National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals

National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
Name	National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
Abbreviation	NACDEP
Formation	1990s
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	United States
Membership	Community development practitioners

National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals is a U.S.-based professional association linking Cooperative Extension community development practitioners across land-grant universities and allied institutions. The association connects Extension educators, outreach specialists, and applied researchers involved with rural and urban development initiatives, community planning, and local leadership development. It serves as a forum for practice-based knowledge exchange among peers from institutions such as Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, Cornell University, University of California, Davis, and Pennsylvania State University.

History

The association emerged during a period of organizational consolidation among Extension professionals, influenced by dialogues at meetings involving leaders from land-grant universities, the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Smith-Lever Act heritage debates, and regional gatherings like the Southern Rural Development Center conferences. Early formative discussions included participants affiliated with University of Missouri, Michigan State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Oregon State University, and University of Minnesota. Over time the association organized annual conferences that attracted representatives from institutions such as University of Kentucky, North Carolina State University, University of Georgia, Washington State University, and University of Florida.

Mission and Activities

The association articulates a mission centered on advancing community development practice within Extension systems alongside partners including U.S. Department of Agriculture, regional entities like the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, and philanthropic actors such as the Ford Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation. Activities range from professional development workshops inspired by methodologies from Community Toolbox contributors and curriculum frameworks used at University of Wisconsin–Madison to policy briefs that intersect with statutes like the Farm Bill. Programming often references best practices propagated by organizations including National Association of Counties, Economic Development Administration, International City/County Management Association, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Membership and Structure

Membership includes Extension educators, county agents, program leaders, and academic researchers affiliated with institutions such as Rutgers University, University of Tennessee, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Kansas State University, and Auburn University. Governance typically features an elected board with officers, committees, and regional representatives mirroring structures used by National Association of Extension 4-H Agents, Association of Extension Administrators, and regional bodies like the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. The organization collaborates with university administrators from University of Maryland, College Park, Clemson University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University on strategic planning, training, and evaluation.

Programs and Conferences

Annual conferences have been hosted at venues associated with institutions such as University of Minnesota, Oregon State University, University of Tennessee, Iowa State University, and Texas A&M University, attracting speakers from National Agricultural Library, Brookings Institution, Pew Charitable Trusts, and think tanks like the Urban Institute. Program tracks often include community economic development curricula developed in conjunction with Federal Reserve Bank regional outreach offices, place-based initiatives with municipal partners such as the City of Detroit, and sessions featuring case studies from Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. Workshops frequently draw on tools and partners from the Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, and networks like Main Street America.

Publications and Research

Scholarly and practitioner-oriented outputs include conference proceedings, policy briefs, and practitioner tools that cite work from journals and institutions such as Journal of Extension, Community Development Journal, Journal of Rural Studies, Economic Development Quarterly, and research centers like the Southern Rural Development Center and the Carsey School of Public Policy. Cooperative projects have linked NACDEP contributors with faculty from Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University Extension, University of Wisconsin–Extension, and University of Vermont producing applied research on topics intersecting with funding streams from National Institutes of Health translational outreach grants and evaluation frameworks used by Annie E. Casey Foundation initiatives.

Partnerships and Impact

The association partners with federal, state, and philanthropic institutions including U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Kresge Foundation, and regional development organizations like the Southern Growth Policies Board. Its impact is evidenced in community resilience projects, downtown revitalization collaborations with Main Street America, workforce development pilots in coordination with State Workforce Agencies, and capacity-building partnerships with entities such as Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Enterprise Community Partners. Influences extend to Extension programming at land-grant universities and to collaborative networks including Extension Disaster Education Network and cross-sector initiatives involving cities like Cleveland, New Orleans, and Boulder, Colorado.

Category:Professional associations based in the United States Category:Community development