How
do I get started?
Comprehensive water planning and management is a complex process made more difficult by the fact that people are involved in doing it. The water professional finds himself or herself in the middle of a contentious group, chairing an advisory committee, or working with a lone farmer.
Whatever the circumstance, the educator or water resource professional must:
- analyze the situation.
- determine the "teachable moment".
- bring whatever communication and teaching skills he or she has to bear on the situation.
Human progress is the goal. A tall order!
Without much support, most water professionals "wing it" and hope for the best. Extension educators bring their experience, but need so many different kinds of skills that they may not have cultivated the one needed at that moment. Education and communication are each important water management tools. But how do we do either well?
Each person brings different skills and resources to solving a problem. Here are several suggestions of resources that you might find helpful in deciding what to do. You will need to explore to see which meets your needs best at this moment. Next time you visit, a different resource may be exactly what you need.
1. Curious about education lingo or just have general questions about education? Try FAQs about BEPs. Answers to these Frequently Asked Questions provide brief examples of an education challenge and a potential solution.
2. Accomplish What? Helps you think about your interaction with people. Do you need to get information to some people; talk things over; provide training for a new skill; or really change how things are done? Once you've decided, you can take steps to plan a successful initiative.
3. Once you decide what you want to accomplish, you need to make a Plan. This section takes you from the idea to implementation to evaluation.
4. You are beginning to see how you might be able to accomplish your goal using a good plan. But where do the Best Education Practices fit in? Essential BEPs provides short lists of what you must keep in mind for learning to occur in different scenarios. It's best to refer to BEPs in the planning process.
5. Whoa! You looked at the Essential BEPs and they don't make too much sense to you. Choose BEPs takes a different approach. A Decision Tree walks you through common scenarios that may confront a water educator and helps direct you to BEPs important for that situation.
6. Your outreach plan is simple; you just need to get the right information to the right people. Search Resources provides access to an on-line library of water education materials and case studies. You can select key parameters and search for resources designed for your specific purpose.
7. e-Networking provides access to common listserves of interest to water educators. This is a good way to ask your question to people like you. Sometimes advice from a colleague is the most effective way to begin.
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Best
Education 
What are BEPs?