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Session Title: From Deliverables to Strategies: Experience of Implementing a National Evaluation Policy via Statewide Asthma Programs
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Panel Session 709 to be held in MISSION B on Saturday, Nov 13, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM
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Sponsored by the
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| Chair(s): |
| Paul Garbe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, plg2@cdc.gov
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| Abstract:
Discussions about evaluation policy stress the importance of developing a better understanding about existing evaluation policies as well as creating an evidence base about the effectiveness of such policies. In 2009, the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch (APRHB) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new Funding Opportunity Announcement that shifted the focus of 36 state asthma programs from implementing evaluations in the first year of funding to systematically identifying high-priority evaluations to conduct throughout the funding lifecycle. To facilitate the successful implementation of this new evaluation policy, APRHB published a guide describing the strategic evaluation planning process and created internal policies to promote the use of consistent messages and procedures across a newly formed group of evaluation technical advisors. Lessons learned in implementing and supporting efforts associated with this new evaluation policy will be presented with reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.
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Shaking It Up: A New Evaluation Policy for Strategic Evaluation Planning
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| Leslie Fierro, SciMetrika, let6@cdc.gov
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In 2009, a team of evaluators within the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch (APRHB) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established a new policy for conducting evaluations within state asthma programs. Prior to implementing evaluations, states are now required to spend their first year of funding collaborating with a small team to create a strategic evaluation plan. This plan outlines the high-priority evaluations the state program intends to conduct over the next four years. To support states in developing strategic evaluation plans, the APRHB developed Learning and Growing through Evaluation, a document that details the envisioned process for creating a strategic evaluation plan. The background and rationale for this policy shift as well as the details of creating a strategic evaluation plan will be discussed.
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Reality Check: Benefits and Limitations of Strategic Evaluation Planning in Practice
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| Eric Armbrecht, Open Health LLC, eric@openhealth.us
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| Peggy Gaddy, Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program, peggy.gaddy@dhss.mo.gov
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| Sherri Homan, Missouri Asthma Prevention and Control Program, sherri.homan@dhss.mo.gov
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This presentation will focus on our state’s experience with implementing guidance and recommendations from the CDC’s Learning and Growing through Evaluation: State Asthma Program Evaluation Guide. It will address benefits and limitations of the six-step method and describe how the method was adapted in practice. We will review how our state uses a strategic evaluation planning process with diverse statewide stakeholders to improve partner engagement and dissemination as well as program effectiveness.
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Supporting Internal Evaluation Policy: Development of Evaluation Technical Assistance Sub-team and Policy Implementation Materials
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| Sarah Gill, Cazador, sgill@cdc.gov
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| Amanda Savage Brown, Cazador, abrown2@cdc.gov
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In support of its internal evaluation policy, CDC’s Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch established a sub-team of Evaluation Technical Advisors (ETA) to provide evaluation-related technical assistance to funded state asthma programs. ETAs provide direct support to assigned state evaluators and coordinate with other Branch staff to ensure a programmatically sound, data-driven approach to evaluation. ETAs meet weekly to provide cross-team support and to ensure consistent information is provided to all states. To support ETAs in this new role, staff created an ETA Guide that defines roles and responsibilities and provides guidance on internal and external communication and coordination as well as other routine technical assistance tasks and processes. It also includes supporting resources and tools (e.g., contact log, evaluation plan assessment tool, site-visit checklist, etc.). Use of the Guide and accompanying tools during the first implementation year will be discussed.
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Providing Evaluation Technical Assistance: Are We Doing What We Expected and What Exactly Are We Doing?
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| Sheri Disler, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sdisler@cdc.gov
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| Amanda Savage Brown, Cazador, abrown2@cdc.gov
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The role of the CDC Asthma Program Evaluation Technical Advisor (ETA) is to provide direct support to their assigned states’ evaluator, and to coordinate with other ETAs and Branch staff to ensure a programmatically-sound, data-driven approach to evaluation. During the first implementation year of “Addressing Asthma from a Public Health Perspective” (a 5-year funding cycle), grantees were tasked with developing a strategic evaluation plan. State-specific, tailored technical assistance (TA) in support of developing this plan was provided through conference calls, emails, listserv postings, and site visits. State evaluators had a wide range of experience and diverse TA needs. This presentation describes the TA needs identified across States, the content of TA delivered to State Evaluators, and the development of resources to assist the ETA team. Comparisons will be made between activity types anticipated for ETAs at funding outset and the actual provision of TA throughout the first implementation year.
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