So you want to write a goodSuccess Story

Sorrel Brown Program Evaluation

ANR ExtensionAugust 9, 2011

NACAA

Who am I?

How is your program Making a Difference?

Not what you do. The story to tell…

What happens because of what you do.

This session will help you …• Determine if a story is worth telling• Recognize necessary elements • Use words that describe outcomes• Create programs leading to public

value

The 3 Rs• Relevance

• Response

• Results

What’s going to happen?

Learning Actions taken

Conditions changed

The 3 Rs … Plus• Public Value

–How the public benefits

–How changed conditions make a larger difference

A good story shows why it’s worth telling

Situation: Hog and dairy prices plummeted substantially in 2008 and 2009. The price rise of grain increased costs of production, especially for fertilizer and land.

Relevance…. Response…. Results

Because Extension conducted workshops on the Farm Financial Planning Program, farmers acquired the knowledge and skills to evaluate the impact of alternative farm plans on their farm business.

From Situation to Results

Okay, but…

Farmers are better able to evaluate the impact of alternative farm plans on their farm business using knowledge and skills gained through using the Extension Farm Financial Planning Program.

Survey results show that …

Better, but…

Farmers who attended the X workshop are making better decisions regarding the risk of alternative farm plans by evaluating their impact on the farm business through the knowledge and skills gained from the Extension Farm Financial Planning Program.

Survey results show that …

Much stronger …

• Title creates curiosity• Necessary elements• Changes that occurred• Relevance• Results• Public value (if likely)

Parts of a Success Story

Make the Title work for you

Farm Financial Planning Program

Better Economic Decisions with the Farm Financial Planning Program

Increased Dairy Efficiency with the Farm Financial Planning Program

Show a Meaningful Change

• Measurable objectives

• Target audience

• Evaluation results

• Signify change or comparison• Measurable

– Increase … Strengthen … Adopt … Expand … Reduce … Decrease … Improve

Active Verbs

• Ok for Outputs– Conduct … Carry out … Establish … Present … Provide … Educate … Inform … Produce … Develop … Create … Design … Train

• Not for Outcomes

Descriptive Verbs

Outcome Example

• Developed a field reference that provides descriptions and images of the more common weeds in Iowa.

What you did, not what changed or who benefited and how.

Outcome - Better• Improved corn and sb

producers’ ability to recognize common weeds in Iowa using a field reference that provides descriptions & images and can be easily carried into the field.

Outcome – Even Better• Increased corn and sb producers’

profitability through better decisions for weed management. Participants in X program are now able to make economical decisions about weed control by recognizing common weeds in Iowa using a field reference that provides descriptions & images and can be easily carried into the field.

Broader Implications (Public Value)

• By making better decisions about investing in production inputs regarding common weeds using the Extension field guide, corn and sb producers in Iowa are more likely to limit their chemical applications to the environment.

So what? = Relevance Factor

• Priorities• Needs• Investment

• Problem-focused

• Stakeholders• Environment

Outcomes – Good, but…• Survey results revealed that as

a consequence of the education participants received at X Extension meetings, they took the following actions to increase their profitability:

• One family now checks the market daily for pricing opportunities. So what?

• One producer had a basis contract on 45,000 bu of corn for the 1st time. So what?

• One producer noted a gap in both corn & sb and purchased a put option contract to take advantage of the opportunity for the 1st time. So what?

• Master Gardeners across Iowa embraced the online hours reporting system. So what?

Better, but not quite there…

• X Master Gardeners surveyed in 2010 say they will use the new online reporting system to record hours so that … (what’s the real benefit?)

Much Better

• Summaries provided by the new Iowa State University Extension Master Gardeners’ online reporting system show [list benefits important to the public].

• State reports• Federal reports• Regional stakeholder reports• Extension/College of Ag

communications• To create a collective impact

story

Using your Success Story

Outcomes are what CountLEARNING ACTIONS

CONDITIONS

PUBLIC VALUE Awareness created Behavior changed Improved conditions for public

Knowledge gained Decisions made New standard or benchmark for:·enterprise·environment·society·sustainability·quality of life

Problems identified New practices implemented

Attitudes shifted Recommendations adopted Positive economic effect

Incentives created Revitalized community

Skills learned

• Cumulative across various activities within a program that lead to changes for a broader audience

Outcome Indicators for Condition Changes

Public Value – Changed

Conditions

Can Extension claim credit?

• Narrows an information gap• One person’s participation benefits

many • Generates engagement in public

issues• The thread that links your program

to a bigger picture

Public Value when …

Broader outcomes because of Extension

educationInfluences … Contributes ... Is a factor in ... Adds to … Plays a part in …

Promotes …

• Evidence of program impact• Testimony from individuals whose

lives were improved by their own participation

• Testimony from individuals who benefit from improved conditions that Extension programs helped generate– Environmental– Social– Economic

Public Value Stories

Survey results (n=250) showed Internet links were used by 98% of participants, 74% shared what they learned, information was used to make decisions by almost all, increased profits/acre from this information was noted by most respondents, and Iowa acres impacted were in the tens of thousands.

What’s the Public Value in this story?

Outcome

Extension’s program on X contributed to disseminating information about Y that impacted tens of thousands of Iowa acres.

Information provided by Extension was used to make decisions by almost all participants and increased their profits per acre, thereby stimulating the local economy.

Better farming decisions helps producers stay economically viable, resulting in a more vital rural community.

Public Value Statements

Iowa farmers increased production efficiencies to reduce negative environmental impact.

• Track specific production efficiencies in target audience over time to show a condition change for others.

Results that affect Conditions –

Example

• Increased incomes for producers have a ripple effect on their local community. Using Integrated Pest Management recommendations by Extension reduces the impact of chemical products on the local environment.

Results that affect Conditions –

Example

• Title that catches attention• Necessary elements• Changes that occurred• Relevance• Results• Public value (if possible)

Parts of a Success Story

• Determine if a story is worth telling?

• Recognize verbs that describe outcomes?

• Better understand how your programs create public value?

• Show program relevance to a public issue?

How confident are you to …

Questions ?Comments ?

Sorrel BrownProgram Evaluation

ANR Extension

515 294-8802

sorrel@iastate.edu