User Community

There are a number of potential users of our protocol. Policy-makers, researchers, and advocates, both at the state and local levels are the primary audience of our dataset. However, the protocol should also assist federal researchers in aggregating data about food security and community gardens. Users will also include local stakeholders: landholders, be they municipal, non-profit, or private; and land-users, community members who want to participate in community gardens or are doing research on a potential community.

Our protocol will need to consider aspects of space, time, and governance. A description of the physical space including lot size. latitude, longitude. When gardens came into existence and how they have changed. Both community gardens and food security metrics are subject to the land’s governance be it by a local, state, federal, private, or public entity.

User Stories

Through the utilization of User Stories we are able to more clearly define the needs and requirements for the Digging In protocol. The conceptualization of user needs early on allows Digging In to be user-focused and shows commitment to facilitating a holistic data landscape.

User Story	Implications
As a land-holder, I want to understand the impact of developing my land into a community garden. I want to know how many community gardens are within a five mile radius of my property.	Being able to see the locations of community gardens is essential.
In order to create policy that resolves food insecurity in my community, I want to see how the presence of community gardens compares with other metrics of community resilience over time.	Ability to overlay data with other existing government data is needed; this can be achieved through shapefiles and consistent normalization of data.
As a community member, I want to be able to access community gardens near me that have open plots or shorter waitlists than others.	Location variables are necessary for user operability as well as information about garden operations. Frequently updated information is necessary for users.
As a policy maker, I want to know about types of services provided by community gardens so I can write a grant to achieve funding for my district’s gardens.	Contributed data on the part of gardens is needed to allow users to see the whole picture of a specific garden. Equally, plot/location names are important for identifying specific gardens.
As a researcher, I want to be able to use community garden data to inform research on the socio-economic factors of certain neighborhoods.	Data needs to be usable, discoverable, and functional on multiple platforms. Location based data is necessary for comparative research.