evaluation

FMC’s FMPP report

A fascinating report from FMC and MU about the Farmers Market Promotion Program.

Press Release here

Report and more information here:

FMPP Report

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Link to data collection slideshow

Gave this presentation recently to the University of Virginia Morven Institute’s “Farmers Markets and Applied Food Systems Research” course. Slideshow

Here is more on this exciting summer course that I am thrilled to be associated:

Morven Institute

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Cash incentives in NYC and Memphis explained

Ah incentives. This is a great interview with NYC Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs about their cash incentive program. The Mexico model was the one that was explained to us in New Orleans back in 2006 (by the same public health researcher that is now working for NYC) and became the basis of the markets’ innovative work on the Gulf Coast which continues to this day. We understood (because of her training) that we were using cash as a short-term way to reduce significant barriers around open-air farmers markets, especially for low-income shoppers that face barriers such as lack of transportation, short market hours (that are often at odds with service workers schedules), the need to learn new shopping behavior, the perception of markets as elitist and so on.
To me, markets are in the business of incentivizing behavior change and we use many tools to that end: events, seating, music, children’s educational resources, support for farmers to grow their businesses and so on. Cash incentives are now well understood by public health activists and so were brought to our markets as an efficient way to do targeted outreach to at-risk communities. It’s not the answer to all of our market issues, but it has allowed us to regain our rightful place as the center of innovation in community food systems and to add some disciplined measurement strategies to our portfolio.

I really like how the NYC describes this in the interview; I like the analogy of the tax code as being a set of incentives as well.

The entire series Freakonomics is based on incentives as well. Check that out for a macro view of the subject.
Link to interview

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Cluster evaluation of incentives

The report from Fair Food Network, Market Umbrella, Roots of Change and Wholesome Wave offers some helpful data and analysis of the incentive programs used in farmers markets. All 4 of these organizations are involved with incentive campaigns at different levels and have begun to see the effects of the many campaigns that they have run. It is clear to me that cash incentives have been successful in reducing the early barriers for markets hoping to attract lower income shoppers. However,the ability of the market organizations to create and manage these campaigns remains a cause of concern in some networks and states.
I am curious as to how incentives could be used in more ways (two examples might be how to attract new vendors or thanking neighbors who live with the impact of the market ) and how other incentives besides a cash match could be developed.

See the report here. FYI- It is only opening on computers; it does not seem to open on tablets at this point.

healthyfoodincentives.org.

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Report Season is upon us

I visualize many of you working long hours this week gathering data to finish end of year reports-as your faithful food system friend who is also working close to her candle on reports, I salute you.
Maybe we need grant report songs to keep us focused and get us in the mood of writing them just like holiday songs?
(Jingle Bells tune)
grant reports, grant reports
writing all the way
oh what fun it is to think
of ways to explain and say.

However, it does put me on the road of thinking about evaluation and ways to share information. We all know about qualitative and quantitative measurement, but let’s dig even deeper if we can, when we can. What was the transformation that came from our work? Is there a way to illustrate success with a picture or a snippet of an audio interview? Maybe a field plowed and ready for planting? A quote from a new shopper or a farmer who learned a new skill?

Recently, I ran across these evaluation pages from Community Food Centres Canada which are quite simple, engaging and yet useful. Here’s one:

Community Action

Take a look at how they describe evaluation too:
Evaluation page

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A Conversation with Michel Nischan

This is a good overview of the work Wholesome Wave does and how it came to be. Their impact is certainly being felt and the partnerships that they have created with markets and market networks are crucial to the goal of building the community food system.

A Conversation with Michel Nischan.

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My 2010 SSAWG Presentation on Market Measurement

I’m going to post some of the presentations, podcasts and videos that I have created for farmers markets over the last few years on here. Hope these are helpful.

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Online Fundraising Assessment Webinar

Tell The Truth Today, Raise More Tomorrow:

Assessing Your Online Fundraising Capacity

Thu, October 18th, 2012 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Presented by: Debra Askanase, Community Organizer 2.0

In this webinar, we will walk you through a comprehensive evaluation of the state of your organization’s online fundraising strategy. Assessments are not a judgment, but rather a statement of where you are along a continuum of practice, and can offer practical insights into your online fundraising execution and effectiveness.

Prior to the webinar, we will send an anonymous, brief survey to all webinar attendees asking you to evaluate the state of optimization of your current online fundraising capabilities. We will share the aggregated survey answers during the webinar, and what that means for the state of online fundraising in the nonprofit industry.

Register Here

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Tips, Tools and Telling the Story: Evaluating Community Food Initiatives

September 13, 2012 12-1pm EDT

On September 13th, Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) is hosting a webinar on evaluating community food initiatives. The webinar is geared at program managers, funders and other practitioners who are already engaged in evaluation or have a basic understanding of evaluation and are looking to explore evaluation topics in greater depth. Meredith Davis, CFCC’s Research and Evaluation Manager, will describe the process that CFCC went through to create its own national evaluation strategy, including successes, challenges and lessons learned along the way. Topics to be explored include: creating a theory of change, building an evaluative culture, developing indicators, developmental evaluation (DE), social return on investment analysis (SROI), evaluating in a respectful and dignified manner, designing effective evaluation tools and common pitfalls of evaluation. The last 15 minutes of the webinar will be set aside for group exploration.

When: Thursday, September 13, 2012 12-1pm EDT

Where: Your Computer – https://cfccanada.webex.com/

How Much: Free!

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74% of these respondents favor farmers markets

MSN poll I saw on Sunday showed these results. Not bad. Price concerns seem to have lessened…
Has anyone done a poll just like this in their local paper I wonder?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
More and more people are purchasing their fresh, organic fruits and veggies at a local farmers market. Do you shop at the farmers market near you?

35 % Yes, they have the best stuff. 17,764 votes
26 % No, it’s too expensive. 12,999 votes
39 % Sometimes, when it’s convenient. 19,908 votes

Total Responses: 50,671
Not scientifically valid. Results are updated every minute.

I also have this link so that you can see the most updated results of the poll:

msn poll on farmers markets

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SEED in Oregon

http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/sowing-seeds-for-research-at-oregon-city-farmers-market

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