Every once in a while, I stand back from the day to day activities and try to think about what our organization is all about. A few years ago, I wrote these notes for myself.

Guidelines for Extension:

1. The programs of a public service institution should serve the greater public good.

2. The primary mission of the Extension is learning.

3. Extension must base its learning programs on knowledge generated through research, where research is thought of as systematic inquiry by both practitioners and theorists.

Tactics for an Extension Institution:

1. The institution should be constantly renewing itself.

2. It should be flexible enough to exploit technologies, yet unknown.

3. It should be able to expand and contract as priorities and resources change.

4. It should exploit its strengths, such as:

    a. ties to research base

    b. involvement of local citizens

    c. partnerships with other agencies

5. It must deliver quality educational programs.

Extension is one part of a knowledge system in which the aim of the extension educator is the exchange of knowledge among scientists and practitioners who are co-learners in the system. As we begin to think about design of the total knowledge system, it might be useful to think of extension as a bridge between the world of the scientist/educator and the world of the practitioner. The bridging function must serve two objectives; to guide knowledge users toward appropriate information sources, and to help knowledge users verify and validate information.

John M. Gerber, 1992