Final report for ENE21-170
Project Information
In a “VUCA” world—a world that is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous—small and middle-scale farmers must find ways to successfully collaborate with each other as well as with their business allies across the value chain. They must do this while also being good environmental stewards and responsible members of the greater community in which they are socially embedded. To that end, we developed a three-part, 18-unit online self-paced course on facilitating strategic planning for collective action projects such as value chains and landscape-level environmental protection projects. The AgriCluster Resilience and Expansion program (ACRE) course was beta-tested, finalized, and launched to a second larger group of service providers. A total of 160 service providers signed up to take the course during the project. As of the project end date, 58 (36%) have completed the course (including passing all 18 quizzes) and received a digital course completion badge. In so doing, they have demonstrated knowledge of the core competencies to facilitate the following:
- Creating a transparent and trusting environment that maximizes collaboration between stakeholders in a farmer-led collective action project;
- Producing a shared history, vision, mission, goals, and objectives among all stakeholders;
- Identifying and evaluating the prefeasibility of potential projects that can help the group achieve its vision;
- Developing SMART objectives and specific tasks for each project in the form of a simple two-page strategic work plan; and
- Using capacity-building facilitation techniques and consent-based decision-making processes for all of the above steps.
In addition, we created a certification program for service providers who wished to not only use the ACRE strategic planning process with client groups, but who also were interested in training other ACRE facilitators at the college level or in a workshop setting. To become an ACRE Certified Trainer, service providers must not only successfully complete the online course, but also take a two-hour proctored exam and complete a practicum that includes conducting a minimum of two ACRE workshop exercises (in situ or simulated) to demonstrate their mastery of the ACRE core competencies. As of the end of our grant-funded project, 7 people have earned the Certified ACRE Trainer digital badge.
A number of trained ACRE Facilitators have put their new skills into action by implementing or adapting ACRE exercises in their work, from preliminary “stage-setting” ACRE exercises such as stakeholder analysis, shared history exercise, and shared vision exercise to strategic planning exercises such as the opportunity-generating exercise and project prefeasibility analysis. In our post-project impact survey 40 service providers reported ursing knowledge and skills they gained from the course, and 25 service providers reported using the course content in the field with farmers and food businesses.
The ACRE Program now exists under the auspices of the North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN), which, in turn, is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action (a nonprofit affiliate of Cornell University). Details can be found here: https://www.foodsystemsnetwork.org/acre.php. An ACRE Community of Practice composed of ACRE Facilitators has been created with 42 members (as of the end of the grant), and an ACRE Technical Advisory Committee with agriculture development experts has been established to oversee the ACRE Certified Trainer program and ensure the continuous improvement of the online course. As a result of converting ACRE from a NESARE-funded project to an ongoing NAFSN-administered ACRE Program, wider adoption and adaptation of the ACRE strategic planning approach is expected to assist collective action projects in the Northeast, in North America, and elsewhere around the world.
Sixty-five (65) service providers will be trained, and 18 will be certified to be trainers themselves, to provide “Agri-Cluster Retention and Expansion” (ACRE) strategic business planning programs for farmer-led marketing projects that will engage 120 farmers and 70 other value chain stakeholders.
Problem and Justification
Since the Great Depression of the 1930s, many farmer-led cooperatives, grower associations, marketing projects, and, more recently, food hubs have been launched in the Northeast. They have evolved in our region due to a combination of advantages—from unique soils and microclimates, to proximity to large diverse markets that require farmers to collaborate to achieve scale. Trends suggest, however, these advantages may be disappearing as a result of very savvy global competitors who are flooding our region with comparable, but cheaper, undifferentiated products. Our outmoded production and marketing approaches are under attack. We believe that NE farmers should not try to compete in a race to produce high volumes of cheap commodities. It is a race they simply cannot win.
Solution and Approach
Instead, we propose to build a community of practice and train and certify a cadre of agriculture service providers to use a US-adapted version of a French strategic business planning process for value chains. The “Agri-Cluster Retention and Expansion” program (ACRE) will train service providers to help farmer-led marketing projects carve out and defend their position in the marketplace. ACRE does this through a series of transparent and trust-building exercises that unite all stakeholders in the value chain—farmers, suppliers, laborers, buyers, processors, and retailers. In this collective action approach, a shared vision among all stakeholders is established, common goals and objectives are identified, and a strategic plan of work is developed with indicators to measure progress. The result is a potentially more profitable and competitive value chain.
While a similar engagement of value chain actors is often applied to short supply chains (e.g., farm-to-school initiatives), it is rarely applied in the US at the midscale, regional level. We will encourage this approach in Northeastern commercial family farming areas: fruit belts, milksheds, viticultural areas, and vegetable-growing areas. Specific actions taken following an ACRE project might include processing lower-grade products not fit for retail, entering niche ethnic markets, starting place-based branding, and/or pursuing quality certification marks or state and federal marketing orders. Community and environmental projects can also be embedded in these initiatives, based on the interests of the enterprise leaders.
