University of California, Davis
August 10-14, 2009
WAS THE AGENDA FOR THIS COURSE ADEQUATE AND DID IT MEET YOUR EXPECTATION
 | Yes - many good topics, relevant to state issues. Lots of good discussion on nearly all topics. |
| The agenda met and exceeded my expectations. I was able to listen and learn from the more experienced in our group. After hours and while walking back and forth many ideas/issues were shared. I liked time with the registrants. |
| For the most part, I would say the agenda did a good job in addressing the theme of the course. I would say with only a couple of exceptions I did meet my expectations. |
| Some of the topics were more on topic then others. Overall I thought it was a good course. Topics should be national topics. |
| Yes, the agenda had a wide variety of topics and discussions that were very interesting. The leadership and self-help speakers were a valuable asset to the course. Group discussion was a useful tool. |
| Yes, excellent. |
| More than adequate! Thank you! |
| Yes, very much so, very informative. |
| Sessions of/about the actual use of technology and innovative/novel programs as they relate to the management of pesticide in today’s technology and cost reduction society proves to be very valuable to me and in some cases supersede my expectations. |
| Yes - most topics were great and very applicable to target audience. |
| Yes, was a good fit for my registration program. |
| A few of the speakers could have used a little more information about who their audience would be - perhaps they had this and they did not take this into consideration. Industry session seemed a little unfocused - it seemed like a bit of a lost opportunity on both sides - maybe some pre-work on asking states what they would have liked to hear industry talk about and vice-versa. |
| Industry representative presentation was the best section. The agenda was not totally what I expected, but it opened my mind to things I was unaware. |
| I really enjoyed the course - most of the topics and speakers were on target. The agenda certainly did meet expectations. |
| This was an excellent course. All days were packed full with very useful, informative, and practical information. I appreciated how the topics complemented each other and there was a “continuous” flow to the course. |
| Very good course. It raised some interesting issues that will impact regulators in the 21st century. |
| This has been one of the best, if not the best, PREP I have attended. All agenda items were timely with current issues and the topics and sessions provided the necessary information and provided some good answers to ideas to address each. Great job! |
| Yes. It was especially nice to explore some more pesticide issues. Covering these topics will be helpful in dealing with other job responsibilities. |
| The course exceeded my expectations. The variety of courses and caliber of the speakers was excellent. Very well run by EPA and UC Davis staff. |
| The agenda exceeded already high expectations for this course. All topics were timely and relevant to program management - both technical and non-technical topics. Speaker selection was excellent as well. This is the first course I have attended that has really focused on my own skills/management of people in addition to the programs. |
| Yes, the course was on target. |
| Great! Anytime I am looking for more discussion is was good. |
| Yes. Some time adjustments. Check topic. Evaluations for session to drop. |
| There were good topics and discussions. Some of the topics gave us good information, which will allow us to look into them further. |
| Yes it was adequate - no it did not meet my expectations - program, legal, and tech topics took up time which I feel should have been devoted to the subject matter covered by Professor Crumley. |
WHAT COULD THE PREP PLANNERS HAVE DONE TO MAKE THIS COURSE MORE USEFUL TO YOU?
| How about a discussion on funding or topics related to successful funding efforts, simple cost saving efforts, cost saving via technology options…specific examples. |
| A few of the sessions were too long. Some of the days, mainly afternoons, an additional break would have been helpful. |
| I enjoyed the course, the week went by quickly, there is very little I can think of to suggest. |
| First class is always difficult to project the usefulness. Possible breaks or change in venue. Difficult to sit for extended periods of time. |
| The topics were very appropriate for this course. |
| Travel on M/F, start at noon on Monday and on Friday, field trip on wed. |
| I believe that I have enough to learn that this was 100% useful. Possible thoughts for other items: dealing with diversity in economic status and culture with employees, stakeholders. Working with other state agencies to achieve common goals. |
| More field trips and activities to reflect and observe examples of pesticide program management in the 21st century. |
| Nothing - excellent course for initial run. |
| Incorporate short field trips at UCD that may be pertinent to our programs. |
| I didn’t find the sessions on managing the new generation of workers to be very informative as we have had similar training in the region and it was better, so perhaps a different speaker for this topic. For electronic tools we can use, it would have been good to do an upfront survey of states showing which states have which tools to try and see where states are and what they need. |
| Very well organized. |
| Weak presentations were NPDES permitting and social marketing. Find others for these sessions. |
| A few of the speakers were a little weak, but with some more changes there is little to change. |
| A lot of planning, organizing, and administrating efforts with into making this course possible. A big thank you to all those that were involved from start to finish. Please keep the planning and steering committee involved. |
| This course could be split into two sections: 1) Regulatory and technical issues affecting SLAs, and 2) resource and human resource issues. |
| More management/personality subject matter. More technological solutions states are using, hands on. Computer developer, new technology coming out. |
| I can’t think of anything. |
| For me, even more sessions on the management of staff would have made it even more perfect. So many course/meetings focus on the technical portion of pesticide programs. That information is already available! The “softer” side is more elusive. This course blended the two perfectly. |
| Request that the states provide list of these resources ahead of time, i.e. example/sample of their data management sessions. |
| Sometimes it was difficult to understand the telephone presentations - perhaps they could have emailed you a copy of their presentation so that we would have something to follow. PREP is spending at lot of money to have people attend; the attendees are spending (salary) a lot to attend. The speakers spend the time to prepare the outline otherwise the perception is the attendees are not that important. |
| Travel - field trip - to pesticide application location. To cover WPS and container/containment. |
IF THIS COURSE WAS TO BE HELD AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, CAN YOU SUGGEST FACULTY WHO COULD SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVE THE AGENDA?
