The success of the WCC Initiative requires work to occur at multiple levels – national Extension system, Land Grant Universities, and communities. The WCC initiative evaluation, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, helps to assess progress and identify successful models and innovations from this work that can catalyze changes at the local, state, and national levels to promote health equity and advance a Culture of Health. The Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE), part of Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Health Institute in Seattle, WA, serves as the evaluation partner for WCC.

CCHE designs and evaluates health related-programs and initiatives throughout the United States using collaborative approaches to planning, assessment, and evaluation. CCHE utilizes qualitative and quantitative approaches to assess initiative implementation and impact. The overall goals of the WCC evaluation are to 1) assess the effectiveness of the initiative implementation; 2) partner with key initiative stakeholders to provide regular feedback to inform and improve WCC; 3) assess the impact of WCC on the Cooperative Extension System, communities, and youth; and 4) inform the field by sharing lessons learned and best practices.

For more information, please contact Maggie Jones at Maggie.E.Jones@kp.org or Lisa Schafer at Lisa.M.Schafer@kp.org.

Evaluation Goals:

  • Assess the effectiveness of Well Connected Communities implementation
  • Provide real-time feedback to inform and improve the initiative
  • Assess the impact of the initiative on the Cooperative Extension System (CES) and participating communities and youth
  • Inform the field by sharing lessons learned and best practices

QuestionsIndicators
Systems change:
To what extent and how has the CES changed (internally and externally) to promote equity and advance a Culture of Health across communities?		– Changes in how CES is working/collaborating internally
– Changes in how CES is partnering with the community to advance a Culture of Health & increase equity
– Continuum of strategies CES are using to influence change
– Structural & cultural changes within CES that promote community engagement, prioritize health and equity
– Community partners’ perception of CES as a key partner in health and equity
– CES leaders & field staffs’ capacity re: collaborative leadership, place-based change, and data-informed decisions
– Effectiveness of “health lead” role
Collaboration:
To what extent and how is multi-sector, multi-generational collaboration occurring in participating communities?		– Reach & representation of collaboration
– Context, structure, & nature of collaboration
– Structures & approaches to youth-adult partnerships
– New collaborations or partnerships that formed
– Collaborative/coalition effectiveness
– How/if data are being used to inform decisions
– Sustainability/embeddedness of collaboration
Youth:
To what extent and how has WCC contributed to positive youth development & leadership in participating communities?		– Youth participation in WCC (reach & demographics)
– Motivations for participating
– Coalition structures & approaches to engage & empower youth
– Extent to which youth feel they have a voice, influence decisions, and are in a leadership role
– Youths’ perception of benefits and challenges to participating in WCC
– Effectiveness of youth-adult partnerships
– Outcomes for participating youth (e.g., leadership, community service, social skills, citizenship)
Communities:
To what extent and how has WCC had an impact on participating communities?		– Description of communities reached (e.g., location, demographics)
– Health issues being addressed by communities
– Continuum of strategies/approaches communities are using to influence change (shifts to policy, systems, and environmental changes)
– Effectiveness of “health lead” role
– Leveraged funding for community health & well being
– Facilitators and barriers to this work in rural communities
– Stories of community impact on health and equity
  • What does WCC structure and support (i.e., the “model”) entail?
  • What elements of WCC support are most and least useful?
  • What are the benefits and challenges of participation for CES, Land Grant Universities, youth, and communities?
  • What are facilitators and barriers to effective implementation?
  • How can the initiative be improved?How effective is the partnership between Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and National 4-H Council?
  • What contribution has it made to initiative progress?
  • What does WCC structure and support (i.e., the “model”) entail?
  • What elements of WCC support are most and least useful?
  • What are the benefits and challenges of participation for CES, Land Grant Universities, youth, and communities?
  • What are facilitators and barriers to effective implementation?
  • How can the initiative be improved?
  • How effective is the partnership between Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and National 4-H Council?
  • What contribution has it made to initiative progress?
SourcePurposeMethods
ExtensionUnderstand structural, cultural & competency changes. Harvest lessons, success factors, challenges.– Observe CES Health Innovation Committee and WCC monthly calls with RWJF
– Survey of health leads across CES
– Interviews with sample of CES leaders & national partners
– Extension Director & WCC Principal Investigator interviews
CommunityUnderstand community context, strategies, collaboration & lessons learned. Assess impact on communities– Document review of community assessments, action plans, dashboards & quarterly reports
– Coalition survey
– Site visits (5 case study sites)
YouthUnderstand youth perspective on collaboration/coalition engagement, facilitators/ barriers to youth engagement & impact on youth.– Youth survey
– Youth interviews
LeadershipUnderstand perceptions of progress & evolution of partnership & initiative.– WCC/4-H leader interviews
– RWJF interviews
Learning products– Quarterly learning memos to Evaluation Workgroup, WCC leadership team & Extension PIs
– Annual learning sessions/reports to other key Extension & RWJF stakeholders
Data briefs– Youth & coalition survey results shared annually
– Other data summaries as needed
Summative products– Wave 2 internal report (for RWJF & WCC)
– Wave 2 learning and evaluation report (public facing)
– Case studies (up to 5 community case studies, topics TBD)

Wave Two Report – August 2020

WCC Wave Two, Year 1 – Evaluation Summary

Well Connected Communities Logic Model

Cooperative Extension’s Health Equity and Well-being Framework Overview