Our approach is informed by the PI’s previous work in the Lake Erie Concord Grape Belt of Western NY and PA, as well as his study of the PERF method of strategic agribusiness planning in France. ACRE will build on the project team’s current "Muck Onion Value Chain Pilot Project" funded by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. We believe that equipping a cadre of trained service providers (Extension professionals, farm leaders, and organization staff) with the ACRE strategic planning process will lead to better decisions to launch, expand (or even close down) struggling farmer-led collective action initiatives.
Cooperators
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
- (Researcher)
Educational Approach
ORIGINAL EDUCATION PLAN:
Overview
At its core, this project is a training-the-trainers initiative. We will begin by launching a listserv-based community of practice (ACRE CoP) that engages a group of 50 service providers who will be trained to facilitate ACRE programs throughout the region. This will be followed by the implementation of 4 one-and-a-half day ACRE process demonstrations around the region. After this online and in-person training, some service providers will proceed to conduct ACRE programs for any new or struggling value-chain projects they are advising. Other providers will choose to become “certified trainers” of the ACRE approach. Thus, over time, we will foster greatly expanded impact in the volume of trainers, the ACRE programs conducted, and the number of farmers who ultimately benefit.
Recruiting Service Providers Interested in Value-Chain Strategic Planning
Methods of recruiting service providers include networking with FSA, the Association of NE Extension Directors, the Northeastern Association of State Departments of Agriculture, along with our own Extension/NGO contact lists. The promotion will include a link to an online application for membership in the ACRE CoP that gives the project team a baseline understanding of trainees, including their interests, knowledge, affiliations, farm experience or experience in working with farmers, specific objectives in completing the training, how they may eventually apply the training, and their level of interest in becoming certified.
Service providers accepted to the CoP will receive an ACRE Toolkit that offers step-by-step instructions to facilitating an effective ACRE program. The toolkit will include templates, worksheets and other handouts, and case study materials that will encourage self-paced learning.
Training Approach and Content (Core Competencies)
The CoP will be listserv-based with periodic Zoom training. Online training will introduce basic principles of strategic business planning in complex value chains. This online learning will then be applied in four regional ACRE intensive training and demonstration projects, in which our trainees will participate in a “mini-version” of an ACRE program (compressed into one and a half days) conducted by the project staff. We believe that the combination of online “classroom” training on principles, coupled with experience in the field participating in an ACRE program, will provide the key learning-by-doing approach that maximizes learning in the context of vocational training.
The core competencies that will be gained include but are not limited to the following techniques:
- Create a transparent and trusting environment that maximizes collaboration between business partners in a value chain.
- Cultivate a shared vision, mission, goals, and objectives among all stakeholders in the value chain.
- Examine the past, accurately characterize the present, and plan the future of value chain.
- Narrow down a wide range of issues (drivers, challenges, opportunities) to those that present “key-leverage” project opportunities to increase present and future resilience in the value chain.
- Establish indicators agreed upon by the stakeholders to measure progress in implementing the strategic plan, with full accountability.
ACRE Program Certification
Upon completion of their training, we expect service provider trainees in the ACRE CoP to proceed to launch ACRE programs with marketing projects in their home communities. Project staff will provide online mentoring. After conducting at least one ACRE project on their own, service provider trainees will be eligible to take an ACRE certification exam to demonstrate their knowledge of core competencies described above, such that they are confidently able to teach other service providers how to facilitate ACRE programs. Passing the exam with a 90% or better grade qualifies the trainee to receive an ACRE digital badge that can be included in LinkedIn, résumés, CV, and the like.
Though it is unclear at this juncture, our hope is that we will find an institutional home for the ACRE program at a land-grant university. We may also approach AgMRC or other online marketing resource centers about providing an online home for the toolkit materials and a portal to training opportunities.
2021-22 REVISED EDUCATION PLAN
We are providing a revised education plan to reflect the significant changes to our approach to this project, including our decision to build an online course to permit a more self-directed and self-paced way for trainees to engage with the training.
Due to the travel and meeting restrictions brought on by Covid, we are restructuring our ACRE training for service providers into a Moodle course that will be housed in Extension Foundation Campus. We are in the later stages of design the course and expect to be beta testing this winter. We will go live in the spring of 2022 after outreach and trainee recruitment for our ACRE community of practice. We still anticipate great interest in this training. The training will include weekly Zoom meetings thru early summer. The remainder of the project may be similar in some respects to our original education plan describe above, including four possible in situ ACRE workshop demonstration sessions around the region, coaching trainees to develop their own ACRE projects, and offering a certification exam for those service providers who would like formal certification as an ACRE project facilitator. Of course, these things, too, may need to become virtual in some way. Given the ongoing pandemic, it is difficult to predict how we may ultimately engage with trainees.
