Evaluating Community Collaborations

by Thomas E. Backer PhD (Editor)

Overview

Collaborations, which bring organizations together in a community to implement or improve an innovative program or change a policy or procedure, have become a central strategy for promoting community change. Funders require them; nonprofits see them as useful solutions to their problems of declining resources and increasing complexity (including multicultural issues); and communities demand them as evidence that key stakeholders are coming together to address problems of mutual concern.

Moreover, no matter how powerful the concept, the implementation of community collaborations can usually be improved. The evaluation of collaborations can provide evidence of outcome and impact, and can help improve the process by which the collaboration operates.

This book was developed by the nonprofit Human Interaction Research Institute,with funding support from the Federal Center for Mental Health Services, in connection with a series of evaluations of mental health, youth violence prevention and arts grant-making programs (supported by both the Federal government and foundations)óall of which involved collaborations as a central mechanism. It is the first comprehensive treatment of theoretical, research, and practice issues concerning the evaluation of collaborations, and includes an extensive set of forms that can be adapted for this purpose. Chapter authors are leaders in both evaluation and community collaboration work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826121868
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/30/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Thomas E. Backer is president of the Human Interaction Research Institute, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit center for research and intervention on innovation and change. He is also associate clinical professor of medical psychology at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

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Acknowledgments
Foreword, Abe Wandersman

1. Evaluating Community Collaborations: An Overview, Thomas E. Backer
2. Multicultural Issues in Collaboration: Some Implications for Multirater Evaluation, Alex J. Norman
3. The Human Side of Evaluating Collaborations, Thomas E. Backer and Cynthia Kunz
4. A Practical Approach to Evaluation of Collaborations, Tom Wolff
5. Making Sense of Results from Collaboration Evaluations, Vincent T. Francisco, Jerry A. Schultz, and Stephen B. Fawcett
6. Evaluating Collaborations in Youth Violence Prevention, Nancy G. Guerra

Commentary, John Bare

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What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Evaluating Community Collaborations should be of interest to academics and well as practitioners and should definitely be on the book shelves of anyone involved in trying to evaluate partnerships, networks or collaborations." —
Lawrence L. Martin, MSW, MBA, PhD, Professor and Director for Center for Community Partnerships and University of Central Florida.

Editorial Reviews

3 Stars from Doody

Reviewer: Penny Wolfe Moore, RNC, PhD (Southwestern Adventist University)
Description: This book is dedicated to research related to community collaborations and partnerships. There is an effort to be holistic with chapters on "the human side of evaluating collaborations" and one dedicated to multicultural issues.
Purpose: The stated purpose is to "present the many challenges-technical, political and resource-driven, among others-that help to account for. . .inconsistent results" found in "systematic reviews and cross-site evaluations of community collaborations." The book devotes much space to the use of "empowerment evaluation methods and tools." Both of these objectives would be important to a serious community researcher.
Audience: Only a serious community researcher or a person studying community research would be interested in perusing this book to any depth. It would be a good resource in the library of health related research institutes. The authors and contributors have very impressive credentials.
Features: The multicultural and human aspects of community collaborations are covered initially. This is followed by what the authors call, a practical approach. This section involves an in-depth, how-to narrative with many actual tools. Some of the tools are: annual satisfaction survey for community coalitions, responsibility charting, sustainability benchmarks and coalition annual report (plus several others). I found the chapter on making sense of results from collaboration evaluations especially helpful.
Assessment: This is a positive contribution to the development of evidence-based practice in the community. Professionals in community/public health practice will find the information interesting and the tools very helpful. People pursuing graduate education will consider this a real find! The information seems quite unique and worthwhile.

Doody's Review Service