Coalition Guidelines

1. It is the intent of Project Food, Land & People that each state create a coalition to plan and conduct the FLP program. Representatives to this coalition should come from agricultural, environmental, natural resource, and education organizations, agencies, or businesses within the state. It is recommended that a representative from each of the following programs: Ag in the Classroom, FFA, 4-H, Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, and Project WET , be invited to participate in the coalition. The coalition provides a pool of individuals to help market the program, create workshop facilitator teams, setup and conduct educator workshops, raise funds, reach all areas within a state without too much travel, locate or develop supplemental resource material, and so forth.

2. The organizers of a state FLP program and coalition shall invite a national FLP representative to attend the first or second meeting of the potential coalition members to discuss the responsibilities and program expectations. This visit shall be arranged through the FLP National Chairperson.

3. Any state coalition wishing to conduct an FLP program must have a current licensing agreement with Project Food, Land & People. This agreement will be signed by a representative of one or more organizations, agencies, or other groups within the coalition who will be the designated affiliate or co-affiliates within the state. The coalition may add or delete co-affiliates at any time by notifying the designated FLP National Chairperson. It will be the responsibility of co-affiliates to establish their working relationships and responsibilities prior to signing the licensing agreement or adding a new affiliate.

4. Before the licensing agreement is finalized, the state coalition must pay a $3,500 coalition fee to Project Food, Land & People.

5. Should at some time in the future, the affiliate or all the co-affiliates become inactive or decide to cancel the licensing agreement, a designated national FLP representative will work with the state coalition to evaluate the situation and attempt to reestablish the program. If this effort is successful, a new licensing agreement will be created and signed with the new affiliate or co-affiliates.

6. The state coalition will be responsible for carrying out an active FLP program that includes the following:
   • developing a long-range and annual operating plan, including a budget. The annual plan is to be filed with the national FLP representative.
   • creating a budget and raising the funds for the FLP program
   • purchasing and distributing the Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning
   • conducting educator workshops
   • designating and employing an FLP state coordinator
   • sending the coordinator to an annual FLP conference
   • filing an annual report, including the number of workshops held and number of total educators reached, with the designated national FLP representative
   • providing the designated national FLP representative a list of all trained workshop facilitators
   • maintaining a database of workshop participants' names and addresses
   • providing workshop evaluations by both the facilitator team and participants to the designated national FLP representative
   • maintaining a business address and phone number at which the coordinator may be reached

7. The state coordinator will be the primary contact for the coalition in carrying out their FLP program plans. Should the coalition decide that they need co-coordinators, they will be free to designate them. In this case, the coalition will be expected to provide the designated national FLP representative a general breakdown of the duties and responsibilities of each co-coordinator.

8. At this point in time, Project Food, Land & People has decided to provide each Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning on three-hole punched paper and shrink-wrapped. They will be boxed in a suitable quantity for shipping to each participating state. The charge for the materials will be on a per unit basis and will include the cost of printing and shipping along with an administrative fee. We will survey each participating state at a set time each year to determine how many Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning they will want for the following program year. We will then print the total order and distribute them to the states on or before the beginning of the next program year.

9. Project Food, Land & People believes that an educator should generally receive a copy of the Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning while attending a designated FLP Workshop. For this reason, we have created a FLP Workshop Format and Facilitator Handbook and will train state facilitators in conducting workshops based on these documents. This decision is based on the results of studies that show an increase in the use and understanding of this type of education material after participation in a workshop. Project Food, Land & People has set some guidelines on the minimum workshop items an educator should participate in before receiving a copy of the Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning. These guidelines are found in the FLP Facilitator Handbook.

10. In order to create a cadre of individuals who are prepared to conduct FLP Educator Workshops, it is the intent of Project Food, Land & People to conduct Facilitator Training Workshops either within a state or a multi-state region. We believe that there should be at least 20 and no more than 40 participants in one of these workshops. The participants would learn about FLP's history, philosophy, mission, development process, conceptual framework, individual lessons, material content and themes, workshop model, and facilitator responsibilities. The state coordinator or coordinators would present details about the state coalition and its plans for outreach, workshops and funding. This workshop will require a minimum of 16 hours of contact time. The state coalition will provide each Facilitator with a copy of the Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning during the workshop. The state coalition will be expected to pay lodging and meals for the national FLP facilitators who are conducting the workshop.

11. It is strongly recommended that the state coalition should plan to raise sufficient funds to correlate the FLP lessons with any state standards or guidelines that exist as soon as possible. This will enable teachers to more easily integrate them into their plans and curriculum. This information may also be used to show administrators how the material complements these education goals.

Project Food, Land & People
National Services

In maintaining a national program and providing services to the state coalitions, Project Food, Land & People will provide:

• Copies of the latest edition of the Project Food, Land & People Resources for Learning based on each state coalition's purchase agreement and order.
• FLP trainers to train and certify FLP facilitators to ensure that materials and services are fully utilized, including their travel costs.
• A FLP facilitator handbook.
• A national newsletter for coordinators and facilitators.
• An annual survey of affiliates' needs.
• An annual report of affiliates' activities.
• Research to stay abreast of emerging trends in education and agriculture.
• Updated and improved educational materials, based on sound research, for use in the classroom.
• Workshops dealing with leadership training and network building for state affiliates.

In addition, Project Food, Land & People will:

• Maintain a national FLP headquarters with appropriate staff, and
• Coordinate an annual FLP conference for coordinators, affiliates, and other interested people.

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