Evidence-Based Programming - Criteria Training and Professional Development

The Advocacy Foundation Professional Development Series Proverbs 24:6-16 Proverbs 16:3 | Proverbs 15:22

Evidence-Based Program Criteria Training and

Professional Development

“Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential�

John C Johnson III, CEO Vol. I

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The Advocacy Foundation, Inc. Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential

Professional Development Series

Evidence-Based Programming Criteria Training & Professional Development

“Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential 1735 Market Street, Suite 3750 Philadelphia, PA 19102

| 100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 1690 Atlanta, GA 30303

John C Johnson III Founder & CEO

(878) 222-0450 Voice | Fax | SMS www.TheAdvocacyFoundation.org

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Biblical Authority ______ Proverbs 24:6-16 (NIV) 6

Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.

Saying 23 7

Wisdom is too high for fools; in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.

Saying 24 8

Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer. 9 The schemes of folly are sin, and people detest a mocker.

Saying 25 10

If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! 11 Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward laughter. 12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,� does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it?

Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Saying 26 13

Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. 14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Saying 27 15

Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous, do not plunder their dwelling place; for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

16

______

Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) 3

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

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Proverbs 15:22 (NIV) 22

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

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Table of Contents Evidence-Based Programming Criteria Training & Professional Development

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Biblical Authority I.

Introduction

II.

Start With the End In Mind

III.

The National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP)

IV.

Cultural Relevancy in Social Programming

V.

The Business End of Social Programming

VI.

Collaboration

VII.

Quality Control & Change Management

VIII. Challenges to Success IX.

Documentation Is the Key

X.

Keep It Simple, Stupid

XI.

References Attachments A: NREPP Roadmap to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs B: Designing-Successful-Programs-and-Services C: Cultural Competence in Social Work

Copyright Š 2015 The Advocacy Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction Evidence-Based Program Design The Importance of Evidence Based Social Interventions Non-governmental and governmental organizations worldwide implement programs to combat social problems, including poverty and lack of adequate health care. However, the programs are often designed and executed based on assumptions rather than based on data and facts. In her TED talk entitled ―Social Experiments to Fight Poverty,‖ MIT economist Esther Duflo compares the implementation of social programs that are not evidence based to the use of leeches by doctors in the medieval period. Doctors used leeches due to prevailing assumptions about the body and illness during that period. Sometimes the leeches worked, but they were oftentimes ineffective. In some cases, the leeches caused blood loss that exacerbated the patient’s condition.

Centuries later, evidence-based medicine and rigorous analysis became central to medical practice. Until recently, social policies and interventions have been developed and implemented based on assumptions rather than evidence. Evidence-based [Social Interventions] are [now] essential.

The nonprofit organization Innovations For Poverty Action further explains that ―Two voids exist in developmental policy: insufficient incorporation of results from social science research, and insufficient evaluation (in particular, replication of studies) to learn concretely what works, what does not, and why.‖ Some organizations and research centers have recently begun conducting evaluations of various interventions to determine their efficacy in practice rather than in theory. Their overall goal is to Page 9 of 114

positively influence the design and implementation of policies and programs by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and governments.

Design of Evaluations and Sample Interventions When developing new interventions or programs, it is important for program implementers to utilize existing research to determine ―how people make financial decisions, adopt new technology, use social networks to help survive crises, respond to incentives, decide how much education to acquire, etc.‖ This application of academic theory is needed to develop sample interventions. Evans et al. note that ―Better understanding of the barriers (at the person, family and provider level) is essential before strategies can be devised, and these strategies need to be evaluated carefully.

Only then can we know if we are doing more good than harm and spending limited resources wisely.‖ Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab in Boston integrates social and behavioral sciences and public health research, which were previously primarily confined to academia, into policy design. This type of important research allows program designers and implementers to determine the expected efficiency, effectiveness, and potential impact of a new program idea prior to implementation.

