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)

Social Network Analysis Terms

Node

Tie

Density

CentralityDegreeBetweennessEigenvector

Source: Farm to Plate Annual Report, 2012

F2P Governing Network

F2P Governing Network Governing Network – Number of Meetings Attended by

Sector (n=142)

Governing Network – Number of Meetings Attended by Organization (n=142)

Sampled Network – Information Sharing

Sampled Network – Program/Project Collaboration

Sampled Network – Resource Sharing

ResultsSampled Network – Network Level Measures

Sampled Network – Information Sharing

Sampled Network – Project/Program Collaboration

Sampled Network – Resource Sharing

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…

Thank you!

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.