Seven pillars of good extension practice
Build a clear, practical understanding of what effective extension looks like—and how to apply it in different contexts. In this half-day online workshop, we’ll explore seven tested and reliable extension practices that support trust, learning, uptake, and impact. Rather than presenting a single “best practice” model, this course focuses on adaptable good practices that can be shaped to suit different farmers, regions, industries, and situations.
Is this course for you?
- You work as an extension practitioner, farm advisor, or researcher and want a stronger, evidence-informed foundation for your practice.
- You’re looking for a clear framework to guide how you design, deliver, and reflect on extension activities.
- You want language and concepts you can confidently explain to colleagues, partners, and funders.
Why enrol?
- Gain a shared, practical framework for understanding what good extension practice looks like.
- Strengthen how you design extension activities that are farmer-centred, relevant, and adaptable.
- Build confidence linking your day-to-day work to credible principles that support impact.
What you'll achieve
Through this half-day, highly interactive workshop, you’ll explore topics like:
- Build trust and know your audience – understand why relationships, segmentation, and context are foundational to effective extension.
- Use adult learning and participatory approaches – design learning that aligns with how adults learn and value experience.
- Tailor and co-design – involve farmers and stakeholders to improve relevance, ownership, and uptake.
- Leverage social learning and peer influence – enable farmer-to-farmer learning that builds credibility and normalises change.
- Use a mix of targeted extension methods – combine approaches to reinforce messages and reach different audiences.
- Adopt the role of innovation broker – strengthen your role as a connector, facilitator, and enabler within innovation systems.
- Evaluate, reflect, and adapt – embed learning and reflection so extension improves over time.
By the end of this course, you’ll have a clear, practical framework you can use to reflect on your own work, strengthen existing activities, and design future extension with greater confidence and purpose.
Submit your details to secure your place.
Who you will learn from
Dr John James is deeply passionate about enabling change and fostering innovation. With a wealth of experience, he specialises in helping organisations enhance the skills and capabilities of their teams in all aspects of extension and adoption. As an Adjunct Associate Professor with The University of Queensland, John brings a practical, hands-on approach to his work, bridging the gap between theory and real-world application. John is a keen supporter of the Australasia-Pacific Extension Network (APEN), having been a past President, the convenor for two international conferences, and is an APEN Life Member.
Denise Bewsell is passionate about helping people enable change and strengthen how they work with others. With a background in Agricultural Science and a Masters exploring how people respond to information, she combines research insight with real-world experience. As a Principal at Scarlatti, Denise leads the extension programme design area and has worked extensively across agriculture supporting facilitators and researchers. An APEN Life Member and associate editor of its journal, she’s excited to help others build capability through Enablers of Change.
Course details
- Format: Three-hour online workshop.
- Date: TBA
- Time: TBA
- Investment: The price for this course is A$350 ex GST.
- Register your interest: Simply add your details to this form and we’ll let you know when the course is next offered.
A practical foundation for effective extension
Move beyond ad hoc or one-size-fits-all approaches to extension. Enrol to build a shared understanding of good extension practice that supports trust, learning, and impact across diverse contexts.
Secure your spot now
FAQs
What is the Seven pillars of good extension practice course about?
This half-day online workshop introduces a practical framework of seven good extension practices. It focuses on adaptable, evidence-informed approaches that support trust, learning, co-design, peer influence, and continuous improvement in extension work.
Who is this workshop for?
It’s designed for anyone working in extension, research, or agricultural engagement who wants a strong foundation for designing, delivering, and reflecting on extension practice.
Is it only for people in Australia?
No, this course is open to anyone, no matter their location or nationality. While we expect most participants will be located across Australia, we’re looking forward to people from New Zealand and other countries joining in. We’ve scheduled the live sessions at 11:30 am AEDT to accommodate as many time zones as possible.
Can I register multiple people from my organisation at once?
Yes. Simply list all the participants’ names and email addresses in the appropriate fields of the registration form, and then provide the name and email address of the person making the booking in the final comments field, and the tax invoice will be sent to them.
Are places limited?
Yes. To make the workshop engaging and worthwhile, participant numbers are capped. This ensures plenty of opportunity for discussion and interaction with the trainers.
How is the workshop delivered?
The session is delivered live via Zoom. You’ll take part in interactive discussions and activities, with practical examples you can apply immediately in your work.
Do I need any special software or account?
No special software or account is required. You’ll receive a Zoom link by email before the workshop—just click to join. Please check beforehand that you have the latest version of Zoom installed on your computer.
What is the cost?
The registration fee is A$350 ex GST.
How can I pay?
We prefer payment by bank transfer, as this avoids processing costs. However, for your convenience, you can also pay by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express) through our secure Stripe payment gateway.
Are there any extra fees?
Only when paying by credit card, as Stripe charges a small processing fee that is automatically added to your total. For Australian cards, this is 1.7% + A$0.30 (inc GST). For international cards, this is 3.5% + A$0.30 (ex GST). These charges are passed on at cost so that we receive the full workshop or course amount. The total payable is displayed clearly before you confirm payment.
Why do you pass on Stripe fees?
As a small business, we prefer to keep our standard prices as low as possible and only recover processing costs from those choosing to pay by card. Paying by bank transfer avoids these fees entirely.
Is my payment secure?
Yes. All card payments are encrypted and processed securely by Stripe, a PCI-compliant global payment provider. We do not store or have access to your credit-card details.
How do I register?
Click the link below to secure your spot.
What if I can’t attend at that date and time?
If the scheduled date for this course doesn’t suit you, simply add your details to this form and we’ll let you know when the course is next offered.
Are refunds available?
We offer refunds up to seven days before the course date; after that point, refunds aren’t available. If something comes up within those final seven days, another person from your organisation is welcome to attend in your place at no additional cost. To arrange this, just email us the full name, role, and contact details of the substitute attendee and we’ll update the registration.
If you have any other questions, feel free to email us: info@enablersofchange.com.au. We’re here to help!