After a program has been implemented, it is crucial to implement ongoing assessments and evaluations. Randomized evaluations, which are used extensively by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), are a type of impact evaluation. A randomized evaluation may also be known as randomized controlled trials, social experiments, random assignment studies, randomized field trials, and randomized controlled experiments. J-PAL emphasizes that randomized study designs provide the most accurate, unbiased, and reliable statistics out of all other impact evaluation options. In order to determine a program’s impact, it is essential to have a randomly-selected control group of participants who are statistically identical to the experimental group.

Both of the groups are considered microcosms of the larger population and therefore equal in representation to each other. When applying this design, any changes between the control and experimental group can be attributed almost solely to the effects of the program. For more information on randomization and reliable data, see Validity of Research and Quality Health Data.

The Purpose of Evaluation Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab discusses the goals of evaluation: "If thoughtfully designed and implemented, it [randomized evaluation] can answer the questions, how effective was it? Were there unintended side-effects? Who benefitted most? Who was harmed? Why did it work or not work? What lessons can be applied to other contexts, or if the program was scaled up? How cost-effective was the program? How does it compare to other programs designed to accomplish similar goals?"

After randomized evaluations have been conducted on test interventions and have answered these chief questions, the results can be utilized by program designers and program implementers. Based on the research and considerations of context, Page 10 of 114

policymakers can decide which interventions are best to scale up. Evidence-based social interventions maximize positive social outcomes and ensure that policies and programs are effective rather than harmful to the target population. Foreign aid interventions illustrate the necessity of both of these goals. For generations, the debate on foreign aid has been wrought with controversy, mostly because evidence has not been developed or analyzed to assess impact. For example, Duflo notes that we do not know whether Africa would be better off now if we had given more aid or less aid since 1970. Without supporting evidence, implementation of policies and interventions can be a waste of resources or worse, exacerbate social problems. ______

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an interdisciplinary approach to clinical practic that has been gaining ground following its formal introduction in 1992. It started in medicine as evidence-based medicine (EBM) and spread to other fields such as dentistry, nursing, psychology, education, library and information science. Its basic principles are that 1) all practical decisions should be made based upon research studies and 2) that these research studies are to be selected and interpreted according to some specific norms characteristic for EBP. Typically such norms disregard both theoretical and qualitative studies and consider quantitative studies according to a narrow set of criteria of what counts as evidence. If such a narrow set of methodological criteria are not applied, it is considered better just to speak instead of research based practice.

Evidence-based behavioral practice (EBBP) "entails making decisions about how to promote health or provide care by integrating the best available evidence with practitioner expertise and other resources, and with the characteristics, state, needs, values and preferences of those who will be affected. This is done in a manner that is compatible with the environmental and organizational context. Evidence is research findings derived from the systematic collection of data through observation and experiment and the formulation of questions and testing of hypotheses".

Empirically supported treatments (ESTs) in some clinical settings are defined as "clearly specified psychological treatments shown to be efficacious in controlled research with a delineated population"

Social Policy There are increasing demands for the whole range of social policy and other decisions and programs run by government and the NGO sector to be based on sound evidence as to their effectiveness. This has seen an increased emphasis on the use of a wide range of Evaluation approaches directed at obtaining evidence about social programs of all types. A research collaboration called the Campbell Collaboration has been set up in the social policy area to provide evidence for evidence-based social policy decisionmaking. This collaboration follows the approach pioneered by the Cochrane Collaboration in the health sciences. Using an evidence-based approach to social policy Page 11 of 114

has a number of advantages because it has the potential to decrease the tendency to run programs which are socially acceptable (e.g. drug education in schools) but which often prove to be ineffective when evaluated.

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Start With the End In Mind Evidence-Based Policy Making Not to be confused with Policy-based evidence making, research done to support an already been decided upon policy.

Evidence-Based policy is public policy informed by rigorously established objective evidence. It is an extension of the idea of evidence-based medicine to all areas of public policy. An important aspect of evidence-based policy is the use of scientifically rigorous studies such as randomized controlled trials to identify programs and practices capable of improving policy-relevant outcomes. However, some areas of knowledge are not well served by quantitative research, leading to debate about the methods and instruments that are considered critical for the collection of relevant evidence. Good data, analytical skills and political support, as such, are seen as the important elements.

