Our Story — How Knowledge, Confidence and Conditions Began to Change
One of our forum objectives was to help increase knowledge and willingness to act. During the forum we conducted a pre, mid and post forum survey that asked participants to rate themselves on their understanding and willingness to act on the issue. For 2018-2019, the issue was framed as strengthening farm vitality and health of farms and farm families. In 2021, the issue was framed as disruptions to our food and farm systems on the Eastern Shore.
Participants could choose the answer best suited for them:
9 - I understand enough about this issue now and I’m ready to take action.
6 - I believe this is an important issue that needs more attention.
3 - I don’t know enough to do anything about the issue.
0 - I didn’t realize this was such an important issue .
We collected data using flip charts in the face-to-face forum and a Qualtrics survey for the online forum. In the onsite forums of 2018-2019, we used sticky notes posted by participants on a thermometer to indicate where they were as the forum began, midway and at the end. As you can see from the green arrow, there was movement up in confidence.
Delaware and Maryland Forums, 2018
In 2021, we used Qualtrics surveys to capture the data more precisely. As the bar graphs show, there was a shift. We used the same thermometer concept and scale used in the onsite forum. A paired t-test showed a statistically significant increase between pre and post data. A comparison, using the Friedman Test, across all three time periods shows that participants increased their understanding and willingness to act on the issue. Figure 9 shows the data from each time-period and the average score for each of those periods in time. The green line helps to show that individuals shifted their responses toward a higher number. We are pleased to
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