Item No. 1 of 1

INVESTIGATOR: Mosca, L.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
THIRD SECTOR NEW ENGLAND, INC.
89 S ST STE 700
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02111

SUPPORTING BEGINNING FARMER PROGRAMS WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO APPLY FOR BFRDP

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, in collaboration with their partners is proposing to support inexperienced BFRDP applicants through the EET-Assistance grant. The project team has extensive and diverse experience working with NIFA applicants as the Training and Technical Assistance provider for Community Food Project applicants, beginning farm programs and evaluation. Additionally, the project team has an extensive national network of contacts to ensure that organizations across the US are able to benefit from the support. The project's objectives are to: 1.) Identify inexperienced applicants' challenges in understanding and submitting successful BFRDP proposals. 2.) Expand number and availability of training materials, resources and webinars designed to support inexperienced applicants with submitting BFRDP applications. 3.) Develop online tools to help inexperienced applicants understand their level of readiness to apply for BFRDP, and 4.) Develop an online portal for public questions and answers with BFRDP program staff to streamline the RFA and application process. The team will work closely with BFRDP program staff to understand challenges already identified, as well as evaluate past applicants to understand common barriers. From this, the team will develop extensive resources to support inexperienced applicants, including written materials, webinars, an online self-assessment tool to assess readiness to apply and a dynamic FAQ portal that will allow applicants to see what others have asked, as well as ask their own questions. All tools and resources developed will be publicly available on the New Entry, NIFA, and BFRDP websites.

OBJECTIVES: Objective 1: Identify inexperienced applicants' challenges in understanding and submitting successful BFRDP proposals. To develop an effective support and assistance strategy, we will undertake three data gathering strategies to assess the most common errors and points of confusion for new and inexperienced BFRDP applicants. To get a broad overview of the issues involved, we will meet with USDA BFRDP program staff to identify the themes and issues they have seen in unsuccessful proposals, and learn about which topics they think are most important to address in a structured outreach and education program for potential applicants. Additionally, we will undertake a national survey to identify the extent to which these issues and challenges exist, which will allow for a prioritization of issues to be addressed. This survey will also allow us to learn about issues faced by organizations that wanted to apply to BFRDP but were unable to do so. Similarly, we will conduct follow-up interviews with organizations to better understand the responses received in the survey and to develop useful training strategies and tools.The desired outcome from these efforts will be to have a clear picture of the needs of new and inexperienced organizations from which to develop a framework for outreach and training resources. This will allow us to prioritize and develop a work plan for development of targeted resources, educational programming, and outreach. The proposed outcome measures and targets will be the completed survey and interviews. The survey invitation will be sent to at least 700 organizations nationally and our goal is to have at least 100 quality responses. For the interviews, we will conduct 10-20 interviews as follow-up to the survey.Objective 2: Expand number and availability of training materials, resources and webinars designed to support inexperienced applicants with submitting BFRDP applications. To help prepare inexperienced applicants to complete BFRDP funding proposals, we will develop training materials, resources and webinars geared towards inexperienced BFRDP applicants to guide them through the application process. These resources and webinars will be publicly available to any organization interested in utilizing them. These resources will be created in collaboration with partner organizations and BFRDP program staff to ensure usefulness and wide applicability. In particular, we will work closely with BFRDP program staff to create detailed resource guides translating technical language into layman's terms for new applicants. Potential webinar and resource topics include BFRDP program planning, adult education learning theories, project evaluation, and strategic resource and partnership development for required matching funds. Other ideas will come from conversations with BFRDP program staff and from the evaluation of past applicants in year 1.The desired outcome is to have a range of materials, resources and webinars available to support inexperienced applicants at various stages of readiness to seek BFRDP funding. The proposed outcome measures and targets are to host 4 - 6 webinars/year on topics pertinent to inexperienced BFRDP applicants, and to make at least 700 organizations nationally aware that these resources and webinars are available to them through our outreach partners.Objective 3: Develop online tools to help inexperienced applicants understand their level of readiness to apply for BFRDP. Many inexperienced applicants are unfamiliar with the complex process of applying for BFRDP funding. To facilitate this understanding, we will design an online self-assessment tool (OSAT) that will allow organizations to determine their level of readiness to submit an application to BFRDP. We will provide detailed instructions on organizational requirements to register for grants.gov, building a strong project team and managing a complex collaboration, ability to generate required matching funds from non-federal sources, as well as other relevant resources specific to each organization's level of readiness to help them prepare an application, or provide them with the tools to be better prepared in a future year. We will work with BFRDP program staff to understand additional areas where support is needed.The desired outcome is for inexperienced applicants to have a better understanding of what the BFRDP application process requires, and to have a realistic understanding of their readiness to apply. The proposed outcome measures and targets are to make at least 700 organization nationally aware of this resources and to have at least 15 prospective applicants in year one and 50 applicants in year two use the tool to determine their readiness. This will be evaluated through an online resource evaluation link provided in the document.Objective 4: Develop an online portal for public questions and answers with BFRDP program staff to streamline the RFA and application process. Any applicant, but particularly an inexperienced applicant, will have many questions for the BFRDP program staff throughout the application process. An online portal (FAQ Portal) will be created to serve as a dynamic question and answer page that will allow applicants to input a particular question for response and to see what questions have already been asked. BFRDP program staff will be able to respond to questions in real time and the online portal will be able to capture and track the most frequently asked questions to inform future resource development, outreach, and educational programming to assist BFRDP applicants. We will work closely with BFRDP program staff during development to ensure usefulness for their staff.The desired outcome is to decrease the amount of time that BFRDP program staff need to spend answering similar questions and allow inexperienced applicants to benefit from the variety of questions already being asked by other applicants. The web portal will be a publicly available resource, so all potential applicants have access to the same (fair and impartial) information. The proposed outcome measures and targets are to make at least 700 organizations nationally aware that this resource exists and to have at least 75 applicants ask a question through the portal over the course of the grant period.

