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Strategic Planning for Virginia Cooperative Extension

In early 2009, Virginia Cooperative Extension began a strategic planning process at the request of Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Provost, Mark G. McNamee. The process will culminate with the development of a five-year plan that sets organizational priorities and develops goals and objectives for enhancing Extension's relevance, viability, and sustainability to the people of Virginia.

A Strategic Planning Steering Committee was named in May of 2009. The 26 member team believes the strategic planning process can help us envision our future and develop the necessary procedures and operations to achieve that future.  The future, however, often begins with a look to the past. By reflecting on our purpose, vision, and strategies for carrying out our mission, we can better determine how prepared we are to cope with the changing world. 

The Steering Committee developed a structure to collect input from all Extension stakeholders, both internal and external, via a series of face-to-face meetings during the fall of 2009. We will include agents, staff, specialists, administrators, government officials, ELC members, families, communities, 4-H, agribusiness, and other stakeholders in these dialogues.  The richness of the ideas resulting from such interaction will provide a solid foundation from which Extension can address the concerns and issues of those that we are charged to serve.  The breadth of this involvement also enables us to think broadly to address the economic, environmental, civic and community engagement, and life quality issues that face all communities.

The input from these dialogues will be collected and analyzed by the Steering Committee in early 2010, at which time the plan will be drafted.