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Session Title: Weaving Networks, Weaving Change: Practical Uses and Experiences of Inter-Organizational Network Analysis Findings
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Panel Session 887 to be held in Palos Verdes A on Saturday, Nov 5, 9:50 AM to 11:20 AM
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Sponsored by the Social Network Analysis TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Raul Martinez, Harder+Company Community Research, rmartinez@harderco.com
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| Discussant(s):
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| Paul Harder, Harder+Company Community Research, pharder@harderco.com
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| Abstract:
Increasingly, evaluations of funders supporting local service providers focus on measuring improvements to the larger systems of care. Based on panelist's experiences conducting evaluations of First 5 funded programs in several counties in California, this panel will discuss the implications of quantifying the measurement of systems of care from the perspectives of evaluators and stakeholders. Evaluators will present findings from a number of different First 5 County evaluations all of which used the same method to assess inter-agency collaboration and mapping the networks. Stakeholders from these First 5 Counties discuss their experiences and raise issues regarding the appropriate uses, implementation and meaning from network findings, including how network analysis can assess change over time and how to best use findings for different stakeholders and evaluation goals. The discussant will summarize the main themes from each paper to describe how inter-organizational network analysis can improve evaluation capacity.
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Change Over Time in Networks of Care Providers in Monterey County and Interpretations of Systems Change
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| Raul Martinez, Harder+Company Community Research, rmartinez@harderco.com
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| David Dobrowski, First 5 Monterey County, david@first5monterey.org
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In an evaluation of First 5 services to families and children in Monterey County, an inter-organizational network mapping procedure was employed at two time periods to identify changes in levels of coordination and collaboration among service providers who receive funds from First 5 Monterey County. Across a one year period, there was an increase in the number of interactions between funded partner agencies, with the increase in ties occurring at the Networking and Coordination levels, but with slightly fewer ties at the Collaboration level. The results raise questions about how best to engage participating organizations and other stakeholders in increasing levels of collaboration, when is the right time to measure changes in systems, and whether an increase in collaboration is a necessary or sufficient condition to determine improvement in systems change outcomes.
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Measuring Inter-Agency Collaboration and Coordination in First 5 Fresno County: Experiences of Evaluators and Stakeholders in Understanding Systems Change Over Time
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| Gary Resnick, Harder+Company Community Research, gresnick@harderco.com
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| Olivia Arnold, First 5 Fresno County, oarnold@first5fresno.org
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Improvement in the system of care in Fresno County is expected to occur as a result of the funding provided by First 5 Fresno under CA Proposition 10 for services for families and their children from birth through five years of age. To assess systems improvement, a web-based survey for staff and administrators from all funded agencies was conducted over two years. Front line and administrator staff (at least two) from each agency receiving First 5 funds completed Frey's Levels of Collaboration Scale. Year one results showed that service providers are highly connected to each other, but mainly at the level of networking. Some agencies have long-standing relationships with other agencies at the higher levels of coordination and collaboration but other agencies are relatively isolated. Year two results and change over time will also be presented as implications for interpreting these results to assist programs in enhancing collaborations are discussed.
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Social Network Analysis as a Tool for Engaging Communities in the Assessment of Inter-Organizational Collaboration
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| Sae Lee, Harder+Company Community Research, slee@harderco.com
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Inter-organizational network analysis is being used in several evaluations of First 5 county programs in California to measure changes in systems of care towards greater collaboration among agencies receiving First 5 funds. Another use of the methodology is presented in this paper, involving an evaluation of a participatory community assessment process as part of the comprehensive placed-based initiative developed by First 5 Los Angeles. To assess the current state of collaboration among community agencies within each of First 5 LA's 14 communities, an inter-organizational survey was conducted which included Frey's Levels of Collaboration Scale. The network analysis findings will be discussed in terms of how community partnerships can use the findings to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their relationships with other agencies in the target communities, and how multiple stakeholders can be engaged in bolstering community-based networks as part of a larger community building process.
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