About Us:
The National Initiative to Internationalize Extension

The National Initiative to Internationalize Extension initially was a three year project starting in 2002 in which Michigan State University Extension agreed to assist CSREES-USDA by providing a series of activities and leadership to encourage state extension systems to internationalize their work.  The Initiative continues into the future by encouraging dialogue, development and experimentation:

• encouraging review of past and current efforts to internationalize extension
• sharing developments and resources across states through national conferences, websites and various networking efforts
• mobilizing a variety of new models and approaches through a mini-grant program
• developing sets of case studies, lessons learned and recommendations based on the these experiences and the insights of leaders in the field
• reaching out to various peer networks to collaborate in the internationalization effort

The initiative has been led by a steering committee made up of a very capable group of 10 individuals representing various subgroups of the national extension system. They serve as both a “visioning” team, able to estimate needs within the extension system, and a “support” team, a group willing to interact with their colleagues to encourage action.