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Appendix 1: Research Approach
Producers Survey
A1.1 The survey of producers and potential suppliers to schools in East Ayrshire was intended to collect information on:
- The products that producers supply, and their provenance
- Participation in assurance schemes
- Main current markets supplied
- Assistance received from other organisations
- Awareness of and involvement in the pilot tendering process
- Reasons for success/failure/non-application
- Potential drivers and barriers to supplying the schools market
A1.2 In October 2005, ADAS used information provided by East Ayrshire Council supported by drawing business records from commercial lists to draw up a sample of 167 producers based in Ayrshire, East, South, and North. The broader geographical spread was adopted so as to ensure that sufficient sample was available to achieve a nominal target of 50 interviews with food producers.
A1.3 All 167 producers received a letter from ADAS alerting them to the survey and explaining the reasons for the evaluation to be conducted.
A1.4 In the event, ADAS interviewed 52 producers by telephone in November and December 2005, and this total forms the basis of the analysis set out in Chapter 2. Every interview was conducted over the telephone with a member of staff at each producer who had a good overview of their overall production and marketing process. The first 4 interviews were treated as a trial of the draft questionnaire (2 of the producers interviewed were supplying the 11 primary schools in the local food initiative and 2 were not). SEERAD then approved the final questionnaire before the remaining 48 interviews were completed.
A1.5 Interviews lasted 15 minutes on average. No formal quotas were set on the types of businesses interviewed, other than to prioritise interviewing those who submitted tenders to supply the 11 primary schools in the local food initiative. In the event, 8 of the 10 producers who submitted tenders were interviewed. There is no reason to suppose that any further bias exists within the sample.
Interviews with Catering Managers and Head Teachers at the Schools in the Pilot Scheme
A1.6 To collect the 'front-line' views of those directly involved in serving food to children at the 11 primary schools in the initiative, ADAS consultants interviewed 8 catering managers and 3 head-teachers, 1 at each of the 11 schools.
A1.7 The interviews were designed to collect information on:
- The menus served
- Some of the practical details of preparation, cooking and storage of food in schools
- Current purchasing patterns
- Budgeting
- Response of children and involvement of parents in the local food initiative
A1.8 ADAS sent a letter to the catering manager and head teacher of each school, alerting them to the forthcoming survey. All subsequent interviews were conducted by telephone and lasted for around 30 minutes, using a discussion guide approved by SEERAD.
A1.9 The first round of interviews was completed in November 2005. This round of interviews was planned to take place before any real impact of supply from any new producers commissioned as a result of East Ayrshire's formal tendering notice could be felt.
A1.10 The same staff members in all but 1 of the 11 schools were interviewed by telephone in March 2006, around three months after the new contracts were awarded. The discussion covered the changes that the contracts had brought about, and any positive or negative aspects that had emerged.
A1.11 Despite this approach, the fact that East Ayrshire Council had made significant improvements in the amount of local and fresh produce in primary school menus for 6 months or more in advance of even the first round of interviews, meant that even the first round of interviews collected useful views on improved menus and meals provided to children as a result of the Council's ongoing initiative.
Interviews with Council Officers
A1.12 In addition to consulting the various stakeholders involved in providing, preparing and consuming food in East Ayrshire's primary schools, ADAS conducted a stage of research to gain first-hand knowledge from East Ayrshire Council of:
(i) The planning and execution of the local food initiative in the authority,
(ii) The tendering process for fresh/organic suppliers, conducted from July 2005 onwards.
A1.13 ADAS consultants conducted two interviews, in person, with Robin Gourlay 18 and Heather Murray 19, using a discussion guide approved by SEERAD.
A1.14 The pre-contract interviews, in December 2005, sought to cover:
- The development of the tendering process
- What actually happened
- Problems encountered
- Positive aspects
- What might be done differently next time
- Costs of the scheme
- How the scheme had helped the council to meet sustainability, and other, objectives
A1.15 The post-contract interviews, in March 2006, updated some of the information listed above, collecting information on changes that may have taken effect, while also reflecting on the critical factors for success in suppliers' tendering.
A1.16 The interval between the two interviews allowed time for some impact of the new contracts awarded in December 2005 to be felt, and for reflection on how well the tendering process had proceeded in practice within the context of the local food initiative as a whole.
Research Amongst Other Local Authorities in Scotland
A1.17 To assess whether the findings could be generalised to other local authorities in Scotland, ADAS conducted a stage of research to look at the characteristics of those other authorities and, as far as was possible, the procurement practices adopted by each one.
A1.18 As a first stage, ADAS conducted desk research, including telephone enquiries to local authorities where necessary, to collect background data on all 32 local authorities in Scotland other than East Ayrshire. This was intended to build a picture of each authority in terms of:
- Numbers of schools - Primary & Secondary
- Number of free school meals
- Number of pupils
- Degree of rurality or remoteness (self-defined by the council)
- Supplier base - whether organic etc.
- Procurement practice - typical length of contract etc.
A1.19 ADAS subsequently emailed a questionnaire (preceded by a letter of explanation, sent by post) to officers at each Local Authority acting in the role of procurement managers, at least the nearest corresponding position. This was intended to collect further information of the type listed above, and to fill in any gaps in the findings of the desk research stage. Of the 32 questionnaires dispatched in this electronic survey, 9 were returned.
A1.20 All of this information was analysed in order to draw some key conclusions as to how the findings from this research can be best used by other Scottish Local Authorities, not least by directly comparing data for East Ayrshire with that provided by the other authorities.
Interviews with School Children and Parents
A1.21 To elicit the views of parents and school children on the changes to their school meals resulting from the local food initiative, ADAS designed a paper self-completion questionnaire form. On one side of the A4 sheet was a set of questions aimed at parents, and on the other was a set of questions designed for the primary school pupils. To keep the style of the questionnaire simple, and so ensure a good response rate, all questions were closed; no 'open-ended' questions were asked.
A1.22 The parents' questionnaire asked for their views on the healthy balance achieved by the menus in place at the primary school, in question, and awareness of any recent changes or food-related activities at the school.
A1.23 The childrens' questionnaire focused on ratings of various aspects of the current menu, their views of local sourcing of food, and a comparison with what they thought of school food before the local food initiative came into being.
A1.24 A letter from ADAS explaining the aim of the survey, and accompanied by the school's current menu, accompanied all questionnaires despatched.
A1.25 The questionnaire was distributed at random amongst parents and children at the 11 primary schools taking part in the local food initiative in East Ayrshire. ADAS sent 100 questionnaires to each school, and contacted administrative staff at each school who kindly co-operated in handling the distribution and collection of questionnaires.
A1.26 The questionnaires were distributed during January and February 2006, and 389 responses were collected by the beginning of March 2006.
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