At last a model of practice for extension

thank you many disciplines such as nursing and teaching have model of practice to guide how their work should be undertaken so isn't it about time that Agricultural Extension had one in this episode we're going to share with you recently co-developed model of practice for extension model of practice is framework that guides practitioners in their work it is set of principles and guidelines that help practitioners to understand their role the context in which they work and the best way to approach their work model of practice can be useful for practitioners because it provides structure for their work and helps them to focus on what's important can also help practitioners to identify areas where they need to improve their skills or knowledge there are many different models of practice that have been developed for different fields and contexts for example there are models of practice for nursing Social Work education and many other fields each model of practice is designed to meet the specific needs of the field or context in which it is used basically setting out how they do things so with that in mind back in 2019 group of extension practitioners and farmers in Queensland set out to develop an extension model of practice they defined the extension model of practice or emop for short as decision-making or Service delivery framework to guide the work of extension officers with individual Farmers groups of farmers other extension staff and their organizations it was designed to support extension practitioners to be intentional in their work and be clear about what they're trying to achieve as well as help them understand the factors and context likely to influence outcomes remember the model isn't about particular problem or issue but instead focuses on how extension practitioners engage with and support farmers and the factors that influence the change process it's worth noting that the development of emop Drew heavily on the Family Partnership model from the health sector so what's in the extension model of practice we're going to go through each of the different parts we'll start with the middle which is Pharma centered practice Pharma centered practice is important because it recognizes the needs and expertise of the farmer in identifying problems and solutions and as way of working that acknowledges farmers and extension practitioners as equal partners that farmer-centered approach Denise would be familiar to those who are who are aware of the farmer first approach from the 1980s around the pharma-centered practice we have three core practice elements relational practice change practice and Technical knowledge practice let's look at each of these relational practice recognizes that relationship between extension practitioners and Farmers also enable change the aim is to develop Rapport and understand the needs values and priorities of the farmer change practices when time is invested in building relationships through listening and understanding what Farmers want to work on to create an environment for on-farm change this recognizes that change is both process and an outcome technical knowledge practice is the Knowledge and Skills of the extension practitioners including specific understanding of the production system relevant science and the environment it also includes identifying suitable interventions to influence change next we have three enablers the skills and qualities of the extension practitioner and the personal perspectives and expertise of the extension practitioner and farmer the personal skills and qualities of the extension practitioner as experienced by farmers will determine the effectiveness of the core practices we talked about and it's not the self-perception of these skills and qualities that are important it's how they're demonstrated and experienced and it's important to note they can be acquired and practiced this second enabler is personal perspectives Farmers extension practitioners and organizations bring their own perspectives to any situation and this in turn has an influence on the perspectives of the person they're interacting with the important Point here is that for extension work to be effective shared perspective between an extension practitioner and the farmer needs to be developed these perspectives need to provide an accurate understanding of the farmer's situation the third enabler is expertise this is about both the farmer and extension practitioner expertise through working together that aim is to understand each other's expertise and limitations to address challenges and support change the second last layer of the model are the drivers productivity profitability and sustainability these are important drivers of change then the final layer of the model is the external context there are six identified factors that influence extension practice these are the industry sector systems governance funding and resources policy and politics and stakeholders and interactions so John we've covered the extension model of practice what it is and what's in it the next step is implementing it and the group who co-developed the model thought about this as well they outline six-step process for how to do this the six steps are firstly build relationships this is where an extension practitioner starts to get to know the farmer or group of farmers they're seeking to understand them and their context next understand this is about understanding Farmers wants and needs and concerns and priorities next explore and decide once an extension practitioner has an understanding they can explore how to address concerns and decide on actions following this implement this is supporting the farmer or Farmers to take action monitor as you would expect this is monitoring and evaluation monitoring and evaluating whether What was decided on has had the desired effect and lastly reflect and review the last step is to regularly review what happened and reflect on what's been achieved the extension model of practice really sets out way to make sure what we do as extension practitioners makes difference we think this is useful framework for guiding decision making evaluating our performance and communicating with other extension practitioners anything that helps set up regular reflection and review means that new policies or procedures can be developed to help make extension more effective we've added couple of resources under the blog post one is the full report outlining the extension model of practice the other is an Apen Journal article that gives good overview of the model both have some useful recommendations and tips for using the model it's worth noting Denise that when the model talks about farmer being singular it's actually shorthand for plural so it's the farm team their family and others who are involved in the decision making so folks you've heard our thoughts now we'd like to hear yours add comment below the blog post and tell us about your experiences with the extension model of practice have you used it have you got any tips and further ideas about it we don't want this just to be one-way conversation join in by sharing your thoughts and ideas with us thanks folks for joining joining Blues of change subscribe to our newsletter if you'd like to know when new episodes are available what you've heard then please tell your friends so they too can join the conversation all the best until we meet again