Uncertainty about the future or other-party actions leads to higher transaction costs. Given the rapid rate of change, the future is uncertain. We can never lay out all of the possible contingencies. Extension educators build social capital through helping different groups understand each other s actions better. This allows a better analysis of the impact of alternative actions on future conditions from a systems view.
Extension provides access to expertise as well.
As Extensionists move from specifically increasing human capital to building social capital and reducing transaction costs, they must stop doing some of the things they have done previously. Stopping traditional activities does not mean that those activities are inappropriate or are no longer useful. It is most appropriate for Extension to spin them off when they can be done by private sector groups. This occurs with the delivery of much agricultural information and with building coalitions for housing and getting curriculum into the schools. The ability to set processes into motion must be mapped from the beginning in order to show Extension s key role and to enumerate the transaction costs that can help move toward a desired collective future, making Extension a vital ingredient to successful people and places.