Northeast SARE
Outcome Funding and
Grant Writing Workshop
Tom Morris & Janet McAllister
Delaware State University
May 25, 2011
nesare.org
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Performance Target
This is the Outcome Statement for grant projects
and should answer the question:
Exactly what do you want to happen
as a result of your project?
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Performance Target
The Performance Target Defines:
1. The specific, measurable change that beneficiaries will
make
2. The scale of change - how many people will change
and the degree/extent of change they make
3. The measurable benefit that results from the
beneficiaries making the change
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R&E Performance Targets
1. Examples of specific, measurable change:
• Adoption of a new production practice, marketing
strategy;
• Establishment of a new crop or farm enterprise;
• Change in farm organization or labor management;
• Creation of business or farm transfer plans
2. Examples of scale of change:
• Total number acres or animal units switched to new
practice;
• Total number of new markets, plans, enterprises
developed
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R&E Performance Targets
3. Examples of measurable benefit:
• Pounds of excess nutrients removed from livestock diet
and waste products (from adoption of recommended practices
to improve nutrient balance of feed rations)
• Dollar value of input costs reduced (from adoption of
recommended pest controls or nutrient management strategies)
• Dollar value of the increase in sales (from acres of land
planted to a new crop, adoption of a new marketing strategy,
development of a new enterprise)
• Farmer-assessed improvements in quality of lifestyle,
such as increased number of vacation days, or
improvements in farm efficiency (from changes in farm
organization, labor management)
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R&E Performance Targets
Examples: Project without a research component
Twenty-five grass-based organic dairy farms with a total of
1,500 milking cows implement a low-cost feed supplement
program and decrease the involuntary cull rate from 35% to
25% and increase milk production per cow by an average of
1,000 lb per year, increasing revenue $500 for an added cost
of $94 per cow.
Twenty-five farmers with average direct market annual sales
of $150,000 per farm conduct market analyses and use the
data to develop and implement marketing plans that lead to
an average increase in annual sales of $15,000 per farm.
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1. Specific Measurable Change
Examples: Project without a research component
Twenty-five grass-based organic dairy farms with a total of
1,500 milking cows implement a low-cost feed supplement
program and decrease the involuntary cull rate from 35% to
25% and increase milk production per cow by an average of
1,000 lb per year, increasing revenue $500 for an added cost
of $94 per cow.
Twenty-five farmers with average direct market annual sales
of $150,000 per farm conduct market analyses and use the
data to develop and implement marketing plans that lead
to an average increase in annual sales of $15,000 per farm.
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2. Scale of Change
Examples: Project without a research component
Twenty-five grass-based organic dairy farms with a total of
1,500 milking cows implement a low-cost feed supplement
program and decrease the involuntary cull rate from 35% to
25% and increase milk production per cow by an average of
1,000 lb per year, increasing revenue $500 for an added cost
of $94 per cow.
Twenty-five farmers with average direct market annual
sales of $150,000 per farm conduct market analyses and use
the data to develop and implement marketing plans that
lead to an average increase in annual sales of $15,000 per
farm.
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3. Measurable Benefit
Examples: Project without a research component
Twenty-five grass-based organic dairy farms with a total of
1,500 milking cows implement a low-cost feed supplement
program and decrease the involuntary cull rate from 35%
to 25% and increase milk production per cow by an
average of 1,000 lb per year, increasing revenue $500 for
an added cost of $94 per cow.
Twenty-five farmers with average direct market annual sales
of $150,000 per farm conduct market analyses and use the
data to develop and implement marketing plans that lead to
an average increase in annual sales of $15,000 per farm.
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R&E Performance Targets
Example: Project with a research component
Ninety vegetable farmers adopt legume and non-legume cover crops
and/or improved cover crop management practices on a total of 900
acres, reducing their historical N application rate in subsequent
vegetable crops by an average of 50 lb/acre/year without reducing
yields.
Research is to evaluate new legume cover crops for vegetable systems
and other cover cropping innovations.
Twenty vegetable farmers adopt no-till or zone-till practices on a total
of 500 acres to reduce soil compaction by an average of 50 p.s.i. per
farm and to reduce annual fuel use for field preparation by an average
of 100 gallons per farm.
