Future Farms Project Evaluation

Description

Backing Local Firms Fund - Future Farms: Evaluation Brief Budget: £7,000 evaluation (including production of final report ready for dissemination). Timeframe: November 2023 – March 2024 (5 months). Project Overview This pilot project brings together a strong and dynamic partnership that will unlock land for future agroecological food focused business. We are doing this through the creation of Supplementary Planning Guidance and policy updates for Powys County Council Local Authority area, and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority region, that will, under the right conditions, allow permitted development for land-based worker dwellings on micro-holdings (circa 3 ha/7 acres). The project Steering Group includes representatives from: - Social Farms & Gardens - Our Food 1200 - Landworkers Alliance - Ecological Land Cooperative - Shared Assets - Black Mountains College - Radnorshire Wildlife Trust - Sustainable Farming Consultancy - North and South Powys Sustainable Food Places Partnerships - Lantra - Powys County Council - Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority Building on a feasibility study commissioned by Our Food 1200 during the summer of 2023, the partnership has appointed an external planning consultant to submit plans that will include three rural worker dwellings and a central training and accommodation facility for 12 on-site year-round students, alongside the existing farmhouse and agricultural buildings. A second appointment has been made develop Supplementary Planning Guidance alongside a sub-group of the Steering Group, interpreting the existing Technical Advice Note (TAN) 6. The project is funded until March 2024 through the Welsh Government Foundational Economy team’s Backing Local Firms Fund (BLFF). We are actively seeking funding to pursue implementation of this pilot’s findings and recommendations. Evaluation Requirements Evaluation will be focused on capturing learning from this pilot to influence future activity and strategies that challenge the existing structures inhibiting access to land for agroecological food production. The final evaluation report will be required to capture the opportunities, challenges, successes and learning points for: - Local Authorities wishing to maximise the potential of their land assets - Those seeking to open up access to land for agroecological, regenerative food production for local markets. - Landworkers and land-seekers - Other landowners – public and private. - Third sector organisations The evaluation report will be shared widely and should include reference to project’s outputs – namely the Supplementary Planning Guidance and Planning Application. It must be an accessible document that brings the pilot to life and with the intention that the pilot’s recommendations can, and will, be implemented elsewhere in Wales. Requirements: • Evaluation will be embedded into the project activity from the outset (once evaluators appointed). Evaluators will work closely with the Steering Group and provide advice and guidance to make data collection simple and consistent. • Data collection will include quantitative (e.g., no of officers; no of consultations) and qualitative data (e.g., interviews, consultation extracts). • Evaluators will participate in at least two Steering Group meetings to ensure findings are embedded in the wider picture of land access for horticulture. • Evaluators will meet with at least six specified members of the Steering Group on a 1:1 basis to collect data. • Evaluators will visit the identified farm in Powys for face-to-face discussion with partners at least once during the project. • Evaluators will keep abreast of planning legislation, policy and other initiatives in Powys and further afield in Wales, to ensure the final report is in tune with wider strategies and practices. SF&G will be responsible for translation and printing of the evaluation and coordinating a final event where the findings of the evaluati