APPROACH: Objective 1. We will use a three-part data collection process to identify the most common errors, points of confusion and challenges for applicants. These methods include an interview with BFRDP program staff, a national survey of actual and potential applicants, and interviews with actual and potential applicants. All three of these information gathering strategies will be used to identify barriers and challenges past applicants have faced (both successful and unsuccessful applicants) as well as identify feedback and suggestions to improve the application processThe evaluator and New Entry staff will meet with BFRDP program staff to determine their observations about barriers and needs. BFRDP staff will be the primary source of information about errors made in applications - as program staff are in the best position to observe them. This discussion and survey questions to be developed will also include information BFRDP Staff would like to know from previous applicants and potential applicants, which can be included in the survey and interview protocols. Other questions may be added that will help BFRDP Staff understand the experience of all applicants for improvement and streamlining of grant process in general. This discussion will provide a foundation for the development of the data collection instruments.The analysis will look at the types and prevalence of barriers and issues for all organizations, those that were unsuccessful, those unable to finish the process, and those who had a successful application. A preliminary analysis of results will be conducted in October of year 1, to provide basic information about topics and priorities to start on development of educational and support materials. A more in-depth analysis will take place in November of year 1, and provide the basis for interview development.There will be 10-20 interviews - depending on the results we document in the first 10. Interviews will focus on the primary audience - those who are less experienced applicants. However, depending on the survey findings, we may want to interview more experienced applicants .Objective 2. We will develop and compile our training materials in a collaborative manner so that we are able to get input from a wide range of stakeholders - NIFA staff, BFRDP applicants and partner organizations with relevant experience. We will address a wide range of issues pertinent to inexperienced applicants. Our materials will include 4-6 webinars/year as well as written materials. The written materials will include compilations of existing resources, such as grant writing resources, as well as newly created resources, such as relevant technical NIFA documents translated into layman's terms, and 4-6 "best practice" documents developed out of the evaluation surveys and interviews with past applicants. All webinars and written resources will be publicly available on New Entry's website.The program manager will travel to DC for an in-person meeting with BFRDP program staff to learn directly from them the challenges they have already identified. For NIFA's technical documents, we will work closely with NIFA's staff to ensure accuracy of all translated materials. We will also utilize our experience working with CFP applicants when compiling and creating these materials. Additionally, we will host a session at the BFRDP project director's meeting at the end of year 1 to get input on helpful resources from BFRDP grantees, as well as to make them aware of the variety of resources we have already created in case they are helpful to them in reapplying for future funding.Objective 3. In order to help applicants understand their readiness to apply for BFRDP and to manage a grant should they be selected, we will create an online self-assessment tool (OSAT). We will use Qualtrics online survey software, a very advanced survey tool that allows for detailed surveys to be created. We will develop a series of questions for applicants to answer, and depending on their responses, identify areas that they need to focus on to be ready to apply as well as suggest relevant materials to support them with their preparations. We will design questions to identify if they are ready programmatically as well as organizationally so that they have a realistic understanding of what the application process entails, as well as what is required to successfully manage the grant if they are selected. Our questions will be formed with input from BFRDP program staff to ensure we are aware of past reviewer feedback, and common challenges they have identified. The resources we suggest will be those that we identify through our survey of past applicants, as well as the methods identified in the section above. Additionally, as we see common areas where applicants need additional support, we will create and compile new resources to meet the needs.As we are developing the OSAT, we will seek input from at least 5 past applicants to test the assessment tool, as well as partner organizations familiar with the BFRDP process. We will use their input to adapt the OSAT and ensure usefulness. We will evaluate its effectiveness by seeking input on the perceived value of the OSAT for those that use it. We will have questions at the end of the survey designed to understand how helpful it was for the user. If we identify changes that need to be made based on that feedback, we will update the OSAT accordingly. Additionally, we will track the number of applicants that successfully complete an application, as well as those that realize they need more preparation before submitting an application. As with our webinars and other resources, we will work with our outreach partners to alert organizations nationally that this tool is available. The OSAT will be hosted on New Entry's website along with all other resources and materials.Objective 4. In order to streamline the question and answer process, especially during the busy RFA periods, we will create an online question and answer portal (FAQ portal) that will be publicly available to all applicants. The FAQ portal will allow applicants to post questions