Gain Insight Through Capacity Building - and other news from Community Science

[Announcement from SCRA-L]

October 2012 IN THIS ISSUE:  Welcome to the October issue! Now that the school year is in full swing, it's a good time to think about building internal learning capacity: Spotlight: Community Science's unique approach to Evaluation and Learning Capacity Building Client Briefs: W.K. Kellogg Foundation and National Partnership for Action Day of Service at A Wider Circle SPOTLIGHT ON:  Turning Information Into Insight and Action Community Science's unique approach to Evaluation and Learning Capacity Building Since our founding over 15 years, ago, Community Science has seen a great expansion in the practice of evaluation by foundations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Nowadays just about every grantee knows that their funder is going to want an evaluation of their work or some data to show that they are achieving what they set out to achieve. Two challenges emerge from this promotion of evaluation. First, evaluation costs time and money, especially if you use an outside evaluator. Few organizations know what to look for in an evaluator or in a good evaluation. If evaluation is too expensive to do on a regular basis, it becomes something done for the funder and not for the benefit of the organization or the people it serves. It cannot become a "habit" if the cost is too great to sustain.  A second challenge is that many organizations are collecting data about their community and work- some are even drowning in it. However, there has been relatively little effort placed on how to use data for strategy improvement to do a better job in addressing social problems and make important organizational decisions, and advocate for better policies and programs. In order to advocate for change, evidence is critical.  Not only can outside evaluations be non-sustainable and cost-prohibitive, they often leave decision-makers with data they can't completely understand, or act upon. These challenges put our spotlight for the last several years on building organizational and community capacity to monitor, evaluate, reflect, and act using data and other sources of knowledge.  It is essential for organizations to have access to sound relevant data that have already been collected from schools, government agencies, and other public projects. One of the earliest issues Community Science has been addressing is data inequity- the unequal access to data about communities and their residents.  Very often businesses, government agencies, and consulting firms have access to data that local community-based organizations cannot get because of costs or availability. Community Science has conducted two studies to look at how data in every state can be made more accessible by community based organizations. One looked at the drug abuse related data for the White House Office of National Drug Abuse Policy and the other was recently completed for the Office of Minority Health on data related to the social determinants of health.  Community Science will also be conducting a town hall meeting on November 14th about how the federal government can increase access to useful and useable data by community based organizations as part of our Knowledge for Equity Conference.  However, access to data is just the starting point. Data capacity building also involves: knowing what questions you want to ask, and developing the skills to analyze the data, answering the questions or tell the story, reflecting on what you have learned and then decide on the actions that are needed to develop or improve current systems.  In simplest terms, organizations need to continuously collect, analyze, format, learn, reflect, and plan. This approach turns simple information into insight and ultimately, action. Continue reading here. To learn more about Community Science's approach to Evaluation and Learning Capacity Building, click here.  MEET COMMUNITY SCIENCE: Managing Associate, Amber Golden, Ph.D. An evaluation specialist, Dr. Golden's current evaluation work involves providing technical assistance, project management, research and evaluation support. Her evaluation interests include community and systems change, health equity, health disparities, and the theory, methodology, and practice of program evaluation. She also has research experience and interests related to the influence of social support and network influences on holistic health and well-being in youth and adults, adolescent transition to adulthood, and intergenerational communication on values, health, and identity in families. Along with advanced training in measurement and statistics, Dr. Golden uses qualitative and quantitative research methods in her work. Her training includes participation in the American Evaluation Association Graduate Diversity Internship program and the National Institutes of Health Minority International Research Training Program.  Dr. Golden also provided technical assistance and evaluation services to Communities in Schools, Inc. of Florida; and has worked internationally assessing psychosocial and social determinants of stress and chronic disease in various local populations in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her research and evaluation interests are undergirded by her experience as a clinician.  Managing Associate, Susanna Shapiro, MS For over 10 years, Ms. Shapiro has  worked to strengthen civil society organizations and grassroots movements through capacity building (technical assistance, peer learning, coaching and mentoring), community organizing, evaluation, and social change grantmaking. She is passionate about facilitating connections and trust-based relationships across cultural lines to advance economic and social justice. As a program officer at Pact, Ms. Shapiro supervised a final evaluation for a democracy and governance program in Central America. She also provided technical and operational support to country programs in Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi and a regional program based in El Salvador. Ms. Shapiro was also the Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Global Fund for Children (GFC), where she spearheaded GFC's first Organizational Development Handbook.   