Research is to evaluate zone tillage in vegetable cropping systems and
its effect on soil compaction and other soil health indicators
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Research and Outcome Funding
• Some researchers believe that outcome
funding’s emphasis on behavior change
makes it impossible to perform research
• Not true, but… outcome funding does require
an extension and outreach program as part of
the project
• How can a researcher carry on a research
program and still have a performance target
that meets SARE’s requirements?
How to Include an Outreach Program
in a R&E Grant
• Perform research on-farm and on-station
• Create an outreach program about benefits of
research (example: cover crops, soil health, N loss)
• Hold workshops about the topic
• Have examples of new and recommended cover
crops and different planting dates at some research
sites, and hold field days at research sites
• Publish research results as a fact sheet and prepare a
journal article
Win-Win Situation for Applied
Researchers & Outcome Funding
• Paid to perform research
• Paid to extend research and shepherd the
adoption of the research
• Paid to develop education program about topic of
great interest to researcher, or researcher can pay
extension educators to develop outreach program
working with the researcher
• Paid to publish journal article and a fact sheet =
wider audience for researcher and SARE
• Reality check: Research costs more than a project
with only education and outreach activities
PDP Performance Targets
1. Specific, measurable change in PDP Targets:
• Agricultural service providers use new knowledge and skills
learned through the project to teach farmers about beneficial
changes they can make to their farms – e.g., new practices, tools,
or strategies.
2. Examples of scale of change include:
• The number of educators conducting programs
• The total number of programs conducted
• The total number of farmers educated or assisted
• The number of acres, animal units, markets, etc., that these
farmers manage.
3. Adoption by Farmers and Measurable Benefit: Optional
• The number of farmers who adopt the recommended change
• Target would be further strengthened by including the
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measurable on-farm benefits achieved
PDP Performance Targets
25 Agricultural service providers deliver education
programs to teach 425 crop and livestock farmers, who
manage a total of 30,000 acres and 18,000 livestock or
dairy animals how to conduct market analyses, develop
enterprise budgets and develop and implement business
and marketing plans.
10 Extension personnel and crop consultants deliver
education programs about cover crops and improved cover
crop management practices to a total of 350 vegetable
farmers who cultivate 1,600 acres
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PDP Performance Targets
Target with Optional Adoption by Farmers and
Measurement of Benefits Included:
12 agricultural service providers develop and conduct an
education program for 250 dairy farmers who cultivate
18,000 acres of corn for silage where they learn about
techniques, benefits, and challenges of planting cover crops
in fields harvested for corn silage; 60 of these farmers adopt
a new cover crop or cover crop practice on a total of 1,500
acres and reduce N fertilizer by 50 lb per acre or $25 per
acre.
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What Makes a Good Target
• Changes something that’s measurable
• Change wanted or needed by beneficiaries
• Clear fit with NESARE outcome statement
• Specific numbers, not vague percentages
• More intensity, more beneficiaries = $$$$
• Less intensity, fewer beneficiaries = $
This is an honest, realistic prediction of what your
project can accomplish if it is successful
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The ‘So What’ Test
• 5,000 fact sheets are printed and distributed
So what?
• 200 people attend a workshop
So what?
• 30 farmers call asking for more information
So what?
• 10 farms start direct market ventures that
add an average $20,000 to annual gross
income
They are doing something different that will
likely enhance profitability
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Practice Time
Write an example Performance
Target that includes:
1. The specific, measurable change
that beneficiaries will make
2. The scale of change: how many
people will change the change,
and the degree/extent of change
they make
3. The measurable benefit they
obtain from the change
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R&E: Twenty-five farmers with average direct market annual
sales of $150,000 per farm conduct market analyses then
develop and implement marketing plans which lead to an
average increase in annual sales of $15,000 per farm.
R&E: Ninety vegetable farmers adopt legume and nonlegume cover crops and/or improved cover crop
management practices on a total of 900 acres, reducing
their historical N application rate in subsequent vegetable
crops by an average of 50 lb/acre/year without reducing
yields.
PDP: Ten Extension personnel and crop consultants deliver
education programs about new legume cover crops and
improved cover crop management practices to a total of 350
vegetable farmers who cultivate 1,600 acres
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Questions?
www.nesare.org
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