that BFRDP program staff will respond to publicly. BFRDP staff will have the chance to review questions before they are "posted live" to ensure that they are relevant, and then can publicly post a response. The user who posted the question will be alerted when their question has been answered. The questions will be categorized on the page according to topic, such as match, program eligibility, etc. to ensure ease of use for inexperienced applicants, and making the page function similar to a dynamic frequently asked questions page. We will work with Tamarack Media, a web consulting firm based in Burlington, VT, to develop the FAQ portal and it will be housed on New Entry's website. We will work with BFRDP program staff to put a link to the FAQ portal on the main BFRDP website as well as include it in their program overview webinars during the RFA period. Additionally, we will work with our outreach partners to ensure that organizations nationally are aware of this resource. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the FAQ portal both from the perspective of both BFRDP program staff and from the applicants'. After the FY 2017 RFA period, we will have a debrief call with BFRDP program staff to understand how the FAQ portal worked from their perspective. We will also send a very short feedback survey after the FY 2017 RFA period to each applicant who posted a question to understand the ease of use, and level of helpfulness of the FAQ portal. We will make updates to the system accordingly based on all feedback.

PROGRESS: 2018/08 TO 2019/03
Target Audience:Progress Notes During the extension of this grant, we have worked closely with Allison Goin to host three more webinars to help support and train new and inexperienced applicants' to submit BFRDP proposals. On December 4, 2018, we hosted a webinar with Allison Goin and Juli Obudzinski of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition titled 'Farm Bill Update for CFP and BFRDP Applicants and Grantees'. The webinar covered an overview of the Farm Bill and what anticipated changes were being discussed for changes to CFP and BFRDP grant programs. We had 123 people register for the webinar and 64 people attend. The webinar is hosted on our website and has received 52 views. On January 29, 2019 Allison Goin presented a webinar titled 'Applying for BFRDP Funding in 2019' and discussed different techniques and ideas for people to prepare their proposals while waiting for the RFP to be released. Laura Mirafuentes of Minnesota Food Association discussed how to incorporate farmer input into their BFRDP project and proposals. We had 76 people register for the webinar and 51 people attended. There have been 35 webinar views since the webinar has been available on our website. On March 12, 2019 Allison Goin presented her final webinar of the series, 'Evaluating Your Beginning Farmer Training Program'. The webinar discussed changes to the BFRDP program due to the Farm Bill, including the FOTO program. We also discussed the evaluation requirements for BFRDP grantees and how applicants can use this information while preparing their proposals. We had 122 people register and 51 people attend. There have been 32 views of the webinar on our website. In total, we have offered 14 webinars with New Entry staff and partners as part of this grant project and have had 558 unique participants register for all the webinars. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Educational Materials BFRDP Application Process Webinar slides New Entry walked through the application process in grants.gov. BFRDP Project Development Webinar Project partner Allison Goin walked through important steps and considerations when developing a BFRDP project. BFRDP Building Collaborations Webinar Project partner Allison Goin walks through the top tips to consider when identifying and engaging project collaborators. BFRDP Evaluation webinar Presentation slides from the webinar project partner Jan Perez conducted a around evaluation for BFRDP projects. BFRDP Evaluation Webinar Resources Compiled list of resources to accompany evaluation webinar. Top Ten Tips for BFRDP Partnerships Compiled top ten tips to accompany Partnerships/Collaborations webinar. BFRDP Adult Education Webinar Slides Presentation slides from Adult Education theory webinar delivered by Christof Bernau on 11/29/17. BFRDP Application Process FY2018 webinar slides Presentation slides from Application Process FY2018 webinar delivered by New Entry 12/12/17. Intro to BFRDP webinar slides Presentation slides from Intro to BFRDP webinar delivered by Allison Goin, featuring Juli Obudzinski from NSAC on 5/29/18. BFRDP Evaluation Plans webinar slides Presentation slides for Evaluation Plan webinar delivered by Jan Perez on 6/25/2018. Program Design for BFRDP Proposals Webinar Once you've determined that you're interested in applying for a grant from the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, the next step is to design your program. The program design includes all of the key elements of the proposal: what you plan to do and how you'll do it. In a competitive program like BFRDP, having a well thought-out program design can be the key to setting your proposal apart in the field. Join New Entry and Consultant Allison Goin to explore the basic principles of program design and learn how to apply them to a BFRDP proposal. Intro to BFRDP for Ranchers and Grazers Part 1 Webinar While most BFRDP-funded projects in the past have focused on training programs for beginning vegetable farmers, the "R" in BFRDP stands for Ranchers! This webinar will provide an introductory overview of how the BFRDP program can support livestock producers, grazers and ranchers by looking at prior successful projects, and addressing questions for how organizations supporting beginning livestock producers can participate in BFRDP. Hosted by consultant Allison Goin and Monica Pless of Quivira Coalition. BFRDP for Ranchers and Graziers Part 2 Webinar Building on the conversation started in part 1 of this series, we will go more in-depth into how to structure a BFRDP