Evaluating Success

Formally evaluating the operation of your garden market is an ongoing activity that is needed to ensure the continued success of your market and to identify areas for improvement. Employee input can be as valuable in this phase as it is in your initial assessment and planning phases.

Consider the following suggestions for evaluating the operation of a garden market:

Plan evaluations early. Determine when the evaluations will be conducted and how data will be collected.
Determine what approvals may be needed for data collection. For example, federal agencies are regulated and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval may be needed. If your assessment is part of a research project, you need to check with the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) to determine what approval will be needed.
Consider holding follow-up focus groups to assess the operation of the garden market. For more information on developing and conducting focus groups, see the following resources:
- Conducting Effective Focus Groups [PDF-8.6Mb]
- Focus Group Moderator's Guide [PDF-142k]
Work with the vendor to gather data about sales and attendance. Are sales decreasing, holding steady, or increasing? Have sales been affected by the weather? Have there been compliments or complaints from employees?
Consider formally or informally surveying employees while they are shopping at the garden market.
Consider evaluating if others (such as nearby neighborhood residents or retirees) have benefited from your garden market.

Continually evaluate your garden market and use the information to continually improve it. This can help assure the ongoing success of your garden market.