Extension Council Training

Recent Trainings

 Dealing with Council Conflict of Interest | August 9, Kay Oskvig

Extension Council Conference 2023

Video Training Series

3-Minute Videos

This series is intended for council members to learn more about various topics related to their responsibilities as council members.  Watch together at a council meeting - or on your own.  If you have ideas for future 3-minute videos, drop a note in our Virtual Suggestion Box.

  • Strategic Idea Workshops | September 28, 2023 - This 3-minute video includes an interview with Vice President Jason Henderson and talks about why council members are needed to provide input to the strategic plan via the workshops.
  • Consent Agendas | June 5, 2023
  • IECA Member Benefit Survey | September 1, 2022 - This 3-minute video discusses some benefits of IECA membership and introduces a request for councils to complete the fall 2022 member benefits survey.
  • Selecting Nominating Committees | April 19, 2022 - This 3-minute video encourage council members to thoroughly consider candidates to appoint to the council nominating committee.
  • Iowa Legislative Insider | January 6, 2022 - This 3-minute video introduces council members to the Iowa Legislative Insider and why they should attend this event.
  • Extension Budget Cycle | December 9, 2021 - This 3-minute video covers the budget cycle process and the council's role in planning for the budget and fiscal oversight.
  • Background Screening | August 31, 2021 - This 3-minute video covers why we do background screening, resources for background screening, and the council's role in background screening.

Extension Council Conference

Recordings and materials from the breakout sessions of past conferences.

Single Topic Videos & Webinars

Best Practices for Personnel Committees and Personnel Records

Please contact IECA if you would like to view this webinar.

Behavior & Rule Management for Fairs and Events

In December 2021, Iowa 4-H implemented Positive Youth Development guidelines to aid county extension staff and extension councils in navigating possible behavior and rule infractions as they pertain to fairs and events. This webinar is a joint endeavor from IECA and Iowa 4-H to inform council members of the new guidance issued by Iowa 4-H.  The training, held on January 11, 2022 for an extension council audience, is facilitated by Mike Anderson, State Ag & Natural Resources Program Manager for Iowa 4-H Youth Development.

Resources

Carryover Projection & Usage

Instructs how councils can use a carryover analysis to do year-end financial planning. 

Resources

Clarifying Discrimination Complaint Questions

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor Regenea Hurte and HR Partner Ruth Appleton share some insights on what discrimination is and looks like, the process for reporting concerns, and some available resources to help staff navigate those concerns. From the September 12, 2022 Second Monday Live for Extension and Outreach staff

Council Meetings

Margaret E. Johnson, JD, Deputy Director of the Iowa Public Information Board explains the importance of Iowa Sunshine Laws pertaining to extension councils.

Resources

Custodian of Public Records

Kay Osvig, Whitfield & Eddy Law, provides training for custodians of public records to fulfill open records requests.

Resources

Divorce, Custody, and Family Law Issues

Please contact IECA if you would like to view this webinar and/or the accompanying resources.

Extension Council Fiduciary Responsibilities

State of Iowa Auditor Rob Sand and citizens of Iowa explain fiduciary responsibilities of our elected extension council members. 

Resources

Serving All Iowans

Presentation and discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion in our councils and our programs.

The Next Step in Civil Rights: Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity

Insight on how being culturally aware and sensitive helps Extension Districts continue to move forward in meeting our vision and mission goal of Serving All Iowans. 

Resources

What Every Council Needs to Know About 4-H

This webinar series is a joint endeavor between IECA and Iowa 4-H to share with council members some basic information about the 4-H program.  The trainings are facilitated by Jen Hargrove, Positive Youth Development & Vibrant Clubs Specialist for Iowa 4-H Youth Development.

Part I: Community Clubs

The full webinar recording is around 53 minutes in length.  For specific segments of the recording, please see the list of video clips (length of video in minutes:seconds is listed after each segment):

Resources

Part II: K-12 Outreach

Extension and Outreach Professional Development

County Extension Council members can access professional development opportunities through Extension and Outreach's Professional Development unit at the same cost that staff members can access these programs.  Council members interested in Professional Development's program offerings should work with their county extension council and their county or regional director to determine how training should be paid for.

Additionally, the Professional Development team is willing to travel if a county or region is interested in bringing the training to your location.  Contact the respective trainer—listed on each of the program pages—to set up mutually agreed on date/time and assure they can meet the minimum expected participants, or contact Professional Development Manager Brenda Allen if unsure who to reach out to for a particular program.

Training Documents & Written Resources