project that focuses on livestock producers. Questions and topics raised in part 1 will be addressed, and ideas shared for collaborative programs to assist beginning grazers and ranchers with getting off to a good start. Facilitated by New Entry and Consultant Allison Goin, with partner Laura Paine of Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship. Farm Bill Update for BFRDP and CFP Applicants and Grantees webinar slides Webinar about Farm Bill update for BFRDP and CFP applicants and grantees Applying for BFRDP Funding in 2019 webinar slides Webinar to help direct people how to apply for BFRDP funding in 2019 Evaluating Your Beginning Farmer Rancher Program webinar slides Webinar to help guide people how to think about the evaluation component of their BFRDP proposal How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Promotional Materials BFRDP Assistance webpage Potential BFRDP applicants. Includes resources and webinars we offer. New Entry BFRDP EET Assistance Potential BFRDP applicants. Sample Mailchimp outreach email To advertise upcoming webinars for BFRDP applicants New Entry Sustainable Farming Project- National Team Postcard Postcard describing all of our National programming to encourage people to view our website for more information What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Final report

IMPACT: 2018/08 TO 2019/03
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: The applicant survey was conducted, survey summaries shared with New Entry and NIFA, and project partner Jan Perez has developed a public facing survey summary. The draft was developed and circulated among the project team. It will be posted online. Objective 2: On September 19, 2017 we conducted a BFRDP Evaluation webinar. Our partner, Jan Perez walked through the components of a useful evaluation plan. She covered the purpose of evaluation, steps involved in framing an evaluation, ideas for identifying outcomes and indicators, and basic steps regarding collecting, analyzing and reporting information. It was geared toward those who didn't have much experience or training in evaluation, or those who wanted to learn more about creating an evaluation plan. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 42 views as of 11/16/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 13 responded to our follow up evaluation survey to provide feedback on the webinar. Respondents reported increased comfort level with evaluation planning after the webinar. We attended the BFRDP Project Director meeting in Nashville 9/20 - 9/25. We had the chance to meet colleagues across the country, hear about the amazing BFRDP projects underway now, the challenges and barriers projects face and brainstorming how to address them. It was very valuable to network and connect with many PDs. On November 29, 2017 we held a webinar in partnership with University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) on Adult Education theory as it applies to BFRDP projects. It was conducted by Christof Bernau, Apprenticeship Instructor and Farm Garden Manager at UCSC's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 32 views as of 11/16/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 7 responded to our follow up survey to provide feedback on the webinar. Respondents reported increased comfort level with adult education theory after the webinar. In ranking the following on a scale of 1-7, the average score was a 6: Relevance of content, Preparedness of presenters, Usefulness, Pace of presentation, Overall. On December 12, 2017 we held a webinar on the Application Process. We walked through the various components of application submission process, focusing largely on the technical aspects of grants.gov, application forms, and WorkSpace. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 77 views as of 11/16/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 13 responded to our follow up survey to provide feedback on the webinar. In ranking the following on a scale of 1-5, the average score was a 4.5: Relevance of content, Preparedness of presenters, Usefulness, Pace of presentation, Overall. January 18-20, 2018, Kristen Irvin, a New Entry national team staff member attended the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference in Chattanooga, TN. She staffed a New Entry table devoted to information about our national team programs including the applicant assistance support available for those interested in BFRDP. She networked with conference goers and partners from many southern states including VA, GA, LA, KY, TN, and AL, letting them know about our resources, webinars and online tools to help with their navigation of the BFRDP application process. On May 29, 2018 we held a webinar called Intro to BFRDP. We provided an overview of the grant program, important components of the application process that new applicants should know, and included a brief section on the Farm Bill delivered by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, one of our project partners. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 38 views as of 11/16/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. On June 25, 2018 we held a webinar called Developing Evaluation Plans. Project partner Jan Perez at UC Santa Cruz provided an overview of evaluation plans, what they are, the importance to the application process and grant program, and examples of appropriate outcomes, and metrics for BFRDP evaluations. