Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Brief summary of minutes of annual meeting (see attached for full meeting minutes)

Contribution of 4-H Participation to the Development of Social Capital within Communities 

June 19-20, 2019. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

No registration charge; participants paid for their own meals, and used meeting spaces around the city. Participants brought their own materials and technology. 

Attendance: Neil Klemme (WI), Matt Calvert (WI), Chris Anderson (MD), Nia Imani Fields (MD), Keith Nathaniel (CA), Jacquie Lonning (MN), Mary Emery (SD-Zoom), Barb Baker (ME-Retired-Zoom), Leslie Quevedo (WI), Angie Allen (WI), Steve Henness (MO-Zoom), Deb Kantor (ME-Zoom)

Updated Research Objectives:

1. Objective 1: To convene researchers, Extension educators, and faculty whose research, teaching and/or practice involves youth and community development in order to foster interdisciplinary work on social capital and community youth development.
2. Objective 2: To fund and implement a major national research project utilizing the tools already piloted and validated by this project to explore how the 4-H Program contributes to the development of social capital within communities, specifically:
1.  To determine 4-H experiences that contributes to the development of youths' social capital.
2.  To identify and analyze how the quantity and quality of the 4-H Program's community involvement impacts the level of social capital among youth and adult volunteers
3. To identify and analyze how the quantity and quality of the 4-H Program's community involvement impacts the development of social capital within the community.
3. Objective 3 To refine existing and develop new measurement tools to identify and analyze how the 4-H Program impacts the level of the various capitals (as identified in the Community Capital Framework) within the community.
4. Objective 4 (NEW): To improve the quality of community youth development practice in the Extension system and beyond by
1. Disseminating research findings 
2. Creating and delivering training modules on effective program practices
1. Submit the Toolkit for peer review. Develop Toolkit 2.0 with practical tools for educators. Further develop the “Mega Model” that combines multiple Youth Development frameworks through lens of social capital development.  
2. Social Network Analysis(SNA) is a potential tool for measuring a young persons development of social capital. A team of Community Development and Youth Development educators in Wisconsin have begun exploring the use of SNA to measure impacts of their programming on expanding networks of and connections between players in their programming. This is follow-up from promising implementation of the tool in 2015 and 2016 to measure the impact of youth development programming in WI on young people and their connections to others in their communities. Further information about SNA application to our teams work will be shared throughout the year. 
3. Two Work groups have formed to develop materials identified by the team. The first team will work to develop the Toolkit 2.0. This is an extension from the original Toolkit that we have been working on and will provide  

Accomplishments and Short-term Outcomes for Objectives: 

Objective 1: 

To convene researchers, Extension educators, and faculty whose research, teaching and/or practice involves youth and community development in order to foster interdisciplinary work on social capital and community youth development.

Accomplishments: A large number of team members have been involved in publishing results in peer-reviewed publications and delivering scholarly presentations and professional development sessions. The range of states and disciplines involved has increased the reach of these presentations to include youth development, evaluation, community development, and education.

Outputs: Monthly social capital research team meetings and an annual face to face meeting. Increased connection between NAE4-HA civic engagement team and program leaders. 

Milestones(s): 

• Project and research teams continue with 75% attendance on monthly calls and 60% attendance at yearly meeting(s). 

Short-term Outcomes: As examples of the current and continuing multi-state and interdisciplinary engagement, the team has increased research collaboration through Maine and West Virginia. The team includes youth development and community development educators and experts. Members of the team have also collaborated with Extension Educators from Youth Development Ag, FCS, Natural Resources and Community Development on book exploring Extension’s role in community education and social justice. 

Objective 2: 

To fund and implement a major national research project utilizing the tools already piloted and validated by this project to explore how the 4-H Program contributes to the development of social capital within communities.

Accomplishments and Short term outcome: The social capital survey was piloted in California demonstrated robust reliability. Two additional states have participated in the quantitative research study, bringing us to 4 states. A participatory ripple mapping process is integrated into a toolkit as a first step in measuring community change in the USDA-funded Engaging Youth Serving Communities project. 

Outputs: The toolkit has been drafted and submitted through the National 4-H peer review system. The toolkit has been accepted pending revisions. 

Milestones: Team continues data collection and continues to analyze data; 

• Team reports findings through white papers, reports to practitioners, and an article that has been submitted to the Journal of Youth Development. 
• Team identifies additional opportunities to conduct investigation with Cooperative Extension and other community and youth development practitioners and participants. See list of statewide programs above.

Objective 3: 

To refine existing and develop new measurement tools to identify and analyze how the 4-H Program impacts the level of the various capitals (as identified in the Community Capital Framework) within the community.

Accomplishments and Current Efforts: Over the course of this year, 2018-19, Maine and West Virginia implemented the survey data collection in their respective states. 

Outputs: 74 additional youth participated in the study in 2018 to increase our sample size to 495. 

Milestones:

• Team continues data collection and continues to analyze data; 

• Team reports findings through white papers, reports to practitioners, and an article that has been submitted to the Journal of Youth Development. 
• Team identifies additional opportunities to conduct investigation with Cooperative Extension and other community and youth development practitioners and participants. 