| I’d like to learn more about my staff using information from Gene Crumley. Staff may be the last vestige of increased productivity. |
| Barak Obama. He apparently knows a lot about the future that the rest of us would like to know about. J |
| May bring more industry people in, their views were interesting to hear. |
| I think I may! If you want me to help with future planning, I would love it! |
| Include faculty from the information technology (IT) and have them relate the process of implementing information of a regulatory nature. Bringing the two groups together should give insight into the different areas of concern from the perspective of the technology and the regulatory practical vs. necessary applications. |
| Have U.S. EPA product managers attend to address labeling issues the states have regarding the acceptance of labels and other label issues. |
| Dr. Bob Bruss with NCDA - Structural Pest Control/Pesticides has enormous input on this topic. Highly recommend him. |
| Include farmers into the industry perspective, because most of discussion centered on issues that touched them and that’s the missing leg to this four legged chair (EPA, State, Industry, and Farmers). |
| I would suggest utilizing many of the same faculty for future courses. I believe you should have experts in the measurement of programs like ours (environment and public health/preventative programs). This is a very difficult area for most managers as the EPA and States face increased transparency, budget reductions, measurement (outputs and outcomes) become very important, thus it would be most beneficial to have an expert to facilitate or simply provide info then have another state or attendee facilitate. I also think all speakers (to the extent possible) should have public sector experience or have a full understanding of the audience. Sessions that were extremely beneficial included the industry forum and the Strength Finders (this course should remain for the topics that are national). For the latter, would have liked more info/focus on actual strengths and how to build them, how to identify strengths in staff, as opposed to studies/theories. Although valuable, real life application is valuable as well and maybe more so for this audience. Also found social marketing to be very valuable. Like measures, directly affects programs and can be deficient. Think having expert in this area was appropriate. Liked variety of types of sessions (large group, small work groups, lecture). Of course, the field trip was great as well! Course materials were excellent - like CD with all presentations. Only one item was missing - state presentations. These are very valuable regardless of topic! As always, the course logistics/planning, etc. were greatly appreciated and well executed. Only “complaint” is that meals (lunches) were not as good as in past years. This was mentioned among attendees on numerous occasions. Hotel was comfortable and was bug free! Would like to have other members of management team participate. Would also like to see several executive management course offered in 2010. PREP is an incredible experience! Thank you! |
| Social marketing (heard at Nov. C&T meeting is Madison 4 years ago. I may be able to find her name for you.) |
| More faculty involvement. UC has vast knowledge. Avoid program issues that divide the class. |
ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS?
| Nice job on the planning and development of this course…well done. |
| It held again there is one more (minimum) person from our state that needs to attend. |
| I would like to know what kind of application equipment manufacturers are developing. What kind of genetics are in search and development, and what is going on in China that will effect change on the US. |
| Contact with the attendees always one of the prime benefits for these PREP courses. |
| Enjoyed the field trip, great to see agriculture in other states. All speakers did a great job. |
| I thought it was well planned. Themes played on each other (woven together). Facilitators did a great job. All of the topics were applicable or interesting. Great experience. |
| The work groups and field trip add diversity to the sessions. It does not only provide physical activities but also engages the participants. |
| Think this one should be repeated. |
| Nice mix on the agenda of pesticides items and general management items; this helped to keep me interested. For the session with Gene, it would have been good to do some exercises instead of all lecture. |
| Great week, treated well and fed well. Hope to come back to future PREPs at Davis. |
| The room may be a little too big and the acoustics need little improvements. If possible use a smaller room. |
| Very good course. Do it again. |
| As usual, find a new hotel. J You all really did a good job on this course. Have it again. |
| I appreciate the extra effort it takes to get everyone to use a mic when asking questions. |
| Field trip and lunch - could time be better used if we would have eaten lunch on the bus? Photos, fun, and more class interaction would have provided a more productive outcome. This class should be offered again, however the focus should be consistent with the course title. Need to move lodging to another facility. Thank you for the opportunity and hard work. |