Purpose, Values and Operating Principals
Our Purpose:
We help Cooperative Extension professionals find innovative ways to generate greater local impact.
We achieve this through our nationally funded programs made possible by member dollars and cooperative agreements with federal agencies, and through partnering on state, regional, and national initiatives with Cooperative Extension and the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP). We serve all Land Grant Universities, regardless of membership status.
Values
Community Engagement. We believe community engagement is critical for achieving transformational change, sustainable outcomes, processes, partnerships, and shared decision-making.
Continuous Learning. We recognize today’s pace of change requires continuous learning and adaptation characterized by eagerness to engage with multiple perspectives, courage to explore challenges and the unknown, and a focus on transformational change.
Diversity and Inclusion. We focus on fostering and strengthening a workforce that reflects the diversity of the land grant system. We believe diverse perspectives that are welcomed and celebrated lead to better decisions, more creative innovation, more effective problem solving, and robust relationships. To achieve these goals, we are committed to a culture of openness, inclusion, constant introspection and growth mindset. Our goal is to be the model for higher education institutions by creating experiences that acknowledge the value of acceptance in creating an authentically powerful culture.
Equity. We commit to ensuring our programs and processes are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every person. The Extension Foundation consistently strives to ensure everyone has access to the same opportunities by recognizing existing advantages and removing barriers to value adding equitable impact.
Innovation. We believe innovation is the call to the future and a central capability for maximizing opportunities for making impact in the 21st century.
Integrity. We believe working honestly, ethically, and responsibly is the bedrock and basis of excellence in Extension Foundation’s work.
Partnering. As partners, we are committed to our member, partner, and their community’s successes – we focus on open communication, anticipating needs and opportunities, and cultivating innovative solutions.
Transformation. We are future focused and align, integrate, and communicate strategies and actions that result in transformation not just transference of information.
Servant Leadership. We are committed to serving the common good by empowering others to grow, advancing expectations, linking individual and group successes and supporting efforts making impacts among our members, partners, and their communities.
Operating Principles
Our OPERATING PRINCIPLES guide how we engage the nation’s Extension professionals to help them become more productive and successful.
Communication and Trust. Our culture of open communication strengthens our teamwork and accountability, builds trust, and supports our innovative approaches – we respect, listen, and value the opinions of our teams, partners, and members as a critical means for success.
Empower. Innovation, sustainable solutions, and transformational change is fostered in our culture of empowerment where people and groups have the freedom and responsibility to learn, experiment, test, fail, and take responsibility for actions.
Excellence and Quality. We seek excellence and produce quality work by having a laser focus, innovative teams, high levels of accountability, a rigor of continuous improvement, and continuously seek to gain experience and knowledge.
Gratitude. Through gratitude, we discover powerful and positive ways to look at life, uplift progress, and contribute to positive change.
Open Management and Work. Collectively, we all work to fulfill Extension Foundation’s mission and contribute to its success by engaging our teams as innovators and entrepreneurs who share information, progress, and outcomes, support co-creation and innovation, and operate with the agility and nimbleness to address what is emerging and move on it at the pace of change.
Outcome Focused. We are driven by achieving results and measure success through multiple lenses.
Systems Approach. We recognize all parts contribute to the whole and therefore, our work integrates system approaches within theories of change.