Even as the vast majority of stakeholders said they were satisfied with PIE Center research, training and communication efforts, respondents to a recent survey supplied the PIE Center team with several suggestions on areas to improve.
PIE Center Director Tracy Irani enlisted Sebastian Galindo, fellow Department of Agricultural Education & Communication faculty member, to perform an evaluation and needs assessment a year after the center received recurring legislative support. Galindo and PIE Center Research Assistant Erica Odera distributed the survey to 489 subscribers of the PIE Center’s mailing list.
More than 140 respondents participated in the 57-question evaluation, Irani said, adding she was pleased that so many contributed qualitative responses to expand on their answers.
“This feedback is invaluable to us,” she said. “We can never assume we are doing everything perfectly and can never be comfortable. Our stakeholders’ comments continually push us to new and better goals and activities.”
T
he survey asked respondents for their opinions of the quality and usefulness of PIE Center research results, communication materials, online tools and webinars.
Trends & Topics was the highest-rated form of PIE Center communication, with 69 percent of respondents saying the weekly emails were very good or excellent. The website (59 percent) and quarterly newsletters (58 percent) followed Trends & Topics.
Two-thirds of respondents believed the online tools were of “very good” or “excellent” quality, and about half of those who said they had attended an Easy as PIE webinar said they were “very likely” to recommend the monthly series to others.
Ninety-two percent of respondents who hired the PIE Center for research were happy with the quality provided.
“I was very satisfied with the results of all our projects with the PIE Center,” one respondent wrote. “The staff stayed in contact, and I always knew what was going on with any project. They were very professional and packaged the information well.”
Amid many positive responses from stakeholders, several participants reminded the PIE Center of the constant need to reach new audiences, particularly with Extension professionals.
“Before the PIE Center can better serve me, I need to become aware of the PIE Center’s programs and get involved with the center and its people so I can best utilize these opportunities,” another respondent wrote.
Faculty and staff are already preparing materials geared toward helping Extension professionals speak to policymakers and the public about sensitive issues in agriculture and natural resources. Conversation Starters, a new program slated to launch in the fall, will be presented at the Extension Professionals Association of Florida Conference in August.
Similarly, respondents asked the PIE Center to present balanced news and information in its communications.
“The PIE Center’s Trends and Topics publication is focused on the agricultural community,” another respondent wrote. “There is little mention of natural resources issues except for an occasional discussion of how a natural resources management issue affects agriculture.”
Natural resources have been a renewed focus among PIE Center communicators and researchers in the past year.
In addition to the successful public opinion survey about water quality and quantity, researchers will also poll Floridians about their perceptions of and attitudes toward endangered species. Upcoming subjects in Trends & Topics include climate change and sustainability.
