PUBLIC AWARENESS EVALUATION

UF/IFAS FT. Lauderdale RECJune – October, 2000

Donald W. Poucher

Assistant Vice President

UF/IFAS External Relations and Communications

Comparison of Faculty & Staff Perceptions

with those of Various Publics

• Broward Extension Faculty• Students and Former Students• Clientele• Public

PUBLIC AWARENESS EVALUATION OUTCOMES• Recommendations…………..

– Name of Center.– Center Positioning in Community

and South Florida.– Public Awareness/External

Relations Needs (facilities, personnel & programs).

PERSONAL INTERVIEWS & MAIL

QUESTIONNAIRE• First Impression.• Perception of Mission.• Level of Awareness.• Benefits.

When You Think of the Ft. Lauderdale REC, What

Comes to Mind?• Faculty/Staff: Physical Location;

Place to Work.• Extension/Clientele: Research

Information in Various Disciplines.• Students: S. Florida Horticulture

Info.• Public: Gardening/Horticulture Info.

Common Themes: When You Think of the Ft. Lauderdale REC, What Comes to Mind?

• Source of Information.

• Focus on Urban Problems.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CENTER?

Recurring theme among all groups with an answer to this question: urban focus and deal with problems of people in urban areas.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CENTER?

• Faculty/Staff & Clientele: Research and Education for People of South Florida.– Faculty/Clientele: people =

industry.– Staff: people = communities at

large.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CENTER?

• Students /*Former Students: an educational opportunity for placebound students and professional workers in South Florida.

• Extension: Source of Information for Extension.

*Also mentioned research as part of the mission.

WHAT IS THE MISSION OF THE CENTER?

The majority of the general public could not articulate the mission and indicated they did not know what the mission of the Center was!!!!!!

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Clientele General Public

Actual Levels

REC PerceivedLevels

ExtensionPerceivedLevels

FT. LAUDERDALE RECFaculty/Staff Perception & Awareness Levels

Clientele and Public

External Levels of Awareness: Ft. Lauderdale REC

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Current/FormerStudent

Clientele General Public

WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FT. LAUDERDALE REC ?

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IndustryPublicStudentsExtension

FACULTY: WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FT. LAUDERDALE

REC ?

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IndustryPublicExtensionStudents

CLIENTELE: WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FT. LAUDERDALE

REC ?

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IndustryPublicStudentsExtension

STUDENTS/FORMER STUDENTS: WHO BENEFITS FROM THE

FT. LAUDERDALE REC ?

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IndustryPublicStudentsExtension

PUBLIC: WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FT. LAUDERDALE REC ?

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IndustryPublicStudentsExtension

EXTENSION: WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FT. LAUDERDALE

REC ?

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IndustryPublicStudentsExtension

WHAT ARE BENEFITS ?

The General Public said that not only they didn’t know the mission of the Center, they received no benefits from the Center’s programs.

WHAT ARE BENEFITS?• Students/Former Students:

knowledge, degrees, certifications.

• Clientele Groups/Extension Agents: information received in discipline area and interaction with researchers.

OCCUPATION OF RESPONDENTS

• Clientele/Students/Former Students:– Professionals and managers in

industry.– State and Federal Agency

employees.– Full Time Students.

Occupations: General Public

• Retirees• Teachers• Homemakers• Nurses/Other

Health Care Professionals

• Airline Pilot• Firefighter• Real Estate

Sales• Pharmacist• Stockbrokers

UF/IFAS FT. LAUDERDALE REC: NEEDS FOR

CHANGE• Broaden focus to include homeowners and community; greater urban emphasis.

• Greater/broader teaching emphasis.• Increased public awareness.• Improved collaboration between

researchers and extension faculty.• Enhanced/improved facilities (including

site clean up).

The Next Step…..• Conduct internal educational effort regarding

mission/vision of center.• Increase/enhance REC-Extension Interaction.• Upgrade physical facilities; mount major clean-up

effort. • Develop and implement Public Awareness effort for

all audiences, including public and clientele.– Change the name to reflect a focus on urban

community.– Increase/enhance community and public interaction

and communication.– Develop system for increasing faculty interaction with

nearby educational institutions.– Develop well-placed cadre of volunteer advocates.– Analyze most effective/efficient resource utilization for

implementing and managing public awareness effort.