Social Network Analysis of the Farm to Plate Network, 2011-
2012
Drake Turner and Christopher Koliba, Ph.D.University of Vermont
April 2013
Research ObjectiveHow is the Farm to Plate Network structured?
Does this structure create value for member organizations?
Funded through the James M. Jeffords Policy Research Center
Network Analysis and Food Systems
How is network analysis applied to the food system?Biology – study of food chains…and not much else
+ = ?
Research Question and Hypotheses
RQ – How is the Farm to Plate Network structured on a governance level? How is it structured on an operational level? How do these structures compare to one another?
H1 – The Farm to Plate Network increases and strengthens the connectivity of member organizations in the farm and food sector in Vermont.
H2 – Farm to Plate Network member organizations tend to favor the exchange of information over the exchange of human resources in service of joint programs and projects and the exchange of financial resources.
H3 – Government organizations, nonprofits, and academic organizations participate in the governing and operation of the Farm to Plate Network more centrally than for-profit or funder organizations.
Methods Online Survey
Sent to representatives from all organizations in total network (212 organizations)
16 Questions about: Organization demographics Association with Farm to
Plate Goals Assessment of impacts of
network membership Collaboration with other
network members Information Sharing,
Project/Program Collaboration, Resource Sharing
85 organizations responded
SPSS Demographic
information, goals, and assessment of impacts
Crosstabs and frequency statistics
ORA/UCINET Governing network –
meeting minutes Operational network –
collaboration data from survey
Network maps and centrality measures
Total NetworkN=212
Governing
Networkn=142
Sampled Network
n=85
Total NetworkN=212
Governing Network n=142
Sampled Network n=85
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Non-Profit 97 46% 67 47% 41 48%
For-Profit 62 29% 30 21% 16 19%
Academic 16 7% 13 9% 11 13%
Funder 13 6% 10 7% 8 9%
Government 25 12% 22 16% 9 11%
Results
“Our organization has formed new relationships in the past year as a direct result of our involvement in the Farm to Plate Network.”
(n=85)
H1 – The Farm to Plate Network increases and strengthens the connectivity of member organizations in the farm and food sector in Vermont.
“Our organization’s involvement in the Farm to Plate Network has helped strengthen our existing relationships.” (n=85)
“The Farm to Plate Network is helping our organization to advance our organization’s own goals.” (n=85)
F2P Governing Network Governing Network – Number of Meetings Attended by
Sector (n=142)
Governing Network – Number of Meetings Attended by Organization (n=142)
Discussion:Limitations
Missing dataResponse validity
Calls for Future ResearchBaseline study
Implications for PracticeNetwork ManagersNetwork MembersOutsiders
Next steps: Generate peer review articles
Issue a final report to F2P Network summarizing these findings
Link survey results to Atlas
Continue to analyze data, particularly around goal-specific network configurations.
Possibly continue to provide information back to the F2P network
Conduct network survey every two years to track the evolution of the network over time
Access data from the Atlas to develop a data analytics profile of website users– connecting these results to network analysis– in collaboration with VSJF and others…
Sources
Campbell, M.C. (2004). Building a common table: the role for planning in community food systems. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 23: 341-355.
Clancy, K. (2004). Potential contributions of planning to community food systems. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 23 (4): 435-438.
Farm to Plate Annual Report, 2011.
Farm to Plate Annual Report, 2012.
Kania, J., and Kramer, M. (2011). Collective impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011: 36-41.
Koliba, C., Campbell, E., and Davis. (2011). Food System Diagram.
Koliba, C., Meek, J., and Zia, A. (2011). Governance Networks in Public Administration and Public Policy. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Prell, C. (2012). Social Network Analysis: history, theory, and methodology. London: Sage Publications.