LACE: Local Agricultural Community Exchange - FYII

I am currently conducting a 3-year evaluation of process and outcome measures to determine best practices, the impact of services, and the development of a replicable model for the Local Agriculture Community Exchange (LACE) project: A community revitalization project, for the three year grant period. This evaluation report presents the findings of data collected during the first two fiscal years, from October 1, 2007 to September 31, 2009. For more information about this study or to request additional copies of this report, please contact Michele Cranwell Schmidt, Evaluation Coordinator, at mschmidt@uvm.edu, call (802) 656-0256 or visit www.uvm.edu/crs/.

LACE, a non-profit organization located in Barre, Vermont, is a community revitalization initiative with a multi-faceted approach centralized around the renovation of a previously vacant storefront located in an economically distressed downtown community. This innovative and comprehensive project is carried out by the public-private partnership of LACE, which includes the artisan Gallery and commercially licensed shared-use community kitchen facility, Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC), a nonprofit community action agency that provides poverty alleviation programs and services in central Vermont, and a private business enterprise, the Farm Fresh Market and Café.

The evaluation of the LACE project focuses on both process and outcome strategies. The overall evaluation focuses on the effectiveness and efficiency of the program's development and interventions, such as improvements to the LACE space and the presence of CVCAC staff on- site at the LACE location to provide services for entrepreneurs. The evaluation also examines strategies to recruit and retain vendors, quality of technical assistance provided, and client outcomes such as increased sales, earned income, and job creation. These outcomes are anticipated to result from connecting local producers and entrepreneurs to a viable market.

The outcome evaluation provides an assessment of project results as measured by collected data that define the net effects of the interventions applied in the project. The outcome evaluation will produce and interpret findings related to whether the interventions produced desirable changes and their potential for being replicated, answering the question of whether or not the program worked.

The process evaluation component is an ongoing examination of the implementation of the LACE investment and project, including collaboration among project partners. The results of the process component are intended to be a management tool to facilitate continuous project improvement. In documenting project development, the process evaluation also serves to help staff identify challenges or barriers, strategies to resolve them and provide recommendations for future implementation. The process and outcome evaluations will utilize both qualitative and quantitative methods, such as telephone and intercept surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and review of database information.