Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0002-0705-2976
Abstract
Extension excels at working across program areas and disciplinary boundaries inside and outside land-grant institutions to address complex social issues within communities. However, evaluation of the collective impact of these concerted programmatic initiatives remains a persistent challenge for Extension. To better understand the broader impact of Extension’s cohesive, concurrent response to complex issues such as substance use and mental health, there is a need to shift from isolated evaluations of individual or single Extension programs to a focus on collective impact assessment. This article describes the University of Kentucky Extension planning process and outputs of a collective impact evaluation initiative to assess the outcomes of programmatic and outreach efforts addressing substance use and mental health crises in Kentucky. The article provides an illustrative example of how Extension and other community-serving organizations can employ the principles of collective impact evaluation to frame the program planning process and examine the broader outcomes of cross-area and collaborative programs that address multilayered social issues.
Recommended Citation
Adedokun, O. A.,
Desmennu, O. M.,
Elswick, A.,
Huff, N.,
Jenkins, B.,
Jury, K.,
&
Norrman-Burgdolf, H.
(2025). Measuring Collective Impact of Extension Programs Addressing Substance Use and Mental Health.
Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 13(1), 9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55533/2325-5226.1563
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
