fund educational and exploratory projects that serve producers across the North Central Region, including those traditionally underserved by crop insuranceMonitoring the progress and performance of funded projects through required progress reports and final reports and tracking performance against project objectives and results, documenting the outcomes and impacts of risk management education efforts and fundingProducing stories, blogs, podcasts, and other media content as appropriate to highlight project results, successes, and impactsParticipating in and supporting select agricultural conferences to develop contacts, provide ERME information, and promote funding opportunitiesMaintaining and utilizing a website (http://ncerme.org) and social media efforts to share program information, opportunities, impacts, and other information as appropriate with producers, educators, and all program stakeholdersCollaborating on evaluation, development of evaluation resources, and improved measurement of project results, impacts, and effectivenessResearching and analyzing risk management practices, educational methodology, and overall program impacts
Principle Investigator(s)
Planned Completion date: 29/09/2028
Effort: $2,121,750.00
Project Status
ACTIVE
Principal Investigator(s)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Researcher Organisations
Recipient Organization UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA (N/A) LINCOLN,NE 68583
United Kingdom