Evaluating the Effectiveness of Decision Support Tools, Training Methods
and Implementation Approaches for the Useful to Usable (U2U) Project
Abstract
Useful to Usable (U2U) was a 6-year USDA-funded research and extension
project focused on improving the uptake of climate information by
Midwestern U.S. farmers and agricultural advisors. Led by Purdue
University, this interdisciplinary team from nine Midwestern
universities developed five web-based decision support tools to examine
production, financial, and environmental outcomes of different climate
scenarios and management options. A dedicated team of Extension
educators, marketing specialists, and program evaluators worked together
to promote U2U products and collect, analyze, and communicate data to 1)
help increase project impact and 2) to measure outcomes for
accountability purposes. Since outreach began in July 2013, farmers and
advisors have been reached at 165 outreach events and training sessions
in ten Midwestern states and at least 6 regional webinars have been
conducted. A four-round mailed and electronic marketing campaign reached
an estimated 35,600 people from March 2015 – November 2016.
Additionally, the team developed a variety of educational materials
(user guides, fact sheets, presentations, etc.) to support U2U outreach
and dissemination efforts. Throughout 2016-2017, the team evaluated the
outcomes, impacts, and overall reach of the U2U project over the 6-year
project duration. They conducted two large-scale surveys with farmers
and agricultural advisors, conducted personal interviews with advisors
in Iowa and Nebraska, gathered informal success stories from U2U team
members and collaborators, and tracked website traffic using Google
Analytics. This presentation will highlight the project’s evaluation
design, results, and lessons learned, including evaluation of outreach
and dissemination approaches and longer-term outcome/impact evaluation.
Some key metrics include the likelihood of using U2U online tools,
actual use of tools, use of tools to aid financial and environmental
decisions, and willingness to consider climate information in the future
(not limited to U2U tools).