Two additional notes: we changed the name "AgriCluster Retention and Expansion" (ACRE) to "AgriCluster Resilience and Expansion" (ACRE) to reflect more holistic sustainability as well as minimize confusion with the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) program. Moreover, we expanded the ACRE concept beyond value-chains, to include all manner of collective action projects in the production domain (e.g., agroecology at the multifarm landscape level) as well as in the consumption domain (e.g., community food security). Over the course of our first year of the project we have come to believe that, while value-chains and economic issues are likely to be a major focus of many ACRE projects, ACRE can also be applied to a more broad range of sustainable agriculture and food systems, including regional agroecology projects, and even community food security project. The fundamental activities of building trust, a shared vision, and a measurable set of objectives in a strategic plan dashboard are the same regardless of the topical domain. Thus, we anticipate the ACRE training course will have more broad utility and impact.
The net result of these issues is that both our training content, core competencies, and pedagogy are now a bit more complex, requiring additional time for service provider trainees to complete. That said, we engaged a training program consultant Kim Hines of the North American Food Systems Network to assist us in developing our self-paced Moodle course, with excellent graphics, animation, and voiceovers. The 18 units are grouped into three courses as follows:
ACRE COURSE #1 - Preparing to Launch an AgriCluster, including:
- Unit 1 Introduction to the ACRE Process
- Unit 2 ACRE Theory, Principles, and Foundations
- Unit 3 ACRE Fundamentals of Facilitation
- Unit 4 Core Group Formation
- Unit 5 Core Group Planning Meeting
- Unit 6 Setting the Stage for the ACRE Workshop
ACRE COURSE #2 - Conducting an ACRE Workshop, including:
- Unit 7 Launching the Workshop
- Unit 8 Shared History Exercise
- Unit 9 Shared Values Exercise
- Unit 10 Shared Vision Exercise
- Unit 11 Opportunity-Generating Exercise
- Unit 12 Initiative Build-Out Exercise
- Unit 13 Prefeasibility Analysis
- Unit 14 Drafting the Project Work Plan
- Unit 15 Workshop Wrap-Up and Evaluation
ACRE COURSE #3 - Ratifying and Implementing an ACRE Project Work Plan: includes:
- Unit 16 Post-Workshop Core Group Meeting
- Unit 17 ACRE Project Summit and Work Plan Ratification
- Unit 18 Project Implementation: An Overview
2022-23 REVISED EDUCATION PLAN
Instead of Moodle, we chose to use the course development feature of MemberLeap. This was because our partner, the North American Food Systems Network had chosen this membership platform as its website, and MemberLeap includes reasonably user-friendly course building tools and training portal. The training portal can be found here: https://www.foodsystemsnetwork.org/acre.php
PLEASE NOTE:
With our wholesale revision of the training pedagogy, a number of our original milestones were rendered moot or infeasible.
Milestones
500 service providers will receive the recruitment invitation to join the ACRE Community of Practice (CoP); 75 apply, and 50 are accepted into the ACRE CoP.
5
75
5
49
June 30, 2022
Completed
September 23, 2022
We developed a database of over 1,000 Northeast Extension and NGO staffers that we used to reach out to invite ACRE trainees to join our community of practice. We then created a Survey Monkey application form which included questions about applicant experience in strategic planning for value chains, and whether they were committed to spending the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023 completing the online course and participating in demonstration workshops. Forty-nine applications were completed and came from all NE states and the District of Columbia. A few came from outside the region, and a small number of service providers were also farmers or gardeners.
45 service providers will receive the ACRE Toolkit and participate in online introductory training on the ACRE program; 40 will report high satisfaction with this training.
5
45
5
49
July 31, 2021
Completed
December 22, 2023
As our project progressed and pedegogical strategies evolved in the context of Covid restricting our ability to travel and meet in person, the project team decided to develop a comprehensive online self-paced training coure instead of Zoom-based training alone. We broke the applicants into two cohorts: a beta cohort of 20 applicants to test the content of our 18-unite online ACRE Facilitator training program; and a gamma cohort of the remaining applicants to follow betas to test the improved unit content.
The beta cohort tested the course during the Fall of 2022. A toolkit to accompany the course was also developed and provided, including
1. Coursework Overview
2. How to Access the ACRE Online Training on NAFSN’s website The ACRE Notebook
3, ACRE Glossary of Terms
4. ACRE Templates
5. ACRE Checklists:
- ACRE PROCESS TIMELINE
- PREPARING FOR THE CORE GROUP MEETING FINDING A VENUE FOR THE ACRE WORKSHOP
- MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THE ACRE WORKSHOP SETTING UP THE ROOM FOR THE ACRE
- WORKSHOP CHECK-IN INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ACRE WORKSHOP
6. References and Additional Readings
A 16 Unit interactive Moodle Training Course will be developed; 10 service providers will be recruited to beta test the ACRE Project Facilitation Course; 5 will complete beta testing; all 5 will provide practical feedback that will improve the course before it goes live.