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording is posted on our YouTube channel and on New Entry's website. This webinar has had 34 views by 11/16/18. We hosted a webinar on September 11, 2018 titled 'Program Design for BFRDP Proposals'. Allison Goin discussed the BFRDP in general and ten essential questions new applicants should ask themselves in order to design a good program. This webinar has had 18 views as of 11/16/18. Jennifer Hashley and Lindsay Davies attended the 2018 BFRDP PD Meeting in Albuquerque from September 24-27. They were able to network with other partners doing work related to beginning farmer training taking place around the country and to notify these partners about work we are doing. We hosted two webinars geared towards ranchers and graziers who are new to applying for a BFRDP on September 18 and October 9, 2018. Both webinars featured Allison Goin, who gave an overview of the BFRDP process and tips to keep in mind as you are applying. The September 18 webinar featured partner Monica Pless of the Quivira Coalition, she spoke about their program's successful apprenticeship program taking place in the Southwest and provided resources to share. The October 9 webinar featured Laura Paine of Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship who discussed their DOL registered apprenticeship program, apprenticeship standards, and gave an overview of their current and previous successful BFRDP projects. These webinars have had 21 and 4 views, respectively. Outreach efforts around resources and webinars to help with the application process reached our own email lists plus national listservs. Objective 3: Develop online tools to help inexperienced applicants understand their level of readiness to apply for BFRDP. We created the Online Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT), which was launched in fall 2016. We sent an email announcing the OSAT through our outreach partners, and it was opened by over 5,000 people, far exceeding our target of 700 organizations. 133 people used the OSAT in its pilot phase, again exceeding our target of 15 the first year. To date 288 people have taken the OSAT. We reviewed and made changes to the tool after the release of the FY 2018 RFA. Some updates included removing language around the Just In Time pilot, and clarifying that match commitment letters are not required upon application submission. A Tufts graduate student intern helped improve our online presence for our BFRDP applicant assistance work. She helped update our webpage, review and update our resources, and investigate the process to post our resources to FarmAnswers.org. She has also provided feedback and recommendations on the Online Self Assessment Tool to ensure it is as useful to users as possible. She will work with us through the project's completion. Objective 4:. Working with BFRDP's staff, we created an FAQ portal that allows NIFA's staff to post responses to questions from prospective BFRDP applicants. We pre-populated the page with FAQs from prior years. An additional 16 people have submitted a question to the portal. The FAQ webpage has been viewed 710 times as of 6/1/18. Kristen Aldrich continues to work with web developer Tamarack media to ensure the portal is functioning well and serving our needs. We worked with BFRDP's staff to ensure updated questions were added and access was available to the FAQ portal.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2018/08 TO 2019/03
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2017/08/15 TO 2018/08/14
Target Audience:Potential applicants of the BFRDP grant program. Changes/Problems:We are submitting a no-cost extension to extend the project through March 2019. This will allow us to deliver webinars and trainings at more convenient and appropriate timing, and will also allow for our participation in the 2018 project director meeting. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We conducted 5 webinars during the reporting period. Webinar topics included Evaluation, Adult Education theory, Application Process, Intro to BFRDP, and Evaluation Plans. We held BFRDP Evaluation webinar on 9/19/2017, with 70 registrants and 40 live attendees. We held BFRDP Adult Education Webinar on 11.29.17, with 17 registrants and 12 live attendees. We held BFRDP Application Process Webinar on 12.12.17, with 62 registrants and 35 live attendees. We held Intro to BFRDP webinar on 5/29/2018, with 58 registrants and 25 live attendees. We held BFRDP - Evaluation Plans on 6/25/2018, with ## registrants and ## live attendees. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Jan Perez developed a public facing version of the survey report that was initially conducted at the start of this project to gauge areas of need for applicant assistance training. This document intended for the public has been shared with NIFA staff and will be made available online for interested parties and stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to remain flexible so that we can be responsive to applicant needs and in particular regarding timing of the RFA release. We want to offer our webinars and trainings closer to the release of the RFA to catch folks when these topics will be top of mind and they are beginning to develop their BFRDP proposals. Here isa webinar/training schedule: Summer 2018 - Project Development webinar Summer/Fall 2018 - In-person workshop geared toward ranchers/livestock farmers Fall 2018 - webinar (based on/adapted from workshop for ranchers/livestock) Fall 2018 - BFRDP project directors meeting Fall 2018 - In-person workshop Twin Cities Fall/Winter 2018 - Collaborations webinar Winter 2018 - Evaluation webinar

IMPACT: 2017/08/15 TO 2018/08/14
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Identify inexperienced applicants' challenges in understanding and submitting successful BFRDP proposals. The applicant survey was conducted, survey summaries shared with New Entry and NIFA, and project partner Jan Perez has developed a public facing survey summary. The draft was developed and circulated among the project team. It will be posted online. Objective 2: Expand number and availability of training materials, resources and webinars designed to support inexperienced applicants with submitting BFRDP applications. On September 19, 2017 we conducted a BFRDP Evaluation webinar. Our partner, Jan Perez walked through the components of a useful evaluation plan. She covered the purpose of evaluation, steps involved in framing an evaluation, ideas for identifying outcomes and indicators, and basic steps regarding collecting, analyzing and reporting information. It was geared toward those who didn't have much experience or training in evaluation, or those who wanted to learn more about creating an evaluation plan. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 40 views as of 6/1/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 13 responded to our follow up evaluation survey to provide feedback on the webinar. Respondents reported increased comfort level with evaluation planning after the webinar. We attended the BFRDP Project Director meeting in Nashville 9/20 - 9/25. We had the chance to meet colleagues across the country, hear about the amazing BFRDP projects underway now, the challenges and barriers projects face and brainstorming how to address them. It was very valuable to network and connect with many PDs. On November 29, 2017 we held a webinar in partnership with University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) on Adult Education theory as it applies to BFRDP projects. It was conducted by Christof Bernau, Apprenticeship Instructor and Farm Garden Manager at UCSC's Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 28 views as of 6/1/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 7 responded to our follow up survey to provide feedback on the webinar. Respondents reported increased comfort level with adult education theory after the webinar. In ranking the following on a scale of 1-7, the average score was a 6: Relevance of content, Preparedness of presenters, Usefulness, Pace of presentation, Overall. On December 12, 2017 we held a webinar on the Application Process. We walked through the various components of application submission process, focusing largely on the technical aspects of grants.gov, application forms, and WorkSpace. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 74 views as of 6/1/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 13 responded to our follow up survey to provide feedback on the webinar. In ranking the following on a scale of 1-5, the average score was a 4.5: Relevance of content, Preparedness of presenters, Usefulness, Pace of presentation, Overall. January 18-20, 2018, Kristen Irvin, a New Entry national team staff member attended the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group conference in Chattanooga, TN. She staffed a New Entry table devoted to information about our national team programs including the applicant assistance support available for those interested in BFRDP. She networked with conference goers and partners from many southern states including VA, GA, LA, KY, TN, and AL, letting them know about our resources, webinars and online tools to help with their navigation of the BFRDP application process. March 27-30, 2018, Lisa Mosca, New Entry's Deputy Director, attended the National Good Food Network conference in Albuquerque, NM. She participated in conference programming and networked with many national partners and other attendees. This was another strategic networking opportunity to inform colleagues across the country of our technical assistance work and applicant assistance for BFRDP. Lisa distributed postcards of information about our services and the assistance and resources we can provide to help folks with their BFRDP application. On May 29, 2018 we held a webinar called Intro to BFRDP. We provided an overview of the grant program, important components of the application process that new applicants should know, and included a brief section on the Farm Bill delivered by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, one of our project partners. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 24 views as of 6/22/18. It is also posted on New Entry's website. On June 25, 2018 we held a webinar called Developing Evaluation Plans. Project partner Jan Perez at UC Santa Cruz provided an overview of evaluation plans, what they are, the importance to the application process and grant program, and examples of appropriate outcomes, and metrics for BFRDP evaluations. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording is posted on our YouTube channel and on New Entry's website. Monthly project partner meetings took place in March and April to discuss and firm up the training plan for 2018. Outreach efforts around resources and webinars to help with the application process reached our own email lists plus national listservs. Objective 3: Develop online tools to help inexperienced applicants understand their level of readiness to apply for BFRDP. We created the Online Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT), which was launched in fall 2016. We sent an email announcing the OSAT through our outreach partners, and it was opened by over 5,000 people, far exceeding our target of 700 organizations. 133 people used the OSAT in its pilot phase, again exceeding our target of 15 the first year. To date 288 people have taken the OSAT. We reviewed and made changes to the tool after the release of the FY 2018 RFA. Some updates included removing language around the Just In Time pilot, and clarifying that match commitment letters are not required upon application submission. A Tufts graduate student intern helped improve our online presence for our BFRDP applicant assistance work. She helped update our webpage, review and update our resources, and investigate the process to post our resources to FarmAnswers.org. She has also provided feedback and recommendations on the Online Self Assessment Tool to ensure it is as useful to users as possible. She will work with us through the project's completion. Objective 4: Develop an online portal for public questions and answers with BFRDP program staff to streamline the RFA and application process. Working with BFRDP's staff, we created an FAQ portal that allows NIFA's staff to post responses to questions from prospective BFRDP applicants. We pre-populated the page with FAQs from prior years. An additional 16 people have submitted a question to the portal. The FAQ webpage has been viewed 710 times as of 6/1/18. Kristen Aldrich continues to work with web developer Tamarack media to ensure the portal is functioning well and serving our needs. We worked with BFRDP's staff to ensure updated questions were added and access was available to the FAQ portal.

