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Factors That Influence Extension Program Success: What Can We Learn From Cameroon Extension?
Abstract
Abstract
The 1914 Smith-Lever extension model has logged a century of success. Our research applied case-based reasoning using paired-comparisons of perceptions of the organization and its characteristics by Cameroonian and American stakeholders. The 1914 organizational design was for on-going rural families, not innovation. However, the past is a fundamentally flawed predictor of the future. Transformation strategies include identifying and separating an innovation, experimenting, and measuring learning outcomes against a goal. Recommendations include structural, contextual, and practice-theory-practice interactions. Implications address steps for exploiting public good, making use of continuous improvement, expanding and nurturing collaborative networks, and initiating an aggressive, durable communication campaign.
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