Extension sets county needs assessment

Ohio State University Extension information

The Ohio State University Extension is one of Ohio’s great resources with more than 600 faculty and staff and over 30,000 volunteers, serving as the front door to the immense knowledge, expertise and resources of The Ohio State University.

In 2014, Ohio State University celebrated the 100‐year anniversary of the Smith‐Lever Act of 1914 which created agricultural experiment stations and a cooperative extension service for not only Ohio State University but more than 70 other land-grant universities in the United States. By celebrating the 100‐year anniversary of one of the nation’s great legislative acts has provided an excellent opportunity to recognize the historical accomplishments, and to envision the exciting accomplishments that will enable celebrating the next 100 years.

A significant component of Ohio’s celebration in 2014 was a year‐long process focused on the future. The primary work was centered on futuring – asking questions about and envisioning the long-term future of OSU Extension as well as the role Extension should play in shaping and positively impacting Ohio and Ohio residents. The goal of the futuring was to engage broad participation across the state to identity the most important emerging issues and potential challenges likely to confront all Ohioans by the year 2035 and how the Extension might best meet those challenges in the years ahead.

More than 500 people contributed upwards of 1,200 ideas through a participatory approach which engaged a wide array of stakeholders both internal and external to OSU in discussions about the future. The results of the process resulted in 17 descriptors of trends Ohioans will face by the year 2035. Industry experts studied and researched these trends ultimately composing a series of research summaries to further articulate the identified trends and issues also addressing the implications they have for the future.

Using the results from the state-wide initiative, the Van Wert County Extension office is launching a countywide needs assessment to identify the top trends citizens of Van Wert County feel they will be facing by the year 2035 and the role the local Extension office should play in shaping and positively impacting the residents of Van Wert County.  To complete the short survey, visit http://go.osu.edu/vanwertextension.