The federal Department of Agriculture honored a project led by University of Wisconsin professor Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Jahn, an agronomy and genetics professor, led a program called “Your Two Cents” that received a Secretary’s Honor Award, the highest possible recognition from the department, a UW statement said.
Jahn said “Your Two Cents” is an online suggestion box for USDA employees to submit comments and questions from any location across the large federal agency. She said it helps get the attention of the highest level of management.
“It is a project that is [designed] to connect anybody in the agency with the agency leaderships, so there are sites all over the U.S. and beyond. So if an employee has a question, concern or idea, that information can be communicated quickly to the agency leadership,” Jahn said.
According to Jahn, it helps the company because ideas submitted to those in charge get considered and responded to very quickly. She said the project was implemented in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences shortly after she became dean in 2006.
Jahn said she got the project started and a large team across the federal agency later implemented the idea.
She added the project created an easy way for everyone to keep in touch because the college has lots of experiment stations all over the state. She also said it helps generate successful ideas across a very large organization, especially when it has access to the dean’s office.
Jahn said even though the project does not necessarily have a direct impact on campus, there are USDA scientists on campus that use it.
“Your Two Cents” went into effect in 2009 and 2010 and, according to Jahn, has both been working very smoothly and proven to be helpful and effective. The award she and others received for the project was for its positive impact and its ability to address concerns or complaints from employees, she said.
Not only does the project help USDA employees, but it has also proven to be very useful in agriculture research, Jahn said.
“Agricultural research is very complicated, so something that is a good idea in one location could be a good idea in another location, and ordinarily it might be difficult to bridge that gap,” Jahn said. “It’s a way to transfer innovation quickly throughout a research organization.”
She added any type of research organization is a complex project with lots of accountability, and “My Two Cents” gives the USDA good ideas about management as well as research itself.
Mary Beth Hall, a research animal scientist at USDA, said she is involved with “My Two Cents” because Jahn invited her to serve on a panel that worked with the people on the main staff of the project.
Hall said “My Two Cents” greatly enhances communication on all different levels, which is important when dealing with any large organization.
“Personally I am all in favor of things that enhance communication, so my perspective is it appears to be working well,” Hall said. “It can only enhance the way the organization works.”
