Project Reflections

The following questions ask you to step back and reflect on your project overall. You will gain insight into ways you might improve future programs. Your reflections are also invaluable to your peers as they develop and implement programs to help farmers and producers identify and mitigate risk. 

Unexpected outcomes

Unexpected outcomes can be positive, negative, or neutral. Examples of unexpected outcomes are discovery of a new audience; unanticipated collaborations; multiplications of program delivery through partnerships; a key staff change and/or direction with a sponsoring agency; lack of follow-through on commitments, etc. 

As you reflect on the actual outcomes of your project, what surprises you? What outcomes didn’t you plan for? Anticipate? Why did these outcomes occur? What brought the greatest satisfaction (frustration, disappointment) to you? 

Please note that if there is a significant discrepancy between the “estimated number” and the “actual number” for a Proposed Outcome, this is where you should explain why the estimated number was not reached. If circumstances prevented the achievement of producer outcomes, provide information that would help future applicants avoid the same pitfalls. 

Confidential aspects of why outcomes were unable to be achieved should be communicated directly to your regional Center. 

Improving your Project in the Future

What advice would you give to someone who plans to implement a program like yours? If you were to do this project again, what changes would you make? What would you do differently to achieve your intended participant outcomes? 

Keys to success:  What were the keys to success for your participants – describe what the primary success factors were and why they were important in helping participants reach the proposed risk management outcomes. Include both your project team’s perspective and those of the participants.