2
5
2
17
April 30, 2022
Completed
December 22, 2022
We completed the three part 18-unit ACRE Facilitator training course in late summer. We chose to not use Moodle and instead used the course tool available on the North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN) MemberLeap platform. Each unit has graphical animation and voice overdubbing as well as suggested resources and a required unit quiz for trainees to complete in order to progress to the next unit. Project participants are given gratis NAFSN membership and thereby free access to NAFSN online course content.
17 beta cohort participants started the course and 11 completed all 18 units, while 6 did not. Of the later, three dropped out for personal reasons and others simply did not have time to complete.
We conducted a series of online workshops with our beta cohort in which the content for each unit was discussed and feedback provided. For each unit, each beta participant also submitted feedback sheets which generated a significant amount of content changes and improvements to the course.
A gamma cohort (which grew in number over time as service providers heard about the availability of the course) tested a revised version of the course. In this version there was no support (via Zoom). We wanted to see how successful we were in creating a self-paced course.
UPDATE as of January, 2024: 127 service providers are currently enrolled in the ACRE Facilitator Training course. 28 service providers have completed the course and 57 are actively taking the online course. The remainder are being encouraged to start the course and complete it before the end the grant period.
UPDATE as of May 31, 2024: a total of 160 service providers were enrolled in the ACRE Facilitator Training course. 58 service providers have completed the course. 38 service providers are members of the ACRE CoP.
15 service providers will apply to host a 1.5-day ACRE Intensive Training/Demo Project in their own community; 4 will be selected.
2
15
May 30, 2023
Incomplete
The logistics of these in person demos were complicated during Covid and we changed our pedagogy to accommodate Covid as well as expended significant resources on the development of our 18-use online train course. As a result, we had little travel funding available for in-person training after Covid ran its course.
Moreover, the ACRE strategic planning process evolved into a 20+ hour process requiring intensive engagement and multiple days to complete in person. We decided ACRE strategic planning is best spread out over several weeks and possibly a month or more, thus further complicating in situ ACRE demonstrations. With our limited resources such logistically-complicated and time-consuming demonstrations were not possible.
2 service providers will host 2-day ACRE Intensive Training/Demo Projects; 40 members of the ACRE CoP will participate (about 10 members per site); 20 farmers will participate in total across the 4 ACRE Intensive Training/Demo Projects.
20
40
May 31, 2023
Incomplete
This action step was not implemented. As an alternative to four regional workshops, we conducted two ACRE "proof of concept" workshops in situ. ACRE staff traveled to meet with two organizations (one in NJ, and NH) that were experiencing strategic planning needs. These were well-received and provided valuable on the ground experience in using the ACRE approach to strategic planning for collective action projects.
Following the 4 demonstrations around the region, 10 ACRE trainees will launch ACRE programs with value-chain projects in their own communities; 80 value-chain stakeholders (farmers, suppliers, buyers, retailers, etc.) will participate; of the 10, 5 certified ACRE trainers will complete the entire ACRE program with their value-chain project; 50 farmers will participate in these new ACRE programs.
50
10
25
5
January 31, 2023
Incomplete
As mentioned previously, we changed our pedagogical approach and did not have conduct four regional demonstration projects. We did encourage ACRE Facilitator trainees to put their training into practice and offered $250 to members of the ACRE CoP to demonstrate one or two key exercises in the ACRE workshop (e.g., shared history, shared values, shared vision, opportunity generating exercise, initiative build-out exercise, prefeasibility analysis, and drafting the project work plan). Several service providers took us up on this offer and were able to conduct "ACRE Demos," for example, a consultant working with a Western Massachusetts dealing wool producers group interested in developing a wool value-chain, a rural development agency staffer who used the shared history exercise to get new staff up to speed on their organization, and a facilitator in France used the ACRE stakeholder analysis and opportunity generating exercise with a group working on rural development in mountain regions.
Portions of these ACRE workshop demonstrations were recorded and photographed (with permission) and may be used for training purposes in the future.
20 members of the ACRE CoP will complete the online ACRE Certified Trainer exam; 18 members will pass the exam and receive ACRE Certified Trainer awards.
3
20
1
10
April 30, 2023
Completed
May 31, 2024
Over the course of the project our thinking about the requirements for certifying ACRE Facilitator Trainers evolved. Given the feedback on the course we were receiving, and the new complexity of the ACRE strategic planning process, we decided to require three items for becoming a Certified ACRE Facilitator Trainer: 1. satisfactory completion of the online course; 2. securing a minimum score of 85 on the ACRE Facilitator Trainer Exam; and 3. completing a practicum that demonstrates the trainees facilitation skills using two ACRE workshop exercises. Completing all three items gives us confidence that the ACRE Trainer has mastered the competencies sufficiently to teach ACRE strategic planning at the college level or in a workshop setting.