Objective 4: 

To improve the quality of community youth development practice in the Extension system and beyond by a. Disseminating research findings b. Creating and delivering training modules on effective program practices.

Accomplishments: Research findings and effective practices have been disseminated through the Association for Curriculum Development, JHSE (Steve), National Police Athletic League training, CYFAR and additional youth focus conferences (see full list below). Findings from current research and practice have led to the development of Toolkit 1.0 and towards an outline for Toolkit 2.0. 

Activities: Organized and specific functions or duties carried out by individuals or teams using scientific methods to reveal new knowledge and develop new understanding.

• NAE4-HA Pre- Conference, October 2018. 26 Youth Development professionals and administrators in attendance with representation from each region (National, Maryland, New Hampshire, Iowa, Oregon, Illinois, Florida, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Arkansas, Minnesota, Georgia, Montana and California) . One additional state signed on for the quantitative survey study after the pre-conference session. Feedback from participants have also led to updates and edits in the Social Capital Toolkit and the drafting of a Toolkit part 2 (putting the frameworks into practice).

Other extension program improvement and professional development activities include: 

• Youth empowerment task force presentation (Neil)
• Integrated REM into 4-H Tech Changemakers training
• Statewide programs that include social capital principles:
• Maryland 4-H Issue Forum: Food Insecurity 
• Wisconsin First Impressions (Neil)
• Interstate conversations from CDS that led to MO training
• Wisconsin’s Youth as Partners in Civic Leadership Conference participants tracked their relationship-building change during a conference weekend.  (Matt)
• 4-H Tech Changemakers utilized Ripple Effect Mapping tool to document community impacts, with a focus on social capital developed through intentional community stakeholder engagement. (WA, ND, WI, MI, ME, VA)
• Minnesota’s YELLO!
• Missouri Youth Civic Leaders Summit (Steve)

• Team implements research and extension activities across multiple Extension program areas. Especially noted by the NAE4-HA Pre-Conference Workshop.
• Developed a compendium (Toolkit) for 4-H and other Extension programs of practices and strategies to increase the development of social capital; prepare and submit final reports as part of the Toolkit. Also, Mary Emery edited “A Field Guide to Ripple Effects Mapping” with other NCERA215 members contributing to it.

Impacts: This section focuses on actual or intended potential long-term outcomes and impacts.

Committees should build information around the activity's milestones, as identified in the

original proposal. The report should also reflect on the items that stakeholders want to know, or

want to see. List any grants, contracts, and/or other resources obtained by one or more project

members as a result of the project's activities. Include the recipients, funding source, amount

awarded and term if applicable. If the committee is filing an annual report, the impacts will cover

only the current year of the project; for termination reports, list impacts from the entire span of

the project.

• Strengthening the Capacity of 4-H Youth Development and Others to Measure and Communicate Community and Individual Social Capital Change The research methods and instruments developed by the team are more widely used across the Extension system, making reliable information about social capital development available for the first time. The team’s experience has shown that this information is important to stakeholders and program participants. This project will address the need for more evidence-based programming in the areas of youth community engagement and citizenship.Three states (WV, MD, ME) provided funding ($1,500/ea.) to join survey and receive local data reports. Other states (MN and WI) have committed to implementing the survey in 2018. 
• Sharing Quality Program Practices in Building Youth Social Capital The team developed and delivered training materials based on the findings of the research study. As we engage states in implementing the social capital research, we will develop a parallel process to examine and improve practices that lead to positive outcomes for youth and communities. The team determined the best format for these materials, but they have included national and state-level webinars and curriculum for in-person workshops so they were tailored to individual state needs. We also provided coaching and follow-up for those implementing the materials leading to broader collaboration across program areas and states to generate programming that leads to measurable changes in social capital and youth and community efficacy. Tools and practices developed by the team have been included in multi-state initiatives, including 4-H Tech Changemakers toolkit includes Ripple Effect Mapping and mapping social networks in project planning, Youth First Impressions, and iCook. Toolkit 1.0 and 2.0
• Engaging Multiple Cooperative Extension Program Areas The Cooperative Extension system has increased its focus on the intersection of community and youth development. Two examples from the North Central region are Wisconsin’s Interdisciplinary Team Engaging Young People in Sustaining Communities, Families, and Farms and Nebraska’s focus on community development through the Rural Futures Institute. The team is an excellent venue to convene people to focus on related research and extension questions once for our current research program. The team has also connected intentionally to social justice and expanding access efforts within 4-H, including the Vulnerable Populations work groups. MD Issue forum, Teens 4 Change CYFAR project Social Capital and Social Justice lens, Wisconsin Growing Connections CYFAR project integrates ripple effect mapping and social capital outcomes. 
• Social Network Analysis(SNA) is a potential tool for measuring a young persons development of social capital. A team of Community Development and Youth Development educators in Wisconsin have begun exploring the use of SNA to measure impacts of their programming on expanding networks of and connections between players in their programming. This is follow-up from promising implementation of the tool in 2015 and 2016 to measure the impact of youth development programming in WI on young people and their connections to others in their communities. Further information about SNA application to our teams work will be shared throughout the year. 
• Two Work groups have formed to develop materials identified by the team. The first team will work to develop the Toolkit 2.0. This is an extension from the original Toolkit that we have been working on and will provide  

Fields, N., Moncloa, F. & Smith, C. (2018). 4-H Social Justice Youth Development: A Guide for Youth Development Professionals. A national 4-H peer reviewed professional development resource guide focused on social justice youth development. 

