SRPLN 2009 MM Accomplishment Report
From Extension Collaborative Wiki
SRPLN Middle Management Committee 2009 Accomplishment Report
Committees are asked to answer these three questions by Thursday, August 27th. Be brief. The goal is to limit the report to one page.
1. What has your committee accomplished together in the last year as a result of PLN?
•Continued working with the PSD committee to develop succession/training plan for managers: conducted a survey of CES managers (State Directors, Department Chairs, Middle Managers and County Directors) to determine needed training in required competencies.
•Urban Task Force conducted a survey southern region middle managers and members of task force to determine urban Extension issues and needs
•Planned and hosted an Urban pre-PLN Conference Session.
•Urban Task Force proposed consideration of an Urban Institute that will teach skill sets for administering urban programs.
•Continued to pursue opportunities to engage with middle managers from other regions for the purpose of sharing ideas and exploring collaborative interest.
•Shared ideas on staff recruitment, professional development, program evaluation, staff retention and other issues confronting MMs.
•Planned and implemented the 2009 Southern Region MM Conference in Athens, Georgia.
•We prepared background information, e.g., characteristics of an effective MM, positive reasons and barriers to becoming a MM that will be used to plan a succession strategy.
•Planned and implemented the inaugural national Middle Manager meeting at Galaxy III.
2. What has your committee accomplished together that it could not have accomplished without PLN?
•Most of these tasks could not have been performed without PLN and some were totally dependent on PLN, i.e., PLN, face-to-face discussions resulted in better outcomes.
•Collaborations with PSD that resulted in conducting a survey of CES managers to determine training needs for managers’ competencies would not have occurred without PLN.
•Pre-conference session and discussions with local County Extension Directors would not have occurred.
3. Please give a few examples of specific benefits to individual states.
•PLN allows more in-depth discussions of critical issues that we all address in our respective states and allows us to bring back to our states effective techniques and strategies and documents used by others.
•Discussions and sharing ideas about the success planning and training result in improved practices in all member states.
•PLN enhances our ability to begin planning for our biannual professional development conference.
•PLN serves as a dynamic catalyst for uniform change with directors, administrators and MM being exposed to the same information.
•PLN results in outcomes that have been adopted by states outside of our region so that the entire system benefits.
•When states are going through economic down-turns or difficulties, it is helpful to hear of previous approaches that other states have used for similar situations.
•It is most beneficial when all member institutions are involved in our deliberations of issues.
•Established a national network of Middle Managers.
