Tag: MyData

Happy ISU Extension and Outreach Week

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John Lawrence’s message from April 13, 2020

While many things have changed drastically for Iowans in recent weeks, one thing that has not changed is ISU Extension and Outreach’s commitment to serving all Iowans. I am so proud of all you as you’ve stepped up during this crisis. Office doors may be locked, and events may be canceled, but you have been finding ways to continue engaging Iowans with research-based information and education. Neither working remotely nor physical distance nor anything else will stop us from building a #STRONGIOWA together!

Did you know? “Change is the only constant in life.” That quote might be from an ancient Greek philosopher or a cereal box, depending on the results of your internet search. (Note: My searches have said it was Heraclitus.) We don’t know yet what additional changes the COVID-19 pandemic will bring here in Iowa, throughout the country or around the world. But we do know that time and again, ISU Extension and Outreach has been there to help Iowans and their communities during a crisis.

Dealing with COVID-19 isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. ISU Extension and Outreach will continue serving Iowans online, over the phone, through email and text messages, whatever way we can. And when we get the “all clear” from our government and health officials, we will be serving Iowans in person and face to face once again. That’s something Iowans can count on – during this immediate crisis, during recovery and long beyond. Because we are always serving Iowans. Have a happy, safe and healthy ISU Extension and Outreach Week!

MyData update

  • Pilot participants have through June 2020 to test the MyData reporting system. (For those in the pilot, this is an ideal time to focus on MyData features and provide feedback on user-friendliness.)
  • Three online training modules are being developed to help staff and faculty understand MyData’s value to ISU Extension and Outreach, how MyData is organized, and users’ roles and responsibilities. After staff and faculty have successfully completed online training, they’ll receive their MyData license along with training on the practical details for using the system.
  • Rollout of MyData will be staggered across program units and county services during 2020–2021. Given the unpredictability related to our current state of physical distancing, all timeframes are tentative: November 2020, county services (regional directors); December 2020, human sciences; January 2021, community and economic development; March/April 2021, agricultural and natural resources; and September/October 2021, 4-H youth development. Additional rollouts will be set for ISU Extension and Outreach administrators and regional county staff.

Benefits and retirement sessions

  • Jane Walter, with University Human Resources, will be hosting a County Benefit Conversation with Councils on Saturday, April 18 at 10 a.m.
  • Jane also will host an ISU-Paid Employee Retirement session on Wednesday, May 6 at 3 p.m.
  • To participate in either session, go to https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/benefits. Both sessions will be recorded.

NCCEA speed meeting series

The North Central Cooperative Extension Association is offering three online speed meetings about mental/behavioral health (April 30), entrepreneurship (May 1), and rural community development (May 6). The series will highlight programs, success stories and partnerships in these key areas that have been identified as regional issues. Gain ideas and find others who you may be able to partner with on future programming. All speed meetings begin at 12 noon Central time. For more information and to pre-register for each session visit the NCCEA speed meeting series webpage.

PPSI fellowship opportunity

The Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute is seeking a qualified individual to fill a fellowship position supporting the development of the National Behavioral Health Extension Network. The NBH E-Net’s primary goal is to improve community prosperity and quality of life by increasing access to proven programs and services designed to enhance youth and family behavioral health and to prevent substance misuse. The fellow will provide expertise of relevance to the development of infrastructure and resources as part of the NBH E-Net Hub Organization, in collaboration with eXtension. For more information, review the position timeline, description, roles and responsibilities.

One more note

Remember to check the new homepage in MyExtension to find what you need to know about issues affecting our organization.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

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MyData and county websites

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John Lawrence’s message from Feb. 17, 2020

In ISU Extension and Outreach, it’s everybody’s job to create and share the value and impact of our work. This job will get easier and more accurate as we roll out MyData. This centralized system soon will become the way we collect and report information about our programs, educational contacts, partnerships, client relationships and outcomes. Did you know?

