Andy Chambers Adelaide May 3, 2015 6:08 am

Hi,
Working on an energy efficiency project within fresh food production systems, particularly looking at improving on farm energy efficiency for refrigeration. To fully evaluate the success of a pilot program we need to consider the energy data collected by the grower (energy bills) and business financial performance data i.e. have the actions within the pilot 1) saved the grower energy and money (bills) and 2) was this significant in terms of the business financial performance (Accounts & P&L).

This data is held by the grower so we need to access this data from them some period after the pilot. The pilot has focused on monitoring temperature within fridges and strategies to reduce fluctuations.

My questions are:
1) Has anyone had experience in asking for this data after implementing a trial?
2) Is it likely to influence the pilot, given it is difficult to demonstrate the success of the pilot without this data? (a clear benefit to the grower)
3) How could we best evaluate a control group, apart from requesting the same type of data later and comparing against the pilot group?

Many thanks in advance
Andy

Andy Chambers
Director
Seed Consulting Services Pty Ltd
Australia