Evaluating Community Coalitions & Partnerships: Strengthening Engagement, Skills, and Impact

1. Key Building Blocks Evaluating Community Coalitions & Partnerships Process Strengthen member engagement, grow member skills, promote member satisfaction, improve the quality of the group‘s process, improve the quality of the group‘s planning products. Impact Track community conditions, behaviors, and consequences. Adjust coalition practices and interventions in response to a changing community. Assess potential contribution to improvement. Outcome Monitor plan implementation and document what the group has accomplished in the community.

2. Key Building Blocks Goals & Methods Goals Common Methods • Survey of member satisfaction • Exit interviews • Quality standards assessment • Peer / expert review of planning products (assessments, logic models, action plans, etc.) • Strengthen member participation • Promote member satisfaction • Improve the quality of the coalition’s listening, analysis, planning, and implementation. Outcomes Evaluation Impact Evaluation • Key informant interviews • Review of community records / media • Observation / documentation systems Process Evaluation • Monitor plan implementation • Document what the coalition accomplishes in the community • Track community conditions, behaviors, and consequences • Adjust coalition practices and interventions in response to a changing community • Assess potential contribution to an improved community • Archival and administrative data from community systems such as public health, safety, education, and welfare • Population surveys (locally sponsored or state/national tools such as the YRBS, BRFSS)

3. Key Building Blocks Goals & Methods • Current Actions • Next Steps Outcomes Evaluation Impact Evaluation Process Evaluation

4. Key Building Blocks Connecting the parts of your coalition evaluation Long Term Impact Outcome Near Term Impact Process Skilled members participating in a high quality community problem solving process can implement new or improved programs, policies and practices in the community that change the community conditions that create risk or are needed to promote development so that people engage in healthier behaviors and enjoy the positive consequences of this behavior change.

5. Key Building Blocks The parts of your coalition evaluation are simultaneous and ongoing Outcomes evaluation usually requires 60% + of the overall evaluation effort. It is the ultimate barometer of process quality and the predictor of impact. PROCESS Outcomes Evaluation IMPACT Process evaluation is key to building coalition strength. Because members will naturally come and go and community conditions will change, process evaluation is ongoing throughout the life of the community coalition. Impact evaluation begins in all of the listening and data gathered that informed initial action and continues in the ongoing monitoring of community conditions, behaviors, and consequences of interest.