Experts bring their acumen to bear on society's problems. Problems are broken down into disciplines and then attacked by specialists who become professional technological fixers. Problems and objectives are put into operational or quantitative terms and solutions are modeled to achieve optimal performance. To be rational and measurable, problems and objectives are assigned numerical indicators so progress can be monitored. Resolution of these problems comes in the form of an educational intervention, based on previously defined models of implementation.
Improvements come from the implementation of solutions.
Once the problem has been identified and solutions modeled, the best model is executed to solve the problem. Technology is transferred to resolve the issues of those identified in need. The analyst is independent of the problem, a consultant who makes recommendations to a client. To be fully objective and impartial, Extension personnel remain apolitical and scientific in devising educational programs and in providing advice and counsel to clientele.1 A program planning model based on these assumptions has been used to develop Extension programs regardless of the complexity of the expressed problem. It has been most successfully employed in addressing well-defined issues and where desired outcomes are agreed on, such as eradicating mastitis in dairy cows or ensuring food safety.