  • In September 2017 a steering committee began developing one reporting system for our organization. After considering many options, the committee decided the best approach was to create our own system with Salesforce.
  • In April 2019 MyData was ready for pilot testing. Folks in Carroll, Franklin, Monroe, Muscatine and Polk counties and on campus have been not only “kicking the tires” of MyData, but also trying to crash it. They are helping us build a stronger system, so if you have the opportunity, thank them for their efforts. The pilot ends in June.
  • From October 2020 through September 2021, we’ll do online and face-to-face training and rollout to our organization. Program directors will set the timelines for their staff and faculty to participate, and Andrea Nelson, assistant vice president for county services, will set the timelines for counties. (Timelines will be staggered to accommodate various annual schedules for professional development.) Please continue using your current reporting system until you are added to the rollout.
  • Then in October 2021 all staff and faculty with programmatic evaluation and reporting responsibility will use MyData for reporting inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts.
  • MyData will be our official reporting system for internal and external reports. Beginning with annual performance reviews in spring 2022, if it isn’t in MyData, it didn’t happen.

Stay informed about MyData so you will be ready for training and rollout to your program area, county or unit. (You can review my comments about MyData from the Feb. 10 Second Monday Live archive.) We collect, handle and report data to tell our story, so our data must be accurate to tell our story well. We must be accountable – to the university, the statehouse, our federal partners and our clients and stakeholders in every county.

In other news, county offices have until March 18 to enter a contest to be the first county to transition to the new Drupal 8 county website platform. The winner will be announced at Annual Conference, April 1. With this upgrade, our websites will help us better serve our clients. Did you know?

  • The new county websites will be accessible from the ground up. They will be tested prior to going live to ensure they meet all accessibility standards.
  • A new search feature allows for both county site only and extension-wide searches. (You can try out this feature on the Extension IT site.)
  • Due to the implementation of MyData, there will not be a new extension calendar at this time. However, a new staff directory will feed staff profiles into websites, meaning each staff member will have only one profile to maintain.

We’ll have more updates on the county website transition in the coming weeks.

More notes

  • Goodbye … and welcome, January 2020: Please review this list of individuals who left ISU Extension and Outreach in the past month, as well as those who have joined our organization.
  • The Feb 10 Second Monday Live archive is available. The session covered the Master Conservationist program and MyData.
  • IECA and 4-H Legislative Day is Feb. 19 in Des Moines. Extension council members and senior 4-H members will meet with legislators and hear from the governor, tour the World Food Prize building, network and participate in educational activities.
  • Join Cyndi Wiley, Iowa State’s digital accessibility coordinator, for The Art of Creating Effective Alt Text, Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. Connect online. The recording from the January webinar is available on MyExtension.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

Announcements ,

Testing MyData

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John Lawrence’s message from Sept. 23, 2019

Extension staff in five counties and on campus are busy testing MyData, our centralized system for collecting information about partnerships, client relationships and outcomes. The pilot phase started in April and is a time to test, learn, adjust and improve the system. If something is not working, this phase allows us to solve issues early, resulting in responsive changes for more consistent, robust and useful data collection. Did you know?

  • The current priority for testers is to collect Civil Rights data – gender, race and ethnicity – for both their direct and indirect contacts.
  • Tester Joy Rouse, a human sciences specialist in family life, is busy making MyData part of her regular routine. She appreciates the ability within MyData to report indirect contacts, partners and other staff with one entry.
  • Another tester, Kristin Taylor, Human Sciences creative projects specialist and MyData steering committee member, likes how the new system allows users to enter event details; and then the automated functions send a request for registration services to Conference Planning and Management, populate public calendars and program webpages with upcoming events, and set email reminders to enter post-program information.

We thank our pilot testers for the time they are investing to improve this tool and customize it for our needs. Because of their feedback, demographic fields were expanded to better understand participant reach, overall reporting is being reduced as current reporting systems are streamlined into MyData, and report functionality is being broadened to meet federal, state and local reporting requirements.

We expect a systemwide rollout of phase 1 by the end of 2020 or early 2021. Future phases will focus on developing a customer relations management platform; recording inputs such as volunteer hours, funding support, and educational material development; and collecting outcome data about client changes in learning, actions, and life conditions.

