BC Association of Farmers' markets
Supporting BC farmers and sustaining our local food supply means ensuring we have land to farm and fresh food to eat. It's a way to nurture the places we live and visit.
For Markets :: Strengthening Farmers' Markets Workshops :: 2013 Strengthening Farmers' Markets

2013 Strengthening Farmers' Markets

2013 Strengthening Farmers' Markets

Ready to take your Farmers' Market to the next level?

Strengthening Farmers' Markets Webinar Series

The Strengthening Webinar Series builds upon the work that was done during the 2012 Strengthening Project. Visit the Developing Your Market Page to view the presentations and resources that were gathered. The purpose of the Strengthening Farmers’ Markets Webinar Series is to assist and provide direct support to BCAFM markets in order to help you:

  • Become financially self-sustaining
  • Assess where you want to go
  • Plan how to get there with the assistance of a mentor

Identify and reach your market’s mission and goals

No matter how small or large, young or old your market is, this combination of webinars and mentoring will provide you with tools, support and individual guidance to identify and meet your organization’s objectives, whether this is supporting local farmers, increasing food security, building community or all of the above.

How the program works:

Strengthening Farmers' Markets is a four month learning package for farmers' market leaders and organizers and provides professional development through a series of webinars and individual guidance. From the comfort of your own home you’ll be able to watch a series of webinars and work one-on-one with a professional mentor to help you put the information you are learning into practice and apply it to your market’s unique objectives and situation.

Topics covered  include:

Registration details

Registration is now close.

For $250, up to three representatives from your market can attend the full webinar series (x7) and will receive mentoring throughout the program to help you evaluate what stage your market is at, apply the learning to your market’s unique situation, and determine next steps. To qualify for the benefit of individual mentoring, we are asking your market to send at least one representative to the full webinar series. Space is limited to 20 markets.

Webinars A La Carte

Those of you who are not able to participate in the full webinar series may like to sign up for individual webinars (this does not include mentoring).

Registration Fees

  • BCAFM Members: $20 plus tax
  • Non-Members: $25 plus tax

Webinars & Recordings

 #1 The Core Business of Farmers’ Markets

November 21, 2013
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
View the Webinar Recording: The Core Business of Farmers' Markets
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

David J. Connell, Associate Professor University of Northern British Columbia, PhD MBA RPP
Darren Stott, Principal, Greenchain Consulting

For farmers’ markets to be successful in the rapidly growing and increasingly contested marketplace, we believe that a farmers’ market must be able to think of itself as a business.  This webinar will help you to understand your farmers markets’ core business. 

#2 Competitive Analysis and Market Position

November 28, 2013
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
View the Webinar Recording: Competitive Analysis and Market Position
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

David J. Connell, Associate Professor University of Northern British Columbia, PhD MBA RPP
Darren Stott, Principal, Greenchain Consulting

This webinar will introduce you to competitive analysis.  The objective is to help you understand what factors influence relations among farmers’ markets and other competitors and how you can strengthen your farmers’ market’s position in the marketplace.

#3 Communicating Value to Funders

January 23, 2014
7:00 pm - 8:30pm

Bryn Sadownik, Program Manager, Evaluation and Community Impact, Vancity Community Foundation

Come join in this training session and learn to apply the Farmers Market Impact Toolkit developed by the Vancity Community Foundation in collaboration with the BCAFM.  This tool will give your market the means to collect, analyze and communicate the social, ecological and economic value that your farmers' market brings to the community in a format that you can present to funders of all types.

#4 Business and Financial planning

February 6, 2014
7:00 pm - 8:30pm
View the Webinar Recording: Business and Financial Planning
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

Elizabeth Lougheed Green, Vancity

A good business plan enables your strategic plan to become a reality. Learn about the fundamentals and other benefits of creating a business plan. Explore your business objectives, success factors, competition, your competitive advantage and your market potential.