PUBLICATIONS: 2017/08/15 TO 2018/08/14
No publications reported this period.

PROGRESS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
Target Audience:Potential applicants of the BFRDP grant program. Changes/Problems:In August 2016 we planned to deliver a webinar on budget and matching, though that webinar was cancelled. We prepared and developed a BFRDP Grant Application - Budget and Matching webinar, which was in our training plan since April 2017 and communicated to NIFA staff in subsequent meetings and correspondence. The day of the webinar New Entry received a call from Denis Ebodaghe to please cancel the webinar since the Awards Management Division should be the entity to handle anything around communicating budget information. While we cancelled the webinar, we remained on the line for any attendees that may not have received the last minute information and field any general questions about the BFRDP application. While it is unfortunate to have put time and energy into developing this webinar, we understand the reasons for the cancellation. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We delivered 4 webinars and developed and implemented the Online Self Assessment Tool as well as the FAQ portal for potential BFRDP applicants. The 4 webinars included The BFRDP Application Process and Grants.gov, Project Development, Partners and Collaborations, and Evaluation Plan. On November 16, 2016 we presented a webinar on the BFRDP application process walking through the appliction form and Grants.gov. We had 74 people register for the webinar, and feedback was positive. On June 20, 2017 we conducted a webinar "Developing Your Project". Our partner, Allison Goin walked through the essential questions to ask when designing your BFRDP project and proposal. 73 registered and 35 attended. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. On July 18, 2017 we conducted a webinar "Building Successful Collaborations". Allison Goin provided the top ten tips to successful partnerships, an important component of any successful BFRDP grant project. 51 registered and 21 attended. On September 19, 2017 we conducted a BFRDP Evaluation webinar. Our partner, Jan Perez walked through the components of a useful evaluation plan. She covered the purpose of evaluation, steps involved in framing an evaluation, ideas for identifying outcomes and indicators, and basic steps regarding collecting, analyzing and reporting information. It was geared toward those who didn't have much experience or training in evaluation, or those who wanted to learn more about creating an evaluation plan. 70 registered and 40 attended. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We shared survey results of BFRDP applicants with NIFA to potentially incorporate feedback into the RFA and application process. Jan Perez led the survey efforts and compiled the survey results for NIFA. We discussed the results on a conference call to answer any questions. 113 surveys were started and 108 surveys were completed (however, not all were fully finished). A survey was only included in the analysis if it had enough data to analyze or incorporate feedback. A total of 78 respondents fit the full criteria. The primary topics identified as "helpful" for technical assistance/training include creating an evaluation plan, partner engagement, budget requirements such as match and indirect costs, and project development and management. Full survey results and summaries have been shared with NIFA staff and are available upon request. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the coming reporting period, we will deliver more webinars and in-person workshops. We will also update the Online Self Assesment Tool as needed once the FY 2018 RFA has been released, and the FAQ portal will be monitored and questions added as needed. Our upcoming training plan is as follows (exact timing of each workshop/webinar TBD): Updated Timeline Fall/winter 2017-2018 - In-person workshop Santa Rosa, CA April 2018 - Collaborations webinar May 2018 - Project Development webinar June 2018 - Evaluation webinar July 2018 - In-person workshop Missoula, MT August 2018 - Evaluation webinar August 2018 - In-person workshop Twin Cities

IMPACT: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1:Identify inexperienced applicants' challenges in understanding and submitting successful BFRDP proposals.With the guidance of the BFRDP staff, our team created a survey to gather information from inexperienced applicants on their challenges with the application process. The survey was distributed nationally through our networks, and those of our outreach partners. Through our outreach networks, we sent the survey to over 4,000 people, exceeding our target of 700 organizations. A survey summary was developed for New Entry and our EET team to help shape our training plan. A second survey summary was developed for NIFA to utilize feedback for improvements in the application process. Some highlights from the survey summary: 113 surveys were started and 108 surveys were completed (however, not all were fully finished). A survey was only included in the analysis if it had enough data to analyze or incorporate feedback. A total of 78 respondents fit the full criteria. The primary topics identified as "helpful" for technical assistance/training include creating an evaluation plan, partner engagement, budget requirements such as match and indirect costs, and project development and management. Full survey results and summaries have been shared with NIFA staff and are available upon request. Jan began developing a public survey summary. The draft was developed and circulated among the project team. Objective 2:Expand number and availability of training materials, resources and webinars designed to support inexperienced applicants with submitting BFRDP applications.During the 2017 RFA period, we presented a webinar on the BFRDP application process. We had 74 people register for the webinar, and feedback was positive. The survey results informed our training plan for future webinar topics. On June 20, 2017 we conducted a webinar "Developing Your Project". Our partner, Allison Goin walked through the essential questions to ask when designing your BFRDP project and proposal. 