Working Group Synergy Part II: Creating Extension Impact and Maximizing Faculty Benefits

Extension and research professionals in Southeastern states formed the Southern Nursery IPM (SNIPM) working group to foster collaboration and leverage resources, thereby enhancing Extension programming, increasing opportunity, and expanding delivery of specialized expertise to nursery crop growers across a region. A striking benefit of working group membership was observed over time: a synergy. Greater awareness of individual expertise among SNIPM working group members focused on different aspects of the nursery system stimulated multi-state Extension publications, popular press articles, and spin-off research projects when separate foci were combined together and directed toward complex challenges. How to capture that synergy and maximize it is the emphasis of this presentation. Topics covered will include: (1) how our stakeholders, our funding agencies, and we as co-PIs, have benefited from our membership in a working group; (2) how funding to develop a Pest Management Strategic Plan and Crop Profile has had a multiplier effect, stimulating Extension and refereed publications, projects, and additional funding; and (3) the ratio of deliverables to funding and how group synergy increased our ability to generate these deliverables.