Segmenting Stakeholders for Effective Extension Education: A Case Study of Sustainable Forestry Practices

The article describes a participatory segmentation strategy, called the Actor Diagramming and Tracing Method, that enables Extension agents to tailor education initiatives. Using a case study, the authors demonstrate the method by segmenting North Carolina family forest landowners based on resources needed for sustainable forestry management. Instead of surveying select participants, as previous researchers have, the authors engage a diverse set of stakeholders through interviews, in-situ observations, and diagramming. Three segments emerged with explicit steps to engaging forest owners’ barriers and motivations, as well as a key factor to adoption of sustainable forestry practices: owners’ relationships/social networks.