news updates

Neighborhood Exchange Evaluation Device measures farmers markets' impact on social capital. Part of the presumed appeal of farmers markets is that they deliver a triple bottom line: one that benefits farmers, consumers, and the larger community.

We are happy to report that trans•act has been moving forward at a steady clip since June. The work this year is building towards the establishment of a trinity of market evaluation tools which we hope will ultimately deliver a picture of a market's larger economic impact (SEED), its potential to create social capital (NEED), and its ability to narrow a community's food disparity (FEED).

trans•act has been moving at full speed since last summer. We are excited to announce the launch of our second round of fellowships for trans•act 2008, lead by our senior fellow, J. Robin Moon. This summers goals: to research and revamp the existing SEED v.2.0 and to develop and construct a working version of NEED. 

A lecture by Roy Priest, chairman of the trans•act Advisory Board, is now available online. Roy shares lessons learned in cultivating social capital during his 17-year tenure with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

New Orleans – What does a floating circus in the Amazon rain forest have in common with a farmers market in downtown New Orleans? More to the point, what lessons and practices can these two disparate organizations share to help each improve lives in the communities they serve?

These are some of the questions to be addressed by trans·act, an innovative summer fellowship program organized by the New Orleans-based NGO marketumbrella.org. Sponsored by a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, trans·act will bring together a respected group of influencers in the worlds of public health, economic development, farmers, public markets and private foundations in an international effort to devise new methodologies and practices for encouraging – and measuring – better nutritional, social and public health in communities where traditions and folkways are being challenged by change and instability.