As members of the American Evaluation Association we were recently asked to submit nominations for annual awards, including the Marcia Guttentag award for evaluators in their first five years in the profession. After reviewing the criteria, we knew Becky exemplified the criteria:

* Promise will have been demonstrated in early notable and substantial accomplishments.
* Contributions may include evidence of early involvement in professional activities and successful leadership.
* Contributions should have extended beyond the accomplishment of one or two evaluations of quality.

As part of our nomination of Becky, we got to ask some of our clients for recommendations. It was a delight to read their kind words:

Though Ms. Stewart began evaluating our project in January, her impact on our
evaluation processes has been profound. She helped us clarify our project objectives and improve the
alignment of our evaluation instruments with the newly refined objectives... Becky’s commitment to developing shared understandings of our project goals and measures has meant that each facilitator’s point of view and understanding has been engaged - Byron Richard, Perpich Center for Arts Education

Rebecca's biggest strength is reflecting the principle of responsibilties for the general and public welfare. Not only does she take into account the diversity of interests and values related to the general and public welfare in Northwestern Minnesota, she very much leads by example. She continually focuses on sound evaluation methods, a solid partnership approach and providing information and results that help us inform our partnership and improve our overall service delivery. - Colleen MacRae, Project Director, Stephen-Argyle Safe Schools Initiative

We are all rooting for you, Becky!

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My blog is late this week but I have a very good excuse – my car was hit by a drunk driver at 3:30pm in the afternoon on Tuesday. That type of incident really shakes you up and makes you grateful for getting out in one piece. I find it a little ironic that the blog I had planned for this week was about transportation. This mode of transportation, however, is a safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly kind. I am talking about promoting the use of bikes.

This week’s pick: Funding for Bicycle Advocacy and Facilities from Bikes Belong a “national coalition of bicycle suppliers and retailers working together to put more people on bicycles more often.” This membership organization supports bike-friendly legislation and is a national partner to initiatives such as the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and the Bicycle Friendly Communities Program.

United States organizations that are trying to put more people on bikes may apply. The cycle for submissions is quarterly with two funding categories of advocacy and facilities. Average grants range from $5,000 to $10,000. To look at the submission requirements and download an application, go to:
http://bikesbelong.org/page.cfm?PageID=21.

And please be safe out there.

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I must have trains on my brain this week. My family has always been interested in trains. Under my sons’ bed you will find enough wooden railroad tracks to rival our local light rail system. This week spent an evening watching a public television program on James J. Hill the “Empire Builder.” So it was nice to discover that our nation’s rail systems do more that move people and cargo, they also help improve organizations within our communities, as I learned from this week’s pick.

The Community-Based Grant Program of the Union Pacific Foundation (UPF) provides capacity building funding to nonprofit organizations in communities along their railway system. Their primary interest is in helping organizations to “build capacity, increasing their impact, and operate more efficiently and effectively.” Particular notice will be given to groups whose activities fall into the categories of Community and Civic, Fine Arts and Health and Human Services.

Applicants must use the online open application process starting with a one-page Preliminary Application Form. If UPF wishes to explore your request further you will be asked to submit a full application. Full applications must be received by August 15, 2007. For more information on this opportunity please go to http://www.up.com/found/grants.shtml.

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A few weeks ago I wrote about evaluating programs designed to solve problems. In the blog I discussed logic models and how they can be used to understand a program, its activities and intended outcomes.

Shortly after writing the blog, the U.S. congress began exploring how to define outcomes for the war in Iraq. Setting aside opinions about the war, I found the debate fascinating, particularly because I had just been musing about logic models and how they help me think through problems. Could a logic model be used to define goals, activities and outcomes for the war? Could developing a logic model help two seemingly incompatible points of view come to agreement about the next steps for the war? Is a progress report a good way of measuring the success of the war?

Although clearly foreign policy in general and wars in particular are complicated by the unknown responses and actions of other players, I couldn’t help but begin diagramming my questions into a logic model.

I guess I am not immune to seeing things through the lens of my discipline!

