About the National Cooperative Extension System

1
About the National Cooperative Extension System

• Nationwide educational network
• Partnership of federal, state and local
  governments
• Purpose
• To bring educational resources from universities
  to local communities

2
System Partners

• Federal Partner
• United States Department of Agriculture USDA
  Cooperative State Research, Education, and
  Extension Service CSREES
• State Partners
• 74 land-grant institutions or universities
• Local Governments
• 3,150 counties in all states

3
How is a state Extension program funded?

• Federal
• Smith-Lever Act of 1914 and subsequent amendments
  
• State
• state appropriations
• Local Governments
• county support and appropriations
• Other
• outside grants and contracts

4
In Maine

• The University of Maine is Maines land-grant
  institution
• The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is
  UMaines largest outreach unit
• Our mission
• To help Maine people improve their lives through
  an educational process that uses research-based
  knowledge focused on issues and needs.
• Educational partners
• About 200 year-round and approximately 100
  seasonal employees
• Numerous volunteers throughout the state

5

• We believe
• that people learn best when they are involved in
  identifying issue and needs, obtaining reliable
  information, making their own decisions and
  solving problems.
• We will achieve our mission
• as Extension educational partners staff and
  volunteers rely on research-based knowledge from
  land-grant universities and other credible
  sources to do their work.

6
In achieving our mission, Maine residents will

• Direct and adapt to change to improve their lives
• Make decisions about their lives and the
  resources at their disposal to improve health,
  economic well-being and satisfaction
• Know where to find reliable information and how
  to use it in addressing the issues they face,
  individually and collectively, through voluntary
  action

7
and Maine residents will

• Direct public policy through active participation
  in identifying problems, selecting among
  alternative solutions and setting priorities for
  action
• Understand the inter-relationship of their
  individual actions with issues facing communities
  and the state
• See themselves as citizens of a nation and a
  planet where human culture is related to the
  protection and stewardship of natural resources
• Recognize their relationships to one another and
  act in ways that honor and respect all people.