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Session Title: Building Evaluation Capacity Building for Public Health: Community, CBO, and State Examples
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Panel Session 928 to be held in Mineral Hall Section D on Saturday, Nov 8, 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
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Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Antonia Spadaro,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
aqs5@cdc.gov
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| Abstract:
In community-based participatory research, partnerships form between academics and external partners, such as community groups or health departments. For the Prevention Research Centers (PRCs), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these partnerships often steer university researchers towards helping local organizations or state partners with evaluation projects through grants, contracts, or technical assistance, resulting in evaluation capacity-building and organizational learning, Knowledge gained from this process provides stakeholders with tools for decision-making, program improvement, and demonstrating outcomes. This session will highlight three PRCs’ roles in partnering with stakeholders - the community, community-based organizations (CBOs), and state entities - for building evaluation capacity and promoting public health. The panel will describe concepts and experiences in evaluation capacity building such as the increase of stakeholders’ evaluation knowledge, skills, and abilities; the growth of new projects because of these evaluation endeavors; and the development of a new AEA local affiliate.
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A Multi-pronged, Strategic and Collaborative Approach to Enhancing the Capacity to Design, Conduct, Manage and Utilize Evaluation in Rural Southwest Georgia
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| Iris Smith,
Emory University,
ismith@sph.emory.edu
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| Sally Honeycutt,
Emory University,
shoneyc@sph.emory.edu
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| Denise Ballard,
Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition,
denise.ballard@swgacancer.org
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| J K Barnette,
Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition,
jk.barnette@swgacancer.org
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Evaluation capacity building strategies are most often implemented within or between organizations or organizational units, but rarely are such strategies applied in the broader context of a geographically defined community of practitioners. This presentation will describe strategies and outcomes of an evaluation capacity building initiative undertaken by the Emory Prevention Research Center in collaboration with the SW Georgia Cancer Coalition and other community partners in a 33 county “community” in southwestern Georgia. Strategies included formative evaluation, training, technical assistance, identification and development of local evaluation resources, and “modeling” evaluation practice. Outcomes include increased knowledge and practice of evaluation and the formation of the S.W. Georgia Evaluation Association, an affiliate of AEA to support and sustain ongoing capacity building efforts in the region.
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Processes and Outcomes of an Academic/Private/Community-Based Partnership to Improve Evaluation Capacities of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Prevention Programs in the Southeastern United States
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| Tabia Akintobi,
Morehouse School of Medicine,
takintobi@msm.edu
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| Elleen M Yancey,
Morehouse School of Medicine,
eyancey@msm.edu
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The sustainability of the HIV prevention public health workforce is challenged by limited evaluation capacities and increasing funder demands for evidence-based programs. This issue is attenuated in the Southeastern United States, which experienced a 20% increase in the estimated number of new AIDS cases compared to a 7.1% increase in the United States between 2000 and 2004. The Pfizer Foundation Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative facilitated a tri-directional partnership with The Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center and 24 community-based organizations in response to these challenges between 2004 and 2006. This presentation will describe the processes implemented and reciprocal learning experienced through the strengths contributed by each member of this collaborative. Qualitative and quantitative results of capacity building activities, on-going challenges, and recommendations for evaluators supporting capacity building efforts for HIV prevention programs will also be discussed.
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It’s Getting Better All the Time: Evaluating the Current, While Planning for the Future
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| Robert Anderson,
West Virginia University,
randerson@hsc.wvu.edu
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| Valerie Frey-McClung,
West Virginia University,
vfreymcclung@hsc.wvu.edu
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| Kimberly Horn,
West Virginia University,
khorn@hsc.wvu.edu
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| Geri Dino,
West Virginia University,
gdino@hsc.wvu.edu
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When West Virginia began receiving its share of tobacco funds from the multi-state Master Settlement Agreement, it elected to use an external evaluator. This ultimately led to the WV Prevention Research Center initiating the Evaluation Oversight and Coordinating Unit (EOCU) with a grant from the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH). The EOCU is an independent evaluator for the WVBPH's Division of Tobacco Prevention (DTP). It ensures that every WV tobacco prevention activity funded by the DTP is evaluated to: determine the extent to which programs and interventions meet their goals, establish what approaches work best, and understand how to make program improvements. The EOCU ensures the state's efforts are grounded in science, responsive to communities, and accountable to policymakers. This is done by such means as developing RFPs, recommending funding criteria, proposal reviews, program monitoring, and reporting. It also provides consistent standards for assessment and criteria for success.
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