The 2-hour online ACRE Certification Exam consists of 20 short answer questions and is based on the core competencies of the ACRE course. The exam is proctored online by one member of the ACRE Technical Committee. This is one of three criteria required for ACRE Certification, which also includes completing the ACRE online facilitation course (18 unites and all quizzes), and conducting two proctored ACRE exercises. It was beta-tested, adjusted, and tested a second time.
Details of the ACRE Facilitator Certification Exam are as follows:
Objective: to test the examinee's knowledge of competencies and their appreciation of the deeper meaning and "integrativity" of the course content. Note: in the future, this exam should be approved by ACRE Technical Committee and the CoP.
Structure and Scoring: The examinee takes the exam with a proctor and has 120 minutes to complete it (6 minutes per essay on average). There are 20 short essay questions in the exam, one question that corresponds to one competency per unit, plus two additional questions. Scoring is conducted by the ACRE Technical Committee (ATC). Three members of the ATC will separately score each answer using a 0 to 5 points system as follows:
* 0 points = Question is skipped or answer is completely inappropriate/non sequitur.
* 1 point = Minimal effort is provided in answering the question (e.g., 1 or 2 sentences tangentially on topic or minimally accurate)
* 2 points = Slightly more than minimum effort is given (e.g., a brief paragraph but not particularly thoughtful or thorough)
* 3 points = Moderately thoughtful answer is given (e.g., thoughtful but not thorough)
* 4 points = A factually precise, if concise, answer is given (e.g., good insight but not very thorough)
* 5 points = A precise answer that is also thorough and thoughtful (e.g., both insightful and complete mastery)
The three scores from the ATC are averaged.
Maximum points to be awarded is 100.
Minimum number of points to pass the exam is 85.
Q by Q feedback will also be provided by the examiners (i.e., short notations in the margin).
“Passing” means the examinee has generally mastered enough material in the examiners’ minds that they should be competent enough to instruct others in the ACRE Process.
UPDATE May 31, 2024 : 10 individuals have completed the ACRE Trainer Certification Exam; all passed. Furthermore, 7 have completed the required practicum to become Certified ACRE Trainers who can teach ACRE at the college level or provide trainings at conferences.
3 certified ACRE trainers will then go on to teach workshops on how to conduct ACRE programs; 30 service provider trainees will participate; 20 new service provider trainees will complete the training.
3
30
September 30, 2023
Incomplete
As of the end date of our project no Certified ACRE trainers have proceeded to conduct their own trainings. However, post-grant trainings are being scheduled in 2024-25, and we are currently recruiting a few faculty at several institutions to teach the ACRE strategic planning course in a hybrid context using both the online course as well as weekly classes to discuss content and practice strategic planning facilitation.
10 newly trained service providers will conduct ACRE programs with 10 different value-chain projects; 100 value-chain stakeholders (farmers, suppliers, buyers, retailers, etc.) will participate; 80 farmers will participate in these ACRE programs.
80
10
February 29, 2024
Incomplete
As we did not have ACRE trainers certified until the end of the project, no new ACRE facilitators were trained, and therefore no additional ACRE programs were conducted.
65 service providers and 120 farmers participating in this project will receive an online follow-up survey to measure training quality and project impacts. After follow-up reminders a 50% response rate will yield 93 surveys will be completed and analyzed.
120
65
2
44
April 30, 2024
Completed
May 31, 2024
We chose to use both a pre-course survey and a post-course survey that course takers completed. Two key results of the pre and post course surveys include the following (via Likert-type scale questions):
PRE-COURSE SURVEY RESULTS (N= 80)
95 % of respondents reported that "I am very sure value chain development would benefit my food/agricultural community."
POST-COURSE SURVEY RESULTS (N = 40)
74 % of respondents indicated that "Yes, absolutely, the ACRE Facilitator Training provided me with new knowledge, skills and tools to conduct values-based strategic planning in my food/agricultural community."
We also conducted a Post-Project Survey of participants. Those results are reported elsewhere in this report.
45 service providers of the ACRE community of practice will be asked to participate in an live online focus group to discuss the follow-up survey results and give qualitative feedback. Of these 15 will participate.
15
1
22
May 31, 2024
Completed
June 18, 2024
A one hour focus group was conducted with 22 ACRE project stakeholders. Participants included both individuals who did AND did not complete the online ACRE course. The purpose of the focus group was to get deep insights into the challenges of taking the online, self-paced course. Feedback was thoughtful and candid.
Participants reported appreciation for the content and presentation of the course material in animated format, especially the diversity of the animated characters. Interestingly, redundancies in the content across the 18 units was also appreciated.
Practical recommendations included producing hardcopy materials to accompany the online course to accommodate different learning styles, encouraging interaction among trainees while taking the course (e.g., mentors, "study-buddies," and regular meetings with trainees to reinforce learning), and adding a speed control on the course videos.
Successfully transition the Lyson Center's NESARE-funded "ACRE project" to the North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN) and call it the "ACRE PROGRAM".
May 31, 2024
Completed
May 31, 2024
We prepared an MoU between the Lyson Center and the North American Food Systems Network which launched the ACRE Project and the North American Food Systems Network (NAFSN) which now administers the ACRE Program, clarifying the responsibility of each organization in keeping the ACRE Program going. The Lyson Center will administer the ACRE Technical Advisory Circle (which oversees the ACRE Facilitator Certification program), while NAFSN will be responsible for promoting the ACRE program and facilitating the ACRE Community of Practice, among other key activities.
The ACRE Circle completed it's own ACRE strategic Planning Process, leading to the creation of a detailed work plan which will guide the development of the ACRE program in the next couple of years.
We also completed an ACRE Program Business Plan which provides details for how the ACRE Program will be structured, administered, promoted, and financed under NAFSN's leadership.
Milestone Activities and Participation Summary
Educational activities and events conducted by the project team:
Participants in the project’s educational activities:
Learning Outcomes
We conducted several evaluation methods, including pre- and post course surveys, a post-project focus group (described previously in this report), and a post-project survey. Key findings are outlined below:
Two key results of the pre and post course surveys include the following (via Likert-type scale questions):
PRE-COURSE SURVEY RESULTS (N= 80)
95 % of respondents reported that "I am very sure value chain development would benefit my food/agricultural community."
POST-COURSE SURVEY RESULTS (N = 40)
74 % of respondents indicated that "Yes, absolutely, the ACRE Facilitator Training provided me with new knowledge, skills and tools to conduct values-based strategic planning in my food/agricultural community."
POST-PROJECT SURVEY RESULTS (N =44)
After completing the ACRE Course, 25 of the 44 responding service providers reported working with 378 stakeholders (farmers and other value chain stakeholders), including 229 farmers, who steward 5,896.5 acres (average of 310.3 acres per farm).
Our surveys and focus group suggest service providers who took the ACRE Course generally improved their knowledge and skills in strategic planning for collective action projects.
Performance Target Outcomes
Performance Target Outcomes - Service Providers
Target #1
65
Sixty-five (65) service providers will be trained, and 18 of them will become certified, providing that training to 120 farmers plus 70 other value chain stakeholders, in 10 new value chain projects. An ACRE program includes taking a new or struggling cooperative, specialty crop association, or other value chain project through a strategic business planning process that builds confidence and trust among stakeholders across the value chain, which in turn leads to a stronger and more profitable enterprise.
120
The average farmer in the region has 133 acres x 120 farmers engaged = 15,960 acres
40
229
5,896.5 acres
- 25 Service providers completing the course (and completing our post-project survey) reported utilizing the course content in the field with farmer/food producer stakeholders.
Our performance target verification methods and tools included the following:
We sent a post-project survey (SurveyMonkey) out to all service providers who registered to take the ACRE Course (N= 203). The survey preamble was as follows:
Performance Target Outcomes - Farmers
Target #1
120
As a result of the ACRE strategic planning course for service providers, we hoped to see an increase in farmer-led collective action projects either getting started, growing, or orderly sunsetting.
15,960 acres
0
Unknown.
We did not conduct any outcome verification with farmers who our trained facilitators worked with. There are several reasons we did not verify farm-level impact information:
- The ACRE project unfolded in ways we did not anticipate: the pandemic was a factor as well as the natural evolution of the project over time as we engaged our service providers. As we received input on the online ACRE course from our service providers, we made significant modification which took extra time and resources.
- The scope of the ACRE Project, as PDP initiative, was simply more broad than it was deep. That is, we ended up working with more service providers than we expected and therefore, our limited time and resources were focussed on training service providers and evaluating their experience in the course. We did not utilize pilot projects that might have demonstrate impacts at the farm/farmer level, so there was no reason to try to measure farm-level impacts of service provider training.
- We can say, anecdotally, that farmers and related stakeholders have probably been helped by our PDP project. We believe the qualitative feedback we received (provided elsewhere in this report) suggest as much. But the reality is that the full impact of the ACRE project (including the secondary and tertiary impact on farms) will not be measurable until our trained ACRE facilitators have time to market and implement their services. The North American Food Systems Network which now administers the ACRE Program will be periodically measuring impacts in terms of numbers of ACRE workshops conducted by members of the ACRE Community of Practice, and by soliciting feedback from workshop participants. Case studies where ACRE has been implemented are being developed and published on the ACRE website. Once example can be found here: https://www.foodsystemsnetwork.org/docs/ACRE_Case_Study_NJFDC.pdf
Additional Project Outcomes
We have created a AgriCluster Resilience and Expansion community of practice (ACRE CoP). This currently includes our the participants who have completed our beta training (11 individuals). Two participants have volunteered to serve as co-chairs of the ACRE CoP. Participants of the gamma cohort will be also be able to join in the spring of 2023. The purpose of the ACRE CoP is to build camaraderie among ACRE facilitators, to develop good practices, and develop continuing education beyond the grant period.
Update for 2023
The ACRE CoP now has 27 members, mainly from the Northeast U.S., but also other U.S. regions, Canada, and Europe.
Update for January, 2024
We have expanded the number of individuals taking the ACRE online course. We are receiving both formal and informal feedback-- all of which is positive and informative. There is considerable interesting in ACRE outside of the Northeast and we have been engaging with service providers and collaborators elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe. We have be approach regarding developing a project in Puerto Rico which might give us an opportunity to develop a Spanish version of the ACRE course. We are also being to engage with professorial faculty and universities and a college-level version of ACRE may be developed, post-grant.
Update for May, 2024
We conducted two ACRE proof of concept projects in the winter-spring of 2024, one in New Jersey and one in New Hampshire. The ACRE Circle also conducted its own ACRE strategic planning process and several ACRE CoP members used the opportunity to demonstrate their ACRE facilitation skills. A proposal to conduct an ACRE project and train facilitators in Puerto Rico was submitted to the USDA's Local Food Promotion Program in collaboration with Patrick Holladay, of Troy University and David Conner of the University of Vermont. As of the closing date for this project we have not received notification from the USDA regarding the status of our proposal.
Update for June, 2024
In our final project work we drafted case studies of ACRE projects and they will be used for training purposes. We also had 7 members of the ACRE CoP complete their Certification as ACRE Trainers, thus becoming our first group of facilitators who have the privilege of teaching the ACRE process at the college level and workshop settings. Finally, we conducted a post-project focus group and received constructive feedback on improvements that can be made to the online course, the Certified ACRE Trainer exam, and practicum.
Below are selected positive feedback received from our evaluation survey in response to the question:
Did the ACRE course provide any benefit to you personally or professionally? If so, please share in what ways.
- "Thank you for facilitating this experience, and for selecting me to participate in the beta testing. I truly gained a lot of knowledge with community-focused strategic planning." -- city government official.
- "I trust this message finds you well. I am pleased to share that I have successfully completed the ACRE facilitator training provided by your team. Despite the time constraints, I managed to go through the material swiftly, and I plan to revisit the supplemental materials for a more in-depth review in the coming week to get more up to speed. Upon reviewing the content, I felt a surge of enthusiasm. Much of my work revolves around assisting farmers in adapting their production systems for increased profitability. Often, the efforts, no matter how successful, feel incomplete without a market and a robust support system. The ACRE training resonated with me, emphasizing the critical role a market plays in shaping the outcome of agricultural endeavors. Recently, I concluded a substantial project in the northeast focused on farm-to-institution sales, which stands out as one of my most successful endeavors in meeting the holistic needs of producers. Reflecting on its success, I realized that the key factor was the opportunity to bring together various stakeholders, foster consensus, and build relationships across the supply chain. Leading up to the ACRE training, I had been contemplating how to integrate this collaborative approach into more of my work to support both producers and consumers. To my delight, about 15 minutes into the training, I discovered that this missing piece had been skillfully developed by your team. The information was presented with clarity and conciseness, showcasing thoughtful planning. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for providing such timely and relevant content. Please know that I am genuinely invested in supporting this work, and if there are any ways I can contribute or participate moving forward, I am eager to be involved. Thank you once again for your invaluable contribution to advancing agricultural sustainability. Best regards,"--ATTRA Staffperson
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ACRE provides a broadened framework for my strategic planning work, and I can see the application as well to clusters beyond agriculture. Indeed, I am using it as a framework to think about collective impact in the just renewable energy transition planning in my state. --Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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ACRE offers a variety of activities that can be used independently and adapted to specific needs. For instance, I utilized the opportunity-generating exercise as a brainstorming method for generating new ideas. Similarly, decision-making through consensus was effectively achieved using consent-based decision-making methods. Beyond the activities, discussions on facilitation principles, such as considering small group tendencies, facilitation models, and dynamic management, have been highly beneficial. --Consultant
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I've found that the tools provided in the ACRE course have helped me take a more holistic, balanced approach to the work I do both professionally and as a volunteer and advocate in my community. The course gave me new insights on systems thinking, and the consent-based decision-making component has already been a game-changer in many discussions.--Consultant
