Outreach is an integral part of NRCS program and service delivery. Effective outreach helps to ensure that information services and programs reaches all existing and potential customers in a timely and fair manner.
Outreach: our way of doing business
The Outreach and Partnerships Division (OPD) works within NRCS to provide guidance and support to staff at all levels supporting outreach and partnership activities. OPD provides consistent outreach guidance for the agency, through support to state outreach and partnerships staff and administration of cooperative agreements and is focused on ensuring that outreach and technical assistance reach historically underserved groups. We work to track and analyze the magnitude of outreach activities and collaborate with partners to help increase access to NRCS services and programs.
Our responsibilities include providing recommendations for proposed program and policy development to increase access to all customers, allowing for fuller participation including historically underserved and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers and landowners.
By institutionalizing outreach and partnerships in delivering our services and programs, we increase the agency's ability to reach a broad and diverse group of producers, work toward improving local natural resource concerns, and increase conservation of our collective resources.
Through outreach, including that provided by our partners via cooperative agreements and legacy partnerships, we expand our reach and our ability to assist producers in implementing locally led-conservation.
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