The View from County Partners--Extension in Southwest Washington

Given increasing urbanization and economic transformation, how well does Extension serve its clientele? Using personal interviews, the study described here gauged the perceived accountability and relevance of Extension programs to county governments in southwest Washington State. The study has implications for other regions utilizing significant discretionary funding from county partners. County commissioners like Extension programming but express little ownership in programming often seen as antiquated. Commissioners do not see Extension meeting community needs and invest little time in the partnership. While closer alignment with county priorities will help improve the relationship with Extension, institutional constraints may also play an important part.