73 registered and 35 attended. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 27 views as of 8/24/17. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 15 responded to our follow up evaluation survey to provide feedback on the webinar. 83% reported increased comfort level with project development after the webinar. On July 18, 2017 we conducted a webinar "Building Successful Collaborations". Allison Goin provided the top ten tips to successful partnerships, an important component of any successful BFRDP grant project. 51 registered and 21 attended. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has been viewed 18 times as of 8/24/17. The webinar is also posted on New Entry's website.. In August we planned to deliver a webinar on budget and matching, though that webinar was cancelled. We prepared and developed a BFRDP Grant Application - Budget and Matching webinar, which was in our training plan since April 2017 and communicated to NIFA staff in subsequent meetings and correspondence. The day of the webinar New Entry received a call from Denis Ebodaghe to please cancel the webinar since the Awards Management Division should be the entity to handle anything around communicating budget information. While we cancelled the webinar, we remained on the line for any attendees that may not have received the last minute information and field any general questions about the BFRDP application. While it is unfortunate to have put time and energy into developing this webinar, we understand the reasons for the cancelation. Otherwise we will continue with the training plan. On September 19, 2017 we conducted a BFRDP Evaluation webinar. Our partner, Jan Perez walked through the components of a useful evaluation plan. She covered the purpose of evaluation, steps involved in framing an evaluation, ideas for identifying outcomes and indicators, and basic steps regarding collecting, analyzing and reporting information. It was geared toward those who didn't have much experience or training in evaluation, or those who wanted to learn more about creating an evaluation plan. 70 registered and 40 attended. All registrants received links to the webinar recording and resources following the training. The recording of the webinar has received 21 views as of 11/15/17. It is also posted on New Entry's website. 13 responded to our follow up evaluation survey to provide feedback on the webinar. Respondents reported increased comfort level with evaluation planning after the webinar. We attended the BFRDP Project Director meeting in Nashville 9/20 - 9/25. We had the chance to meet colleagues across the country, hear about the amazing BFRDP projects underway now, the challenges and barriers projects face and brainstorming how to address them. It was very valuable to network and connect with many PDs. Outreach efforts around resources and webinars to help with the application process reached our own email lists plus national listservs. Objective 3:Develop online tools to help inexperienced applicants understand their level of readiness to apply for BFRDP. We created the Online Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT), which was launched in fall 2016. We sent an email announcing the OSAT through our outreach partners, and it was opened by over 5,000 people, far exceeding our target of 700 organizations. 133 people used the OSAT in its pilot phase, again exceeding our target of 15 the first year. To date 244 people have taken the OSAT. We received positive feedback on the tool, and will continue to refine it and add more materials in preparation for the FY 2018 RFA. We will continue to refine the Online Self Assessment Tool and add more materials in preparation for the FY 2018 RFA. Objective 4:Develop an online portal for public questions and answers with BFRDP program staff to streamline the RFA and application process.Working with BFRDP's staff, we created an FAQ portal that allows NIFA's staff to post responses to questions. We pre-populated the page with FAQs from prior years. Though we only had 6 people submit a question, which is far below our two year target of 75, we have realized that number of people submitting a question might not be a good metric for this page. We had 357 page views on the FAQ during the RFA period, with people spending an average of just under 7 minutes on the page. Even though not many people were submitting questions, there were many people using the page, and referencing the FAQs posted there. We will continue working with BFRDP's staff to update and add to the FAQ portal. This portal allows NIFA's staff to post responses to questions from BFRDP applicants.

PUBLICATIONS: 2016/08/15 TO 2017/08/14
No publications reported this period.