POTENTIAL LOCAL IMPACTS OF UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN COUNTY-BASED FACULTY AND STAFF PARTICPATION IN THE PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM IN NICARAGUA: A DELPHI STUDY

1
POTENTIAL LOCAL IMPACTS OF UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN COUNTY-BASED FACULTY AND STAFF
PARTICPATION IN THE PARTNERS OF THE AMERICAS
FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM IN NICARAGUA A DELPHI
STUDY

• Global Perspectives II
• January 19, 2005
• Aliesha R. Crowe
• UW-Extension-Rusk County

2
Review

• Globalization
• Internationalizing Extension
• UW-Extension International Work
• Farmer-to-Farmer Program
• County-based faculty and staff only

3
Delphi Technique

• Methodology
• Expert Panel selection
• Round 1 question
• Round 2 questionnaire
• Round 3 questionnaire
• Three-round summary

4
Results

• Logic Model
• Short-term impacts
• Medium-term impacts
• Long-term impacts

5
Logic model
6
Results

• Short-term Impacts
• DefinedLearning, Awareness
• Global perspectives for local clientele/community
  
• Global Perspectives for Agent/Colleagues

7
Results

• Medium-term Impacts
• DefinedAction taken behavior, policy, practice
  change
• Professional development/personal benefits in
  terms of action taken
• Action of/for clientele

8
Results

• Long-term Impacts
• DefinedChange in conditions
• Operating Globally

9
Short-term Outcomes-Impact

• A. Global Perspectives for local
  clientele/community

10

•  Create awareness of the difficulties experienced
  in Nicaraguathat they are many times worse than
  what we face and for the most part we should
  consider ourselves fortunate (even though we face
  marketing, pricing, and regulatory problems of
  our own).
• The description of my project work included
  observations about resource limitations and
  problems encountered by agricultural producers
  and the CONAGAN organization. Identifying these
  resource limitations and problems are very
  helpful in local program development. Too often,
  we take for granted the many resources we have.

11

• Individuals learn about the projects, the people
  of Nicaragua, the Nicaraguan culture, and the way
  agriculture is practiced there.
• Local committee learns about many of the
  differences (and some of the similarities) of how
  agriculture is practiced in the two countries.

12

• I believe many of the people who I address are
  enlightened about the conditions in Nicaragua
  (both good and bad), and that they gain a better
  appreciation for what life is like here in
  Wisconsin.
• Local people get a better understanding of
  agriculture, culture, life in a third world
  country.

13

• Increased cultural awareness
• Through local publicity(newspapers, etc) and
  presentations, citizens learned of the challenges
  facing individuals in the communities where
  Partners volunteers lived and worked.

14
Short-term OutcomesImpact

• B. Global Perspectives for Agent/Colleagues

15

• Participation helps the agent gain a new
  understanding and appreciation of people living
  in developing countries.
• Participation helps the agent to appreciate some
  of the struggles our countrys original
  agriculturalists faced when settling the land in
  this country.
• Colleagues in Extension learn a lot about people
  living in developing countries from listening to
  participant agent experiences.

16

• Participation reminds the agent of the importance
  of economic development--maintaining/improving
  local infrastructure and leadership.
• Provides agent with a life experience to bring to
  work and community.

17
Medium-Term Impacts

• A. Professional development/personal benefit in
  terms of action taken

18

• The work with both the university faculty, the
  partner agency and the producers helped me
  develop patience and sensitivity toward working
  with others.
• Overall, and most importantly, the work built my
  confidence in a variety of waysin a relatively
  short period, I used critical listening skills,
  identified issues, problems and resources and
  thought through and put together an
  appropriate/effective response.

19

• Working on these projects has helped me to think
  of new ways to solve practical problems that
  farmers in our area face when capital or
  infrastructure are lacking.
• I have much better appreciation now for the
  fragility of our local landscape and the
  necessity for being good stewards of our
  environmental and agricultural resources.
• The experience I had interacting with and
  teaching farmers in Nicaragua required a great
  deal of flexibility and imagination at times, and
  have helped me improve my teaching abilities here
  at home.

20

• My participation made me a more effective teacher
  and facilitator in content areas such as
  strategic planning, needs assessment,
  facilitation of open discussions.
• Teaching experience that can be used locally.

21

• Ability to compare adult learning styles and
  non-traditional ways of teaching.
• It was also a great way to recharge my
  batteriesbring new creativity and energy to
  local programming.

22
Medium-term Impacts

• B. Action of/for clientele

23
Impacts were listed on original surveys, but the
panel did not indicate any were likely or very
likely.???????
24
Long Term Outcomes-Impact

• Operating Globally

25

• Participation may result in local
  groups/individuals getting involved in exchange
  or programs that could help communities in
  Nicaragua.

26
Potential Long Term Impacts

• The questions to ask
• Do they exist?
• In this program?
• In other programs?
• How do we measure them?
• How do we communicate them to stakeholders?

27
Recommendations

• 1. Future studies should determine if cultural
  differences within the county of assignment
  affect the impact of international work.
• 2. Assessment of local impact of international
  work should occur at the local level in order to
  articulate potential benefits.
• 3. In developing an internationalized extension
  program the objectives/goals and expected
  benefits should be clearly articulated to
  participants and stakeholders.
• 4. Future research should include other
  UW-Extension international extension work.
• 5. Future research should include other
  UW-Extension faculty and staff that are not
  county-based.

28
References

• Taylor-Powell, E., Steele, S., Douglah, M.
  (1996). Planning a program evaluation. Retrieved
  April 2002, from University of Wisconsin-Extension
  -Cooperative Extension, Program Development and
  Evaluation Unit Web site http//www1.uwex.edu/ces
  /pubs/pdf/G3658_1.PDF
• Crowe, A. (2004) Masters Thesis. POTENTIAL LOCAL
  IMPACTS OF UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN COUNTY-BASED
  FACULTY AND STAFF PARTICPATION IN THE PARTNERS OF
  THE AMERICAS FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM IN
  NICARAGUA A DELPHI STUDY.