Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Agricultural Experiment Station Strategic Plan for Water Outreach and Research 2000 - 2015

The administration of CSU's Cooperative Extension (CE) and Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) launched a strategic planning effort to determine the future outreach and research needs for water resources programming directed by these agencies. The Directors of CE and AES selected co- chairs for the planning effort. After submitting an acceptable plan of action, the co-chairs developed a process for generating the strategic plan. An internal committee consisting of CE specialists and agents and AES researchers developed recommendations for improving the effectiveness of CSU's outreach and research activities. As part of the planning process, this internal committee solicited input from an external group selected to represent Colorado's diverse community of water professionals. The composition of these two groups is presented in Appendix 1. The internal CSU committee conducted its deliberations in regular meetings of either the entire committee or selected subcommittees. A single meeting of the external group of professionals convened in Denver on October 26, 1999 under the leadership of contracted outside facilitators. The external panel gave their views on past and future efforts by CE and AES in water resources programming. Emphasis was placed on future outreach and research priorities that would best meet state needs with respect to clientele served and critical issues addressed. Similar input was obtained from the CSU committee. In addition, both groups considered the potential impact of future social, political, and technological trends on future priorities for water resources programs. Narrative summaries of the input obtained from the external panel and from discussion held during multiple CSU committee meetings are presented in various appendices to this report. Supporting information was obtained by compiling a comprehensive inventory of existing water resources information available to various clientele groups in Colorado. A summary of the results from this inventory exercise is presented in Appendix 6. After generating the background information, two subcommittees were formed from the membership of the CSU committee to develop specific elements of the strategic plan. One subcommittee worked primarily with outreach issues, and the other focused on research planning.