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Yes, it helped me envision ways. That acre could be used in my community to be built upon. It gave me confidence that I can do just that with the capabilities. I already have professionally showed me to remove myself from the ultimate decisions of my goals. I now see that their ideas I have are great, but it’s not about just mine. It’s integrating them all together for the greater good.--Producer
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Yes! The format, key lessons, and general best practices for facilitating diverse stakeholder groups will be helpful for me personally and professionally. The certification will be a great resume builder. Even if I don't hold an ACRE workshop with a group of farmers in the near future, the lessons are transferable to my current position, which facilitates many stakeholder groups in the food access world.--Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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Absolutely. Most importantly, it has provided me with an easily adapted framework to address multifaceted community development concerns, especially those involving agricultural interests.--Consultant
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Yes. I am a registered neutral (mediator) and have found the things I learned in the ACRE course to be helpful in general mediation and facilitation activities outside of agriculture. I have not facilitated an ACRE event yet, but I look forward to doing that.--Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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The ACRE course helped me to better understand the needs of and connection points with local and regional food systems stakeholders and find feasible ways to support and connect them to adapt to changing environments.--Job seeker
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Yes, this course encouraged me to continue to build my facilitation toolkit and to think more intentionally about how to build collaborative/cooperative efforts within our regional food system. I foresee using pieces of this training frequently and into the future. --Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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The ACRE process helped the org I am part of see that the business model we are using does not work. We were able to get honest about that. And, simultaneously, we could see how important the work (of having a business supporting the cluster of aquaculture) is for our state, which, in particular, does not provide adequate investment opportunities for agri/aquaculture. Ultimately, we discovered together that a new business model, one which is better adapted to the current funding constraints of our state, is better suited. We don't know yet what is next, but we feel ok recognizing the unsurmountable challenges of the financial model of the present business. --Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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I have found the lessons on group decision making and consent particularly helpful when facilitating a group that is planning conference programming. I also appreciated the sections on preparation and planning in advance of group sessions. The detail and documentation are thorough, detailed, and great. --Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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The things I learned from the ACRE course have helped me in dealing with squabbles and conflicts between farmers and between farmers and farmers' market board members at our slightly dysfunctional farmers market! --Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
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I feel like my ACRE experience has helped me be a better moderator in the group when producers are at odds over things like a decision to recommend funding for a project that doesn't benefit all or lobby for legislation that might have mixed results. I think I am better at reframing questions/problems and better at helping them see the common thread to come to a satisfactory consensus decision. --Extension educator
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The ACRE Project has been an incredibly positive experience, giving me the space to learn and tools to build upon my professional skill sets. It's also opened up new personal and professional opportunities, as well as allowed me to form life-enriching connections with brilliant, diverse colleagues and fellow food systems advocates.--Consultant
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So very grateful for the hard work that went into making this such a comprehensive and detailed training.--Nonprofit/NGO staffperson
As our report describes, the pandemic forced us to reconsider our training pedagogy, including developing an online, self-paced course. However, COVID-19 was not the only issue that required us to think outside the box. As the project unfolded—and more people became engaged and ideas emerged—the ACRE strategic planning process developed into a more holistic and sophisticated process. That also made the planning process more complex and time-consuming. ACRE's 18-unit online course requires 10 hours to complete. The ACRE strategic planning process that the course teaches evolved into a multi-meeting process that can take months to complete. This differs significantly from our original idea, which was for an ACRE strategic planning workshop to be a short and more intense process. However, we believe the ACRE process now offers not only a strategic planning approach but also an excellent team-building approach that maximizes process (people orientation) and results (task orientation).
While we happily exceeded the number of service provider trainees we envisioned engaging with, few have actually gone on to apply their learnings in the field. This is due in part to how long it took us to develop, beta test, and launch the extensive course. There are numerous examples of adaptations (such as using one or two exercises in opportune meetings). However, post-grant (over the next two years), we have much to do to increase ACRE's utilization. As part of our own ACRE strategic plan, we have developed a set of marketing and promotion strategies, including marketing materials, as well as periodic ACRE information sessions. Dates for upcoming sessions can be found here: https://www.foodsystemsnetwork.org/acre.php
In addition to maximizing outreach and engagement, from my point of view as PI, I hope that we can find the resources to support the continuous improvement of the course content and to support a .5 FTE program manager who can also facilitate the ACRE Community of Practice (CoP). It is the members of the ACRE CoP who can bring expertise and lived experience to maximize the adoption and adaptation of the ACRE Strategic Planning Process here in the Northeast, across the U.S., and abroad. In doing so, we are confident it will help launch or reinvigorate collective action projects led by farmers and their advisors.
As an area of further study, NAFSN is currently exploring collaborative opportunities with other organizations focused on value-chain development (e.g., the Wallace Center’s Value-Chain Coordination Training program).