#5 Develop Your Marketing Plan

April 17, 2014
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
View the Webinar Recording: Develop Your Marketing Plan
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

Mike Rowlands, Junxion Strategies

To create an effective marketing initiative you need to know who your target audience is, what they care about, and what’s the most effective way to reach them? In this webinar we cover how you can deliver the services and products your audience wants while achieving the mission and values of your organization.

#6 Creating Effective Leadership Through Better Governance

February 20, 2014
7:00 pm - 8:30pm
View the Webinar Recording: Creating Effective Leadership Through Better Governance
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

David Lee, Principal, Propellor Social Enterprise Advisors

With planning for a new season on the horizon, bringing new directors and managers up to speed can be a challenge. This workshop brings high-level principles of governance to a working level that the participants can connect with and apply. Whether your market has only started operating in the last 2-3 years or is well established, this workshop will be of value if you are seeking more clarity on how key decisions for your market are made, and the relationship between your board members and your market manager. 

#7 Strategic Organizational Planning

March 13, 2014
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
View the Webinar Recording: Strategic Organizational Planning
*Sound quality may be louder with earbuds/headphones

Bohdan Zajcew, Siena Consulting

This workshop focuses on the importance of strategic planning and all its components, from creating your vision and mission, to coming up with clear objectives and measures of progress. Explore roles and responsibilities when it comes to strategic planning, and come away with a clear picture of where your organization is currently, where you need to go, how and who will get you there.

Workshops

Strategy 101: From Planning to Practice

Download the Workshop Presentation

April 10 - Victoria (Langford)
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Vancity (Langford Community Branch)
100 800 Kelly Rd. Victoria, BC. V9B 5T6

April 24 - Vancouver
12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Quality Hotel Vancouver - "The Inn at False Creek"
1335 Howe St. Vancouver, BC. V6Z 1R7.

Bohdan Zajcew, Siena Consulting

Join Bohdan from Siena Consulting and your farmers' market colleagues for an active and outcome oriented day of learning.  Whether you are delving into your organization's first strategic plan or revisiting an existing plan, this workshop will leave you ready to shape your plan and put it into practice.

Strategic planning is about improving your organization’s performance.  It involves knowing who you are and what you want to do, being realistic about what you’re currently capable of achieving, analyzing the gap between what is and what could be, and aligning your activities with your resources to close the gap and help you to better deliver on your mission.

“Strategy 101: From Planning to Practice” is a daylong workshop custom-designed to equip you and your team with the skills and confidence needed to develop a strategic plan for your organization.  You’ll be part of a dynamic process combining practical knowledge, relevant case studies, and interactive exercises.  By completing the workshop you’ll be able to:

  • identify the resources you need to assemble to build your plan;
  • assess the key forces and trends affecting your business;
  • diagnose your internal and external challenges;
  • re-articulate your organization’s mission in terms of its purpose, values, goals and priorities;
  • frame out the steps your organization can take to achieve its goals;
  • launch, evaluate and sustain your organization’s strategic plan.

Strategy 101 will also provide you with a set of tools you can take back into your organization to help you shape your plan and put it into practice. Take control of your organization’s future.  Build your internal planning capacity.  Get better results.  Sign up for “Strategy 101: From Planning to Practice”, a workshop offering from Siena Consulting.

*Lunch is included

Bohdan Zajcew, Siena Consulting

Bohdan, Managing Partner with Siena Consulting, is a highly skilled facilitator, communicator, project manager and strategic planner with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He is the former Chief Operating Officer of Knowledge Network, BC's public educational television service, as well as the Chief Executive Officer of the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Bohdan's expertise is concentrated in the areas of organizational development, communications, strategic management, social policy research, public education, and community engagement. He has a B.A. in political science from University of Manitoba, an M.A. in Communications from Simon Fraser University and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His volunteer commitments have included serving two terms on the BC Advisory Council for Multiculturalism.

Registration Details

  • Registration is now closed.
    BCAFM Members: $30 plus tax
  • Non-Members: $40 plus tax

Questions?

Call us at 604-734-9797 or email info[at]bcfarmersmarket.org

 

Thank you to our project funder: