Self-Study Plan: Evaluation Beyond Individual and Relationship-Level Changes (Intermediate) If you need additional resources, ideas, and skills for evaluating changes at the community, social, or systems levels, then this is the self-study plan for you. Follow the steps below to increase your knowledge base, discover new ideas to try, and identify further areas of learning (and ways to meet that need!). Since most of these resources are not specific to sexual violence prevention, some of them will have guiding questions to help you consider their applicability to your work. Objectives of this Self-Study Plan After you complete this exploration, you will be able to: • Identify and describe at least one method for evaluating community, societal, or policy-change efforts. • Describe the similarities and differences between evaluating individual changes and evaluating system-level changes. • Identify your additional learning needs related to doing evaluation beyond the individual and relationship levels. STEP ONE: Read some basic information about evaluating community initiatives. Title: Our Evaluation Model: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives (University of Kansas, n.d.) Time: 15 - 30 minutes Notes: This section of the Community Tool Box offers a useful overview to one perspective about evaluating community initiatives and highlights some of the challenges and promises of such work. Questions to guide your review: • Which of the challenges outlined in the Community Tool Box article do you think are applicable to your own work? Which ones do not seem applicable to your work? • What are your initial thoughts or impressions of the model they offer? How might it be relevant or useful for your own work? STEP TWO: Learn about Whole Measures. Title: Whole Measures: Transforming Our Vision of Success (Center for Whole Communities, n.d.) Time: 1 - 1.5 hours Notes: Whole Measures was designed to help organizations working to change communities and systems evaluate and improve their work. It focuses on values and practices that are central to improving community well-being and allows for participatory and collaborative data collection. Although it was not designed for sexual violence prevention work specifically, the framework, methodology and even the content of the rubrics used for measuring change are quite relevant to our work. The questions below will help you consider this. (In order to download the guide, you must fill out a short form.) Questions to guide your review: • What values and ethics motivated the creators of Whole Measures to develop this tool? What methodological issues motivated them? • Which values and practices measured by the rubric most closely align with the community- and systems-change work of sexual violence prevention? STEP THREE: Read about evaluating policy and advocacy efforts. Title: A Guide to Measuring Advocacy and Policy (Reisman, Gienapp & Stachowiak, 2007) Time: One - two hours Notes: This guide developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation is meant to address the need for information on evaluating social change efforts. It includes case examples and sample outcomes for various aspects of social change and community-building work. Questions to guide your review: • Which case studies or examples are the most similar to your work? Which are the least similar? • Which outcome examples are the most relevant to sexual violence prevention work? How are they measured? STEP FOUR: Learn about Social Network Analysis. Title: Social Network Analysis (Haas, 2011) Time: 10 minutes Notes: This video provides a short and accessible introduction to social network analysis. Consider supplementing that brief introduction by reading this more comprehensive guide (Denny, 2014). Questions to guide your review: • What is the purpose of social network analysis? • How might social network analysis be applicable to sexual violence prevention work? What kinds of systems or networks might you want to analyze using this method? STEP FIVE: Reflect on and integrate your learning. Title: Self-Study Plan Worksheet: Introduction to Evaluation Time: 30 minutes Notes: Complete this worksheet to begin thinking about how what you have learned about evaluation applies to your work. If you need help thinking through your answers or want to discuss your next steps, send an email to prevention@nsvrc.org. In-Person Training Opportunities The following conferences/institutes usually offer extensive training in many aspects of evaluation, including tools and methods that are useful for social change and community-level work. Evaluator’s Institute: Claremont Graduate University hosts one or two institutes per year to equip evaluators with cutting-edge information and foundational skills alike. Some of the greatest minds in evaluation teach full-day or multi-day workshops here, so it is a perfect opportunity to dig deep. Investment: The range runs from around $500 for a one-day course to closer to $2,000 for a five- day course. These costs do not include travel, meals, and lodging. Location: Washington, D.C. AEA Annual Conference and Professional Development Workshops: The American Evaluation Association hosts a seven-day conference every year that begins and ends with in-depth professional development workshops ranging from a half day to a two full days each. Topics and trainers often overlap with those at the Evaluator’s Institute named above, but the cost of attending the professional development workshops at AEA is substantially less. Investment: The cost varies depending on whether or not you are a member and whether or not you choose to participate in professional development workshops, the conference, or both. Location: Varies AEA Summer Evaluation Institute: In addition to their large annual conference, the American Evaluation Association hosts a summer institute that also includes both a conference format and pre- conference workshops. The entire event spans four days, including the full day of workshops prior to the conference. Since this institute is smaller than the annual conference, it also does not cover as many topics in as much depth. Investment: The cost varies depending on whether or not you are a member and whether or not you choose to participate in professional development workshops, the conference, or both. Location: Varies References Center for Whole Communities. (n.d.). Whole measures: Transforming our vision of success. Available from http://measuresofhealth.net/additional_resources/moh_download.shtml Denny, M. (2014). Social network analysis. Retrieved from http://www.mjdenny.com/workshops/SN_Theory_I.pdf Haas, G. (2011, October 21). Social network analysis [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/30926345 Reisman, J., Gienapp, A., & Stachowiak, S. (2007). A guide to measuring advocacy and policy. Retrieved from http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-aguidetomeasuringpolicyandadvocacy-2007.pdf University of Kansas. (n.d.). Our evaluation model: Evaluating comprehensive community initiatives. Community Toolbox (Chap. 1, Sec. 5). Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/ overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement/evaluation-model/main © 2018 National Sexual Violence Resource Center. www.nsvrc.org | prevention@nsvrc.org | (877) 739-3895