Water Outreach:
Organizing a System for Access
Best Education Practices (BEP) Pilot Web Site Development
A 2002 Study of Provider Needs helped us identify problems that water management professionals have in finding and accessing water education materials and resources. Providers’ responses, knowledge management principles, experts in the field of knowledge management, and BEP Advisory Team members helped us build an organization framework for a BEP pilot Web site.
The pilot water outreach website was originally published at https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wateroutreach/ . Content has been transitioned to the Convenor website. This overview, describing the development of the pilot website, serves to:
- Archive the process we applied
- Outline a strategy for developing a web-based information source for a specific audience.
- Demonstrate a community-based approach to creating a learning environment. The community for this exercise, was the “community of natural resource and water management educators and professionals”
Organizing a system for access, elements:
- Knowledge Management Theory and Application
- Understand what is meant by knowledge management.
- Confer with knowledge management experts.
- BEP Pilot Web Site Content and Design
- Request suggestions and review of proposed target audiences and water topics by Cooperative Extension, water professionals and key stakeholders. Online Library Data Field Review
- Develop keywords
- Identify website components/map
- Consider website recommendations
- Conduct a Symposium for further review and advice about the proposed web site structure and content.
Symposium, June 2-4, 2004, Best Education Practices for Water Outreach Professionals, University of Wisconsin, Madison
A June 2004 Symposium engaged national Extension water quality coordinators, outreach professionals, and key stakeholders in fine-tuning BEP Project products and marketing strategy to best assist natural resource professionals in meeting their water management education and outreach objectives. Participants reviewed Water Outreach products developed through Building the Case for Value and Organizing a System for Access initiatives. Meeting sessions provided a mix of speakers, paper presentations, interactive events, poster sessions and networking opportunities.
- Planning the Symposium: The Logic Model [chart]
- 2004 Symposium Proceedings [report]
Other resources on this topic:
National Extension Water Outreach Education projects
Water Outreach Education – Project Summary