I mentioned our work with Safe Schools/Healthy Students grantees in Spring Lake Park, Northwestern Minnesota, and a cross-site research project for most of Minnesota's grantees before. In the recently released RFP for new grants, applicants are required to submit a logic model of their program. Although competition this year is expected to be very strong (there will likely be close to 500 applicants for approximately 20-30 funded grants), a strong logic model can help guide the rest of the grant narrative. This approach worked for Performing Arts Workshop when applying for their U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grant; they were able to include input from schools, artists and program staff in the goals, outcomes and measures for their ARISE project. Please feel free to contact us to talk about developing a logic model for a grant application.

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Our organizations, programs and services do not thrive in a vacuum; most collaborate with, or serve, other people and organizations. These other stakeholders can include clients, patients, board members, member organizations, or programs and organizations that contribute to the delivery of our goals. When conducting research or evaluation to inform decision-making, organization staff input is very valuable, but does not represent the whole picture; often, community stakeholders can give powerful insights on an organization’s effectiveness.

A good example of incorporating community insights in a project is the current strategic planning efforts being carried out by the Austin, Minnesota school district. Superintendent Candace Raskin approached the Improve Group about the district’s desire to develop a strategic planning process that would set a well-informed course for Austin schools for the next 3 to 5 years.

From the onset, the school district understood the value of making this process inclusive and soliciting the opinions and suggestions of not only the teachers, board and staff, but also parents, students, community organizations and other institutions providing education or serving youth in the community. Their opinions and suggestions help identify priorities and guide district administration as they make their decisions for the future.

Please click on this link to a recent article from the Post Bulletin of Rochester, MN to read a brief account of the current status of the Austin strategic planning process.
Survey: Austin residents are satisfied with schools' academics.

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In evaluation we often look at our past to plan for our future. This feeds into a real passion of mine - history. I love reading about it and I love visiting the sites where historical events took place. I also have a great appreciation for old buildings and for unique architecture displaying styles from our past. One of my former volunteer gigs was as a gangster tour guide for the historic Landmark Center in downtown Saint Paul. I would be sad to see places such as that old courthouse be neglected or fall to ruins.

This week’s pick is from the Worldwide Grant Program of Tourism Cares which is a non-profit organization supported by the tourism industry. The goal of Tourism Cares is to “serve to protect, restore, or conserve sites of exceptional cultural, historic, or natural significance; or the education of local host communities and the traveling public about conservation and preservation of sites of exceptional cultural, historical, or natural significance.”

The application process starts through a Letter of Inquiry which must be received by June 1st, 2007 or October 1st to be considered for funding in 2007. Nonprofits can receive grants of up to $100,000 based on merit and availability of funds.

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I turn on the news and read the daily papers and my heart sinks with so many injured and killed in our overseas conflicts. On a more personal level, I have a stepson - a very proud Marine - who was injured in Iraq when a bomb hit the vehicle he was traveling in. He will serve his 3rd tour of duty this September and says he is planning on a 4th tour as well. I worry each time he deploys and there doesn’t seem to be a clear end in site for this conflict.

In our research, evaluation, and planning work, we look for what is and isn’t working and how to explore new ideas and approaches to achieve the desired outcomes. I hope it is safe to say we all want a peaceful world. Perhaps a new approach is exactly what’s needed to achieve a humane outcome to the present turmoil in our world.

For this week’s grant highlight I discovered a foundation that supports efforts toward peaceful conflict prevention through “grassroots organizations working to educate the public and influence decision makers; peace advocacy organizations promoting alternative policies; and organizations initiating media coverage.” The Colombe Foundation is a program of the Proteus Fund which seeks to support peace programs and changes in American policy. They believe that American citizens using the tools of democracy can bring about needed change.

Typical grant amounts range from $10,000 to $45,000. Non-governmental nonprofit organizations can apply via email by September 3, 2007. A relatively simple Standard Cover Sheet can be downloaded at:
http://www.proteusfund.org/grantmaking/colombe/guidelines/.

