Fergus Agriculture Society Stakeholder Engagement Survey

Client: Fergus Agricultural Society

Expertise Applied:

  • Stakeholder Engagement and survey
    development

  • Qualitative research analysis

  • Plain language writing

  • Strategic thinking

The Fergus Fall Fair – facilitated by the Fergus Agricultural Society and a dedicated team of volunteers – has been an annual fall tradition since 1836. The Fair is home to many educational and entertaining agriculture-focused activities welcoming visitors of all ages. But as the agri-food industry continues to evolve and community demands shift, it's imperative that the Fergus Fall Fair grows and evolves synchronously.

We worked with the Fergus Agricultural Society to engage the community to learn about future opportunities, a necessary step for the growth of the Fergus Agricultural Society and its annual Fall Fair.

We helped the Fergus Agricultural Society by:

  • Developing and distributing a community survey distributed to Fergus and surrounding area residents. In addition to reaching community members, the survey included dedicated sections for soliciting feedback from volunteers and Fall Fair sponsors.

  • Developing and distributing an internal survey for Fergus Agricultural Society board members to gather thoughts and recommendations for how internal operations can be adapted.

  • Analyzing survey results and developing two "what we heard" reports – an internal report for board members and a public-facing report for community stakeholders.

  • Developing targeted recommendations based on community and board member insights to support the sustainability of the Fergus Agricultural Society and future Fall Fairs.

Our team gathered and analyzed feedback from
1,011 community members, over 170 volunteers
and 125 sponsors.

A Snapshot of What we Heard

As the agri-food industry continues to evolve, many people said they’d like to see more emphasis on local food – both from an education standpoint and being able to buy more local food at the Fair. More agriculture education activities for youth, such as agri-food career exploration, were strongly encouraged. Many people want to see more coverage of agri-food climate issues and how sustainable agri-food initiatives are combating those problems.

Is your organization interested in engaging with your community? Our team of professionals can help!