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Session Title: Using Evaluation to Improve the Quality of the Initial Implementation of a Statewide Community and State Level Policy and Systems Change Initiative
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Panel Session 264 to be held in BONHAM B on Thursday, Nov 11, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Non-profit and Foundations Evaluation TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Astrid Hendricks, California Endowment, ahendricks@calendow.org
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| Discussant(s):
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| Marie Colombo, Skillman Foundation, mcolombo@skillman.org
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| Abstract:
TCE’s BHC has largely successfully integrated evaluation knowledge and skills into the initial implementation of BHC. This has helped improved the performance of TCE, the communities and grantees while also providing valuable information about the factors needed to prepare communities for implementing policy and systems change strategies. We will provide lessons learned that will be valuable to the field.The Aspen Institute’s (2009) recent review of CCIs notes that we lack evidence that community-based work alone can trigger large-scale systems change. The TCE BHC seeks to develop synergies by addressing strategies at the Place level, and also at the State and statewide levels through integration strategies based upon use of goal and outcome-oriented logic models.
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Positioning the Foundation to Use Evaluation for Learning and Improved Performance
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| Astrid Hendricks, California Endowment, ahendricks@calendow.org
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| Mona K Jwahar, California Endowment, mjhawar@calendow.org
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| Lori M Nascimento, California Endowment, lnascimento@calendow.org
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Foundations are increasing investing in policy and systems change efforts at the local, state, and federal levels. Community change initiatives are a Place based strategy for changing policies, systems and community environments. These approaches to grantmaking lead to changes in the roles of the Foundation and its staff. The California Endowment has focused almost all of its resources on their Building Healthy Communities (BHC) strategic vision over the next 10 years. BHC ‘s strategy is to promote policy and systems changes in 14 communities, across the state, and state government levels in order to strategically improve the health of all children. BHC is transforming the foundation and presents the opportunity to integrate the knowledge and methods of evaluation into the implementation of BHC. This paper describes the strategies, challenges, and opportunities to advance and integrate evaluation for the purposes of decision-making, learning, accountability, and performance among board, staff, and grantees.
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The California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities: Lessons From the Site-selection Process
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| Hanh Cao Yu, Social Policy Research Associates, hanh_cao_yu@spra.com
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The California Endowment’s experience in planning its new strategic approach—and selecting target communities in particular—represents an important opportunity for generating a much clearer understanding of what goes into creating effective place-based initiative. Among the thousands of distinct neighborhoods/communities in the state of California, TCE needed to develop a process and clear set of criteria for selecting the 14 that would be the sites of TCE’s work over the next decade and then carry out the research and decision making involved in arriving at the final list. By examining the site selection process—and the planning process that preceded it—with a critical and analytical eye, it is possible to identify the specific challenges that TCE faced to understand how the foundation’s approach to strategic planning influenced the site-selection process, to discern exactly what worked and did not work, and to develop lessons that can be applied in the future. What we learn through such analysis not only informs TCE decision making as the organization moves forward with implementing Building Healthy Communities, it also points to a number of lessons for other philanthropic organizations engaged in place-based grantmaking.
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Use of Logic Models to Structure a Cohesive Planning Approach and an Evaluable Cross-site Comprehensive Community Initiative
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| Jared Raynor, TCC Group, jraynor@tccgrp.com
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One of the challenges of evaluating multi-site comprehensive community initiatives is establishing the common basis for comparison. While logic modeling is not a new concept for CCI projects, using it as a comprehensive basis to drive the planning process is relatively novel. This approach sets up a framework for evaluation, ex ante, as opposed to more traditional ex post approaches. This presentation will discuss how The California Endowment utilized logic modeling across all its sites to establish the common basis for aggregating across communities. The presenter will share how the logic modeling process works in the communities, what needed to be in place at the funder in order to secure buy-in, how TCE used "logic model coaches" to provide technical assistance, and some of the pitfalls associated with using this approach.
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The Planning Phase Evaluation: Getting Ready for Implementation of the California Endowment Building Healthy Communities Comprehensive Community Initiative
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| Denise L Baer, Community Science, dbaer@communityscience.com
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| David M Chavis, Community Science, dchavis@communityscience.com
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The Planning Phase Evaluation for the California Endowment (TCE) Building Healthy Communities is intended to better prepare both TCE and the 14 communities for implementation of policy and systems change strategies. TCE has used relationship-building capacity building and evaluation as tools to improve foundation, community, and grantee performance. This paper reports on the evaluation process and lessons learned based upon a mixed methods approach that integrates qualitative in-person and telephone interviews, and document reviews within a cross-case study approach. This approach is helpful for contextualizing and answering “how” and “why” questions grounded in the experience of the Community Collaboratives and Places. The paper will provide the foundation, community, and contextual factors that contributed to the readiness of communities to implement policy and systems change strategies. Examples will also be presented as to how the evaluation team’s information and relationship were used to improve foundation and community performance.
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