You can keep up-to-date on MyData progress. Please contact our database coordinator, Phil Heckman, pheckman@iastate.edu, with specific questions or ideas. When we roll out MyData, all staff will be asked to use this tool, and ongoing support and training will be offered. By working collectively toward our goal of consistent reporting, we can more accurately reflect our statewide client touchpoints and share how we’re building a strong Iowa through impact-rich programming.

Internal Communications: Area-wide meetings and Structured for Success

Thank you to those who participated in the area-wide meetings and thank you to everyone who has provided feedback on Structured for Success. These efforts directly relate to recommendations from our Internal Communications Task Force for two-way communication and a field-to-campus feedback loop. The Structured for Success committee offered two models for review, and extension staff, faculty and council members provided feedback during the Aug. 20 webinar and via the virtual suggestion box – also a result of a task force recommendation. (You can review the Structured for Success FAQ common themes, as well as the entire archive of FAQs.) We have had engaging discussions during the area-wide meetings and are receiving thoughtful feedback during the virtual meetings. In addition, a group of county directors has proposed a third model. We’re reviewing their draft with Iowa State Human Resources and University Counsel, and I expect to share a third model after the review is complete.

Please continue to provide feedback. Together we will improve communication and accountability across our system as we develop our organizational structure for success.

One more note: Deb Tootle and Gary Taylor’s presentation and handout on rural resilience and community capitals are available on the area-wide meetings webpage.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

Announcements ,

Introducing MyData

sternweis

John Lawrence’s message from June 17, 2019

Back in March I told you that we were getting closer to having one shared reporting system for our entire organization. Now I am pleased to introduce MyData, the centralized system that will expand our ability to collect and report numbers and narratives about program outcomes, partnerships and client relationships. Did you know?

  • Five counties (Carroll, Franklin, Monroe, Muscatine and Polk) and some campus staff currently are piloting MyData. For the next six to 12 months, they’ll be using the system; providing feedback on best practices for managing, sharing and accessing data; and suggesting improvements. They’ll also help to identify the reports, dashboards and other features that extension professionals are likely to request. In addition, they’ll become a cohort of users who can help develop and deliver training for the rest of us.
  • After the pilot has been completed and any necessary adjustments have been made, MyData will be rolled out in phases. The schedule and the training will be tailored to the specific needs, uses and work cycles of each extension unit.
  • If all goes as planned, MyData will be tested, tried and rolled out to the entire ISU Extension and Outreach system sometime in 2021.

The goal for MyData is to meet as many county and program reporting needs as possible. ISU Extension and Outreach units have unique needs for collecting and reporting data, which requires feedback from many to make MyData work for all of us. In the coming months you’ll be hearing more about MyData from the steering committee and your unit leaders. Because MyData is really our data, please engage in these discussions and provide feedback. Let’s work together to create the best system possible. You also can check MyExtension to follow MyData’s progress.

Internal Communications: Update

During our leadership team retreat on May 31, we started prioritizing and in some cases bundling the recommendations from the Internal Communications Task Force. As a result, on June 21 I will be meeting with staff from Extension Information Technology and Advancement for a preliminary discussion about a centralized, internal communications platform for extension staff and faculty. While I think of MyExtension as a file cabinet that stores tools, content and assets, I see this platform as a newspaper. This platform could include information from leadership, and other internal communications from the program areas, support units and counties. Other items like a virtual suggestion box, calendar of events, or my Vice President for Extension and Outreach schedule also could be included. This is an initial meeting to discuss what this platform might include and understand what sort of resources – technical or otherwise – might be needed.

These technological tools will help us better communicate virtually and stay informed. The in-person, area-wide meetings that will begin in August will help us put faces and names with the digital messages and build better relationships within our organization.

Interims from and in Advancement

Effective July 3, Jacy Johnson, director of ISU Extension and Outreach Advancement, will serve as interim executive director of ISU Strategic Relations and Communications, a new unit that will replace University Relations. The new unit is part of President Wintersteen’s efforts to re-envision the university’s approach to communicating and marketing to deal with budgetary challenges, and seek greater efficiency and continuous improvement. (You might say she is applying ISU Extension and Outreach’s model of Advancement to the rest of the university.) While Jacy is serving President Wintersteen, Billie Koester, strategic relations manager in Advancement, will serve as Advancement’s interim director.

— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach

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