About the eXtension Foundation – Extension Foundation

Our mission is to help Extension professionals generate a more visible, measurable, local impact. We achieve this through the Impact Collaborative.

About

The United States Cooperative Extension (CE) System shares resources and tools through eXtension with the CE workforce. This is accomplished with funding from CE directors and administrators, and USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The shared goal is to enhance local and national impact. eXtension is an integral part of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP).

eXtension provides a core set of services and tools to all Land-Grant institutions regardless of membership status. For example, USDA-NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) grants are supported regardless of whether the grantees are from member institutions. In addition, all citizens have access to the content on eXtension and the Ask an Expert tool.

Members of eXtension receive additional benefits, including special pricing, and enhanced tools and services, including participation in the Impact Collaborative, eXtension’s flagship program. Members are land-grant universities paying an annual membership fee (January-December) based on each institution’s federal assessment. eXtension is a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization. Its board of directors represents the Cooperative Extension’s five regions, ECOP, and USDA-NIFA.

Inclusive of All Land Grant Universities

eXtension serves all land-grant universities, regardless of membership in the eXtension Foundation. eXtension user accounts and some tools are available to anyone with .gov, .mil, and .edu email addresses for no fee. These services are provided through a program supported by USDA-NIFA for the purposes of disseminating research-based information to the public.

Mission

eXtension’s mission is to increase Extension professionals’ effectiveness in addressing issues of importance to the nation. eXtension provides up-to-date science, evidence-based information and education to Extension professionals and the general public. We foster creativity and innovation in developing solutions and methods of work, and advancing the visible and measurable impact of this work for the public good. Learning opportunities to collaborate, co-learn and co-create are generated through our virtual network of more than 15,000 users system-wide.

The Impact Collaborative

The Impact Collaborative is a professional development experience for Cooperative Extension professionals. It provides learning opportunities geared towards innovation while bringing strategic support and new capacity to the System. These experiences are enhanced with the help of external partners and supporting organizations. Working together, we find new ways to generate visible and measurable local impact. The Impact Collaborative is supported by membership funding and is available exclusively to eXtension members.

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