Henness, S. & Ball, A. (2019).  Engaging youth as influencers in leadership event planning. Journal of Human Sciences & Extension, 7(1), 144-154.

Henness, S. & Calvert, M. (2018). Missouri 4-H community service-learning census, 2017-18. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri.

Haskell, J. E., Baker, B. A., Olfert M. D., Colby, S. E., Franzen-Castle, L., Kattelmann, K. K., White, A. A. (in press October 2019) Using ripple effects maps to identify story threads: A framework to link private to public value, Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Olfert M. D., King, S. J., Hagedorn, R. L., Barr, M. L., Baker, B. A., Colby, S. E., Kattelmann, K. K., Franzen-Castle, L., White, A. A. (March 2019). Ripple effect mapping outcomes of a childhood obesity prevention program from youth and adult dyads using a qualitative approach: iCook 4-H. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

Olfert, M. D., Hagedorn, R. L., White, J. A., Baker, B. A., Colby, S. E., Franzen-Castle, L., Kattelmann, K. K., & White, A. A. (2018). An impact mapping method to generate robust qualitative evaluation of community-based research programs for youth and adults. Methods & Protocols 1(3):25. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/mps1030025

In Progress:

Calvert, M., Nathaniel, K. and Fields, N. (book proposal accepted and chapter under review). Striving for Grassroots Engagement: Community Education, Social Justice, Cultural Competence, and the Role of Extension. Michigan: Michigan State University 

Earlier publications:

Calvert, M., Emery, M. & Kinsey, S. (Eds) (2013). New directions for youth development. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chazdon, S. Emery, M. Hansen, D., Higgins, L. & Sero, R. (2017).  A Field Guide to Ripple Effects Mapping. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.

Emery, M., Higgins, L., Chazdon, S., & Hanson, D.  (2015). Using ripple effect mapping to evaluate program impact: Choosing or combining the methods that work best for you. Journal of Extension, 53(2), Article 2TOT1. Available at: https://www.joe.org/joe/2015april/tt1.php

Fields, N. (2016). The contribution of urban 4-H positive youth development towards social capital and social justice. (Doctoral dissertation).

Fields, N. & Nathaniel, K. (2015). Our role in and responsibility toward social justice. Journal of Extension, 53(5), 5COM2, http://www.joe.org/joe/2015october/comm2.php.

Henness, S., & Moncheski, M. (2017). Youth/adult partnerships impacting rural poverty: The case of Lamar, Missouri. In S. Chazdon, M. Emery, D. Hansen, L. Higgins & R. Sero (eds). A field guide to ripple effects mapping. (72-78). Minneapolis, MN: Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute.  Retrieved from https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/190639

Olfert, M., Colby, S., Franzen-Castle, L., Kattlemann, K., Baker, B., & White, A. (2016). iCook 4-H: Using mapping of community capitals following a 2-year iCook program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 48(7): S144. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2016.04.320

Presentations (2018-19): 

Anderson, C. (2018). Ripple effect mapping.

Fields, N. (2018). Contributing to Social Capital and Social Justice through Positive Youth Development. International Social Justice Conference. Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Fields, N. (2018). Social Justice Youth Development. Baltimore County Community College Culturally Relevant Teaching National Conference. Baltimore, Maryland. 

Fields, N. (2018). Social Capital and Social Justice Youth Development Models. National eXtension Diversity and Inclusion Community of Practice webinar.

Fields, N. (2018). Developing Social Capital and Social Justice through Experiential Education. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Conference on Educational Leadership: Champions for Equity. Nashville, Tennessee. 

Fields, N. (2019). Social Justice through Youth Development. National Afterschool Association Conference. New York, New York. 

Fields, N. (2019). Social Capital and Social Justice through Positive Youth Development. Best Out of School Conference. Palm Springs, California. 

Henness, S. (2018). Community Capitals Framework: A Holistic Asset-Based Approach to County Engagement. MU Extension County Engagement Specialist Presummit. Columbia, Mo.

Henness, S., Klemme, N., Anderson, C., Lonning, J. (2019). National 4-H Conference: 4-Hers Building Social Capital on Capitol Hill. Chevy Chase, Md.

Nathaniel, K. (2019). Volunteer Recruitment and Retention. National Police Athletic League Conference. 

Klemme, N. (2019). Community Vitality and Placemaking Team Spring Workshop: Engaging youth in Community Development Initiatives. Fort Atkinson, WI.

Klemme, N. and Johnson T. (2018). Empowering Youth, Transforming Communities. Wisconsin Cooperative Extension All-Colleague Conference. Madison, WI.