This document discusses evaluating communication efforts in Extension programs. It outlines the need for evaluation to justify programs and ensure goals are met. Conducting thorough evaluation is difficult due to a lack of experience and funding. The document presents three case studies of Extension communication programs and evaluates their efforts. It concludes by discussing options to consider for improving evaluation, such as alternative funding, utilizing students, and establishing templates to standardize evaluation across programs.

1. Extending Knowledge. Changing Lives.
Evaluating Communication
Efforts in Extension
Q. Settle, E. North, M. Brubaker, & L. Downey

2. Extending Knowledge. Changing Lives.
Overview
• The Situation
• Our Stories
• Options
• Discussion

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THE SITUATION

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Need for Evaluation
• Administrators
 Public funding declining
 Need to justify all programs
 Need to ensure recognition of agency value
• Communicators
 Make the programs better
 Ensure meeting goals
 Demonstrate value

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The Problem
• Conducting good, thorough evaluation is
difficult
• Communications professionals don’t
always have evaluation experience
• Evaluation professionals don’t always
have experience evaluating
communications

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Our Goal
• Front-to-back evaluation of Extension
communications
 Inputs
 Outputs
 Outcomes

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Planning

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Production

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Finished
Product

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Distribution

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OUR STORIES

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Farmweek

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Southern Gardening

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The Food Factor

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Media
Farmweek
 TV (MPB & RFDTV)
Southern Gardening
 TV, Radio, & Newspaper
The Food Factor
 TV

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Social Media
• All supplemented by social media efforts
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Pinterest
 Instagram

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History: Farmweek

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History: Southern Gardening

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History: The Food Factor

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Production Personnel
Farmweek
 Broadcast crew
Southern Gardening
 Ext. Specialist and video, radio, social media,
& print teams
Food Factor
 Ext. Agent & print news, social media, &
video team

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Evaluation
Farmweek
 Full-scale study by 3rd party
Southern Gardening
 Brief evaluation
The Food Factor
 None completed (process is beginning now)

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Lessons Learned So Far
• Evaluation can be scary.
• Meaningful evaluation is hard! Even
when it’s expensive.
• You often have more of an audience than
you expect.
• Evaluation can yield important guidance
for improvement—which is what it’s
supposed to do!

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OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

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Funding
Ideal
• Ample funding available
to fund evaluation of every
communications project
Reality
• Public-sector budgets
increasingly scrutinized
and crunched

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The Fix
• Grant projects
 Outreach component of large grants
• Alternative funding lines
 Undergraduate Research Scholars Program
• Make the most of each project
 About $3K for access to nationally
representative sample

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Personnel
Ideal
• Communications team
• Evaluators with time to
dedicate to project
• Topic Specialists who
communicate clearly
Reality
• Communications team
• Evaluators stretched thin
• Academics speaking
research-ese

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The Fix
• Outside-the-box evaluators
 Education, non-ag comm faculty, etc.
• Undergraduate & Graduate students
 Thesis, classes, etc.
• Do your own research
 And have specialists verify the material
• Look for overlapping interests with
researchers

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Priorities
Ideal
• Everyone has the same
goals for the
communications and
evaluation process
Reality
• Everyone’s priorities are
different

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The Fix
• Learn to live with having different
priorities
• Personnel
 Untenured faculty need projects
 Students need experience
• Project
 Showing impact keeps project funded

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Scope
Ideal
• Every Project gets a full-
scale study
 Representative survey
 Multiple focus groups
 Test materials for knowledge
gain, link to Extension
brand, etc.
Reality
• 3rd party researchers &
faculty members are too
expensive to fund
enough of their time to
study all
communications projects

31. Extending Knowledge. Changing Lives.
The Fix
• Undergraduate and graduate student
research projects
 Easier for them to justify time for the full
evaluation of one specific project
• Using an evaluation template
 Less time and money per project

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Sample & Population
Ideal
• Easy access to current
audience
• Random Digit Dialing (or
alternative) to reach
broader samples
Reality
• LOL

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The Fix
• Opt-in options through communications
• Extension events
• Earlier recommendations on funding and
collaboration

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Speed
Ideal
• Quick turnaround
Reality
• Reaching audience can
take time, especially for
Extension programs
• Faculty cannot always
move quickly (IRB)

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The Fix
• Plan ahead
• Start evaluation process from the get-go

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WHAT ARE YOUR STORIES?
Discussion

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
quisto.settle@msstate.edu