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Last week, I was asked to write a blog entry before I left the Improve Group. After three years, this is not an easy thing to do. During my time here, I have learned a tremendous amount about the importance of planning, research and evaluation. On a more personal note, I have also learned so much from my colleagues at the Improve Group. Each and every one has made an impact in my life in some way. They have supported me through challenging times and shared in the joy of my successes. I will most definitely carry the strength and experience I have gained from working at the Improve Group with me into my work with the Department of Health and the next stages of my career. I look forward to working in obesity prevention as this is the field that I love, but I am also sad to leave this great firm. I want to thank my colleagues for a great three years and wish the Improve Group the very best! I will miss everyone!

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There was a lively and varied attendance at the Improve Group celebration lunch last week:

President Leah Goldstein Moses and staff members Deborah Mattila and Jules Goldstein were celebrating their recent birthdays.

Brooke Ahlquist was getting best wishes from the staff on her new intern position with the Minnesota Department of Health's Center for Health Promotion. Brooke has been with the Improve Group for 3 years as a Research Analyst and she will be dearly missed.

Our mystery guest was a small girl called “Flat Mia.” Actually it was a paper cut out (table center) of Maria Jordan, niece of staff member Susan Murphy. Maria’s likeness is visiting for a class project for Somers Elementary School in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

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When reading the newspaper or browsing the internet I tend to be drawn to articles in which someone is developing a solution to a widespread (or at least widely talked about) problem.

Recent stories that come to mind focused on faith-based financial education as a way to help individuals increase financial discipline, the recent announcement by the Broad and Gates foundations of a major investment in increasing the American dialog for education (and ultimately to ensure more students go on to postsecondary education) and the large investment by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to fight childhood obesity.

These stories interest me because I am fascinated with how people define problems or needs and then develop strategies to solve them. In our work with clients we often use an approach called logic modeling. (You can find somewhat academic background articles about logic models here and here). When we first suggest developing a logic model to a client, we try to emphasize that it isn't an intimidating process, although it can take considerable time and effort to get it right. We describe logic models as a simple, visual way to describe (1) what you hope to accomplish, (2) who or what is expected to change, (3) through what efforts and (4) why the effort is important. They can take many forms; we recently created a bulls eye-shaped logic model for City House that started out as a diagram of a person; another logic model of collaboration (see a blog about our presentation to Minnesota Superintendents) took a much more traditional flow-chart format.

Logic models get tweaked periodically as the environment and programs evolved. For example, in our Safe Schools/Healthy Students evaluation work with Spring Lake Park District 16 over a 4-year period, we revisited the logic model twice, with the final version most strongly representing the unique characteristics of the districts in the context of the federal program.

When I hear of new initiatives, abbreviated logic models are the easiest way for me to understand what is happening. Sometimes before I realize it, I have created a mental diagram of the changes a program is expecting and through what initiatives. I am not sure if this is common to other people who do evaluation work, but is the primary frame for the way I look at private and public efforts to improve the public good.

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This edition of TechnoBabble highlights my new favorite online community – BookCrossing.com. What I love most about this community is how it exists electronically and as a part of the physical world. It also perfectly blends my passion for books and reading with my passion for geography and thinking spatially.

BookCrossing.com is both a treasure hunt and a global book swap for avid readers. It is similar to other treasure hunt communities such as Phototag.org – a disposable camera project, and WheresGeorge.com – a currency tracker. All of these sites allow participants to “release” items into the physical world, track their progress through online bulletins and catch other items.

To begin BookCrossing, you first create a simple user profile. Then select a book you own that you are no longer reading and register it on the website to receive its unique BCID number. Next you print out BookCrossing.com’s free label templates to stick on the inside or outside cover of your book; BookCrossing.com also sells limited edition art labels and “release kits” in its online store. Next, you release your book “into the wild”! Be sure to post a journal entry whenever you release or catch a book so that others can see what happens to their favorite books.

