National Charrette Institute Leads University of Kentucky Urban Extension Strategic Planning
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EmailNCI led the University of Kentucky (UK) and Kentucky State University urban serving Extension agents, administrators, and volunteer leaders in a strategic planning process.
In the last couple of years, the National Charrette Institute at Michigan State University has been helping organizations develop strategic plans using the charrette methodology.
During the week of June 13-16, 2023, the National Charrette Institute led the University of Kentucky (UK) and Kentucky State University urban serving Extension agents, administrators, and volunteer leaders in a strategic planning process. The goal was to provide a clearer picture of where urban Extension in Kentucky needs to be headed and to gather feedback on the Urban Extension Initiative Conceptual Framework developed by Drs. Bryan Hains, Kris Hains, Jeff Young, and Jeff Fugate at UK (Figure 1.).
According to Jeff Young, Director for Urban Extension at UK, one of the challenges for any strategic planning process is to garner participant commitment to attend and provide the feedback needed. “For us, a virtual format utilizing online tools worked because it allowed participation without the added time and expense of travel. We were able to capture the data we needed with minimal disruptions to people’s work schedules.”
NCI used a variety of engaging online tools and created an online space where the team could collaborate, and still does. Alternating between small and larger group work ensured that voices were heard, and work got done.
“We started by socializing the plan and taking in comments, then we defined an action-oriented vision, and lastly created action plans for each of the quadrants that have been guiding our work since. We accomplished in three days what would have taken us months to do, especially where travel is a challenge, Young added.
