Example: Organizational & Community-Level Outcomes

1. Outcome Evaluation of Latin American Youth Leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health Program Julie Solomon, PhD1; Jacqueline Berman, PhD2; Kristin Bard2; Thomas Goldring, MA3; Gwendolyn Smith, MPA2; Alberto Colorado4; Esther Tahrir, MPH5 1J. Solomon Consulting, LLC, 2Independent Consultant, 3Carnegie Mellon University, 4Advocates for Health International, 5Public Health Institute Background Principal Outcome Evaluation Findings • Individual (Fellow) Level • Positive influence on knowledge, attitudes, and skills in ASRHR and leadership • At least 75% of alumni engaged in or looking for paid or volunteer ASRHR work • Increasingly influential ASRHR-related Fellow leadership roles • Organizational Level • Positive influence on staff’s youth- and ASRH-related knowledge and skills • Positive influences on organizations’ youth- and ASRHR-related focus (mission, services) • Increased inter-organizational collaboration and organizational visibility • Community Level • New ASRHR programs and services available • Some evidence of positive short-term changes in youths’ ASRHR knowledge and attitudes • Little formal or systematic evidence of behavioral or health status outcomes • National/International Level • Some Fellow involvement in ASRHR-related committees, conferences, and programming and advocacy initiatives • Little evidence of policy or service outcomes In Mexico and Central America, adolescents face high risks of early pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, intimate partner violence, unsafe abortions, and poor birth outcomes.* The Summit Foundation-funded Youth Leadership in Sexual and Reproductive Health (GOJoven) Program, implemented in English and Spanish by the Public Health Institute, builds young adult leaders’ (Fellows) and local organizations’ capacity to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Since GOJoven began implementation in 2004, PHI has tracked programmatic outputs and changes in Fellows’ knowledge and skills. In 2011, Summit commissioned an external evaluation of GOJoven to: (1) identify GOJoven’s outcomes at multiple levels; (2) identify the program’s most promising practices; and (3) support planning for GOJoven’s next phase. * UNFPA & PRB. Country Profiles for Population and Reproductive Health, www.unfpa.org/public/countries. [Because of GOJoven] we have a plan that is based on the need to strengthen . . . our work in sexual and reproductive health with youth. -Guatemalan organization The theme of right[s in] SRH has become a passion for me and I have committed myself much more to working on this theme. -Honduran Alumni Fellow Promising Practices in Leadership Development • Focus on Fellows’ self-awareness and personal development • Foster a sense of community and peer support within GOJoven • Employ a highly participatory, interactive training methodology • Provide ongoing opportunities to apply new knowledge and skills • Include institutional strengthening with Fellow involvement Principal Program Components Example: Organizational & Community-Level Outcomes • Fellowship Year: Teams of 5-6 Fellows (ages 18-30) from each GOJoven country receive training and coaching and plan team leadership projects • Post-Fellowship Year: Fellows implement projects and have access to more training, networking activities, and professional development funds • Institutional Strengthening (IS): IS Project grants and IS Workshops are available to organizations working (or interested to work) in ASRHR • Background: Centro Escolar Mexico Junior College • Technical junior college, Corozal District, northern Belize • ~177 students, ages 17-30, largely from rural communities; ~15 teachers • GOJoven Involvement • Two teachers became Fellows (2009 and 2011 cohorts) • IS Project Grant*: ASRH needs assessment, staff training, strategic planning • IS Workshop* attended by school Principal and Fellow • TA from a local consultant • Organizational- and Community-Level Outcomes • ASRH integrated into entire school curriculum • Greater teacher comfort discussing and addressing ASRH • New partnership with National AIDS Commission for campus condom distribution • Staff and students disseminating ASRH information to local community • Pregnancy-related school drop-outs decreased to zero (2011) • * Funded by the World Bank. Next Steps for GOJoven • Apply evaluation learnings to GOJoven’s next-phase efforts, which aim to: • Mobilize alumni and other in-country stakeholders to positively impact ASRHR programs and policies at local and national levels • Partner with alumni to build leadership and ASRHR capacity among new youth leaders and service providers • Build in-country infrastructure to sustain capacity development efforts Evaluation Methods • Systematic review of 204 program documents • Paper and web-based alumni Fellow survey (N=88, 78% response rate) • Web-based survey of affiliated organizations (N=53, 29% response rate) • In-country interviews and focus groups with Fellow project teams, project beneficiaries, IS Project organizations, GOJoven staff, and ASRHR key opinion leaders • Collection and group discussion of Fellows’ Most Significant Change stories • Four in-country alumni Fellows assisted with instrumentation, data collection, and dissemination of findings For Additional Information • About the Evaluation: Julie Solomon, PhD, julie@jsolomonconsulting.com; reports:summitfdn.org/foundation/programs/empowering-youth/spotlight • About GOJoven: Esther Tahrir, MPH, etahrir@ihp.org; see also gojoven.org