You can also track books from Crossing Zones, places where community members regularly catch and release books. The most common Crossing Zone places are coffee shops, laundromats and bus or train stations; they can be any kind of location and users can register their own. The image below shows recently released books at A Fine Grind coffee shop in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Earlier today, I caught my first BookCrossing book and will be releasing it "into the wild" very soon. Check out my journal entry at http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4792054. Happy hunting!

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Happy May Day everyone! I know that at this time of year in my home I start to see end-of-school-year fever. It takes a little extra effort to get the boys focused on their homework when the warm weather beckons. For youth who are of working age, this is the time of year to set plans for that summer job. With those brave job hunters in mind, today’s pick involves federal money for job training and employment opportunities for at-risk youth.

YouthBuild was started in East Harlem, New York, in 1978 to provide education services for youth and teach construction skills through renovation and home building for low-income families. In 1993, YouthBuild became a federal program and today this youth and community development program simultaneously addresses several core issues facing low-income communities.

“Grant funds will be used to provide disadvantaged youth with: the education and employment skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency in occupations in high demand and postsecondary education and training opportunities; opportunities for meaningful work and service to their communities; and opportunities to develop employment and leadership skills and a commitment to community development among youth in low-income communities.”

Applicant organizations can apply for three-year grants that will range from $700,000 to $1.1 million. The closing date to apply is July 3, 2007 and proposals can only be submitted through Grants.gov. The link to the funding announcement is http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13658&mode=VIEW.

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The Improve Group has conducted interviews with a wonderful variety of people for a great variety of disciplines. Interviewees (also referred to as: discussants, informants, subjects, participants or conversational partners) add critical and valuable perspectives about programs. Like focus groups, interviews contribute to a more in-depth, comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand.

So, the Improve Group calls you to participate in an interview – what exactly are you getting yourself into?

What is an interview?

Many of us have done an interview at one time or another. In some situations, it can be a scary and uncomfortable experience. One may consider a typical interview to be an in-person, one-on-one interaction where the interviewer rattles off a list of questions to the interviewee. While there are certainly some interviews that fit this scenario, researchers conduct interviews in many different ways and make efforts to put the interviewee at ease. At the Improve Group, we strive to make our interviewees comfortable and are sensitive to their diverse needs. Interviews can be in-person, over the telephone or even online with one person or a group of people. They can be formal and structured with a predetermined list of close-ended questions, or they can be unstructured “guided conversations” that are meant to elicit in-depth information. Cultural interviews, oral histories and life histories are examples of unstructured interviews.

Interviews usually have an underlying purpose or topic they are meant to address. Sometimes the interviewee is recruited based upon prior knowledge or expertise in the area of interest, while other times an interviewee is recruited without any prior knowledge of the topic to add an outside perspective. Ultimately, interviews help researchers understand how others think or feel about a topic. Interviews should take place in a comfortable setting and although the time length varies, most do not last more than an hour and a half.

What an interview isn’t.

Like focus groups, interviews should not be mysterious. Anyone asking you to do an interview should be able to give you a detailed explanation of:

• who is conducting the research;
• what the objectives of the interview are, and
• how the information you share will be used.

If sensitive information is to be shared you should be given assurances of anonymity and security. Depending upon the nature of the topic a release or consent form could be offered for you to sign. In some circumstances, especially if a direct quote is cited and referenced, the interviewee will have the opportunity to read the report that includes information from their interview to verify accuracy.

Interviewers should never be judgmental of the interviewee; the interviewer should respect your thoughts and opinions.

What is the value to you the participant?

Interviews can be an opportunity for you to talk about something that is important or of interest to you. It can be an opportunity to become involved in research on program or product improvement and to have your opinions heard and appreciated. And, sometimes you are offered an incentive to get involved, like a monetary gift, gift card or donation to a favored program or charity.

As with focus groups, there is real power in getting your ideas and concerns across to a researcher that is charged with the task of planning a course of action or recommending change.

Interviews are an excellent method of gathering rich, contextual information in many areas of research. Please consider the value you will contribute to a project by participating in an interview!

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