Kentucky’s Outreach Plan FY 2008

Outreach in Kentucky

The ultimate goal for outreach in Kentucky is for it to become a part of our daily job.  For this to happen, we must first assess our current operations and identify the customer we are reaching.  The second task will be to identify all customers and then determine who we are not reaching through our normal channels.  The third task will be determining how to reach the customers we have identified that we are not reaching.  This will take assessment of statistical information, training employees, meeting with the underserved clientele, and altering our normal program operations to include the mechanisms to reach the underserved clients. This new operations will become part of our normal operating procedures.

Outreach is defined as reaching out to people who are not our traditional customers. Emphasis is placed on reaching specific groups because we know that they have been historically underserved.  Our traditional approaches in providing assistance have not been successful, so we need to try new and innovative methods.

Effective outreach requires flexible approaches; listening first and then matching your message to the listener. It means communicating in new ways to new audiences to get our message to customers who are culturally and racially diverse, urban and rural. Success is determined by the relationships that are developed, not necessarily the widgets that are produced.

Outreach Definitions

Outreach- Conducting business to ensure that NRCS programs and services are made accessible to all customers, with emphasis on the underserved. Applies to all programs, and all customers.

Underserved- Individuals or groups who have not participated in, or have received limited benefits from, USDA or NRCS programs.  Historically, the underserved include tribes, minorities, women, the disabled, limited resource farmers/ranchers and small-scale farmers.

Community Based Organizations (CBO)- Recognized groups concerned with improving the quality of life for residents within local communities. These organizations can initiate and manage projects, and provide an avenue to reach underserved audiences. These groups include non-profit, non-government organizations. For example, faith-based organizations, women’s groups, environmental groups, farm or woodlands groups, trade and professional associations, educational associations and schools.

Small Farmer- A small farm is a farm having less than $250,000 gross receipts annually.

Limited Resource Producer- Must meet both (a) and (b) below:
(a) A person with direct or indirect gross farm sales of not more than $100,000 in each of the previous two years.
(b) Has a total household income at or below the national poverty level for a family of four, or less than 50 percent of the county median household income in each of the previous two years.

Kentucky’s Out Reach Plans Action Items

OUTREACH ASSISTANCE HANDBOOK

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Kentucky

December 2007

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service instituted a National Outreach

Policy, 230 GM Part 406, in 2003. This policy provides guidance to agency staff to meet outreach requirements and accountability standards.

This Outreach Process Handbook provides guidance to meet policy requirements with the goal of consistent outreach procedures conducted in each office and follows the Quality Assurance Process Step Table for “Outreach Assistance to Customers.”

STEP 1-- Identify under-served and non-traditional customers in each county in Kentucky.

District Conservationists and RC&D Coordinators are responsible for identifying these individuals and/or groups in their counties or service areas. Several resources for identification are shown below.

  1. Census statistics

  2. Employee knowledge

  3. Partner knowledge

  4. Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D)

  5. University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University  Extension Service

  6. Public Library

  7. Minority organizations

  8. County Government (Public Health, Social Services, Recorder, Assessor)

  9. Chamber of Commerce

10. Community non-profit organizations

11. Local media

STEP 2-- Meet With Identified Customer Groups to

Identify Needs

Once potentially underserved groups are identified, it is important to gather information about and understand the characteristics of these groups.

Successful outreach and increased program participation cannot be achieved without “knowing” these people.

What you need to know:

• Characteristics (social, economic, cultural), attitudes and perspectives.

• Connections to land and agriculture

• Natural resource or other needs and description of problems as they see it.

• Current efforts of the community to address natural resource problems and resources used.

• What is limiting their participation? (e.g. Lack of information/knowledge, lack of financial or technical resources, communication barriers, lack of trust in government)

• What is their motivation for participation? What benefits are we offering?

How do you gather the information?

Other Resources:

• Staff knowledge

• Partner knowledge

• Local agencies and organizations that serve the underserved groups

• Local newspapers or other media that serve the underserved groups

• Field office records of assistance and participation

• FSA and other government agency records

• Census data

• University or Extension Service research and reports

Understanding Under-served Customers

Understanding customers and potential customers by considering the characteristics, problems, and needs they have in common can be helpful in outreach efforts and success. The following list may provide information to consider.

Characteristic Considerations

• Education

• Occupational status

• Intergenerational land transfer

• Risk orientation

• Number of innovations adopted

• Use of local media for conservation information

• Conservation planning

• Local organization participation

• Awareness of resource problems

• Farm size

• Ownership/rental

• Lease arrangements

• Gross farm sales

Step 3 – Develop an Outreach Strategy or Business Plan

Step 4 – Identify and Request Resources for Outreach

Implementation

Step 5 – Implement Outreach Strategy or Business Plan

Utilize the preceding information, along with the Outreach Communication

Process Guide, to identify outreach needs, the actions required to meet identified needs, the target date, and the person responsible for the action. It is important to set meaningful goals and to accurately determine how they will be accomplished. The actions determined should also be incorporated into the Annual Work Plan with the Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council.

Remember to utilize volunteers, local organizations, and other partners to complete actions when possible. Some items are accomplished better and more effectively by non-agency individuals that have more expertise or contacts in a particular area.

Identifying technical and financial resources for accomplishing outreach actions is also necessary. What funds are needed and available? What technical expertise is needed and available? Consider all sources for financial and technical support: USDA, state, county, local and private funding and technical possibilities.

Be creative!! Action items can include, but are not limited to:

• Conducting demonstrations and tours with members of underserved groups

• Providing meetings, training sessions, and presentations

• Identifying and contacting key leaders in the community

• Developing brochures to meet specific needs

• Developing resource directories

• Conducting mailings

• Developing and distributing surveys

• Developing advisory or mentoring networks

• Developing partnerships with non-traditional groups and organizations

• Marketing the agency better and to non-traditional groups

• Issuing news releases, utilizing media used by underserved groups

• Becoming involved in cultural groups

• Displaying posters and signs where underserved groups tend to gather

• Identifying the underserved and contacting them (personally works best)

• Providing church bulletin inserts

• Maintaining information at local libraries

Action items on the outreach strategy or business plan must result from communication with underserved and non-traditional groups in which they have the opportunity to identify and report what their needs are. Action items should not result from agency staff determining needs and developing actions to meet needs that may or may not exist. Only those with the needs can identify them.

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