Step 8 – Evaluate your progress

Monitoring refers not only to monitoring the fly population, but also the impacts of your program. Whatever objective you set at the beginning of the program, collecting data along the way helps you see where things are working.

This involves systematically collecting data about the activities you have undertaken (for example: the number of growers, or percentage of the landscape being managed, or a change in backyard participation following communication activities).

Reviewing data collected can also help inform you about the changes required to the program. For example, if a consistent ‘hotspot’ is revealed (and needs extra effort), or a new hotspot shows up (which might be due to a recent change in landscape use).

Quantifying progress can also:

  • support future funding applications
  • be used to provide the evidence required by growers to expand the program
  • help you decide if you are ready to use SIT.

Are you SIT ready?

Quantifying progress can then help you decide if you are ready to use SIT. The scale at which SIT is effective will depend on sources of Qfly around you.

Across a large area, then you and your neighbours will need to work together to reduce Qfly numbers – if you can all be confident in consistently low numbers, then SIT may be an option for you.

The type of data collected will depend on the objective you set at the beginning, but remember, objectives can change – an AWM program should be flexible and responsive to changes.