Ms. Shapiro has designed, implemented, and evaluated development initiatives in Jamaica, Ghana, India, Brazil, and Central America. She has also facilitated in national and international settings, including at multi-grantee knowledge exchange workshops and organization-wide retreats. From 2004-2008, Ms. Shapiro worked as a consultant in the World Bank's Social Development Department and the Safeguards Advisory Team. Prior to that, she served as an at-risk youth advisor in the Peace Corps/Jamaica and worked with Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA) in Peru and Ecuador.  Our Day of Service: A Wider Circle, Silver Spring, MD At Communtiy Science, we pride ourselves in "walking the talk," especially when it comes to giving back in our own community.    On August 9, 2012, Community Science management and associates spent the day volunteering their time at A Wider Circle.  This 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offers unique programs which address the specialized needs of adults and children challenged by homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, and other hardships.       At the organization's Silver Spring, MD Center for Community Service, Community Science staff assisted with:  Loading furniture on to trucks for families who were picking up donations from the center Offloading and cleaning donated furniture from trucks  Cleaning and sorting donated items such as infant clothing, car seats, books, and toys  Assisting with clean-up and recycling efforts throughout the warehouse  We enjoy these hands-on opportunities to serve communities, and look forward to helping A Wider Circle again soon.     Our Publications Sharing our knowledge Available in .pdf format, Community Science offers publications in the following areas of interest for research purposes:  Community & Systems Change Diversity & Inclusiveness Health Promotion & Equity Substance Abuse & Crime Prevention Evaluation & Learning Capacity Building Education & Youth Development Evaluation and Research Methods Capacity Building Guides Visit our publications page to download.     CLIENT BRIEFS:   The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Science is delighted to support the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's work to improve the lives of children, families and communities in Mississippi. As the state-wide evaluator for the Foundation's work in the state, we are helping to document the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons of grantees; informing grant-making strategies; and building nonprofit capacity to use evaluation. Click here for more information.    The National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities   Community Science is providing evaluation and data capacity building services to The National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA), led by the Office of Minority Health (OMH). The NPA was established to mobilize a nationwide, comprehensive, community-driven, and sustained approach to combating health disparities and to move the nation toward achieving health equity.Using an approach that vests those at the front line with the responsibility of identifying and helping to shape core actions, new approaches and new partnerships are being established to help close the health gap in the United States. Click here to learn more about NPA programs. Conferences of note: Knowledge for Equity (K4E) Conference: The K4E conference helps community-based organizations to better use data and other sources of knowledge to promote health equity and address health disparities. Designed to support community based efforts to access, analyze, and use existing national, state, or local data, the K4E conference also includes presentations, workshops, breakout sessions and opportunities for participants to share what they are learning and still need.  November 13-14, 2012 Silver Spring, MD  The Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) Impact Summit 2012: This year's theme, Driving Change & Getting Results in Challenging Times, says it all. The CIC IMPACT SUMMIT is a forum to engage tough questions and share lessons of the impact on communities, networks, businesses, and clients. Join the network of practice and research as CIC showcases leading measuring and monitoring initiatives, impact and communications strategies, and innovations in community health, sustainability, education, economic development and more.  November 15-16, 2012 Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, University of Maryland College Park, MD 26th Annual Conference of the American Evaluation Association: Evaluation in Complex Ecologies - Relationships, Responsibilities, Relevance October 23-28, 2012 Minneapolis, MN American Public Health Association 140th Annual Meeting & Expo:  The oldest and largest gathering of public health professionals in the world, attracting more than 13,000 national and international physicians, administrators, nurses, educators, researchers, epidemiologists, and related health specialists. APHA's meeting program addresses current and emerging health science, policy, and practice issues in an effort to prevent disease and promote health.   October 27-31, 2012 San Francisco, CA Pathways to Community Vitality: Helping Small Towns Succeed: Hosted by the Heartland Center, this premier training institute is designed to provide rural community leaders practical applications that they can use immediately in their communities. October 23-25, 2012 Nebraska City, NE Join Us! If you are a motivated, conscientious professional who can help us take the practice of social change through science and capacity building to a higher level, Community Science wants to hear from you. In fact, Community Science is currently recruiting for the following positions: Senior Associate in Community Change Research & Practice (Washington, DC) Associate in Research & Capacity Building (Washington, DC) To learn more about each position, or apply now, visit the Community Science CAREERS page.   About Community Science   Community Science is an award winning research and development organization that works with governments, foundations, and non-profit organizations on solutions to social problems through community and other systems changes.  To learn more, visit our PROJECTS page.  To discuss how Community Science can collaborate with your organization, contact us at 301-519-0722 or info@communityscience.com