Although evidence-based policy can be traced as far back as the fourteenth century, it was more recently popularized by the Blair Government in the United Kingdom. The Blair Government said they wanted to end the ideological led-based decision making for policy making. For example, a UK Government white paper published in 1999 ("Modernising Government") noted that Government "must produce policies that really deal with problems, that are forward-looking and shaped by evidence rather than a response to short-term pressures; that tackle causes not symptoms".

Evidence-based policy is associated with Adrian Smith because in his 1996 presidential address to the Royal Statistical Society, Smith questioned the current process of policy

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making and urged for a more ―evidence-based approach‖ commenting that it has ―valuable lessons to offer‖.

The Methodology of Evidence-Based Policy There are many methodologies for evidence-based policy but they all share the following characteristics:      

It tests a theory as to why the policy will be effective and what the impacts of the policy will be if it is successful Inclusion of a counterfactual: what would have occurred if the policy had not been implemented They incorporate some measurement of the impact Examines both direct and indirect effects that occur because of the policy Separates the uncertainties and controls for other influences outside of the policy that may have an effect on the outcome Should be able to be tested and replicated by a third party

The form of methodology used with evidence-based policy fit under the category of a cost-benefit framework and are created to estimate a net payoff if the policy was to be implemented. Because there is a difficulty in quantifying some effects and outcomes of the policy, it is mostly focused broadly on whether or not benefits will outweigh costs, instead of using specific values.

Evidence-Based Development Policy The Overseas Development Institute has pioneered RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach (ROMA) over the past five years as a means to help aid donors and partners better transform research into policy initiatives.

Key Lessons of Evidence-Based Policy-Making Six key lessons have been developed, which are: 1. Policy processes are complex and rarely linear or logical and simply presenting information to policy-makers and expecting them to act upon it is very unlikely to work. Policy processes are not purely linear as they have various stages that each take varying lengths of time to complete and may in fact be conducted simultaneously. Strategies must be fluid.

2. Policy is often only weakly informed by research-based evidence due to information gaps, secrecy, the need for speedy responses, political expediency and the fact that policy makers are rarely scientists.

3. Research-based evidence can contribute to policies that have a dramatic impact on lives. Success stories quoted in the UK's Department for International Development's (DFID) new research strategy include a 22% reduction in

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neonatal mortality in Ghana as a result of helping women begin breastfeeding within one hour of giving birth, and a 43% reduction in deaths among HIV positive children using a widely available antibiotic.

4. The need for a holistic understanding of the context in which the policy is to be implemented.

5. Policy entrepreneurs need additional skills to influence policy. They need to be political fixers, able to understand the politics and identify the key players. They need to be good storytellers, able to synthesise simple compelling stories from the results of the research. They need to be good networkers to work effectively with all the other stakeholders, and they need to be good engineers, building a programme that pulls all of this together.

6. Policy entrepreneurs need clear intent – they need to really want to do it. Turning a researcher into a policy entrepreneur, or a research institute or department into a policy-focused think tank involves a fundamental re-orientation towards policy engagement rather than academic achievement; engaging much more with the policy community; developing a research agenda focusing on policy issues rather than academic interests; acquiring new skills or building multidisciplinary teams; establishing new internal systems and incentives; spending much more on communications; producing a different range of outputs; and working more in partnerships and networks.

These lessons show that the relationship between research, policy and practice is complex, multi-factoral, non-linear, and highly context specific. What works in one situation may not work in another. Developing effective strategies in complex environments is not straightforward. Simple tools such as cost–benefit analysis, logical frameworks, traditional project management tools and others may not work on their own, as they fail to take into account the existing complexity.

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Based on research conducted in six Asian and African countries, the Future Health Systems consortium has identified a set of key strategies for improving uptake of evidence in to policy, including: improving the technical capacity of policy-makers; better packaging of research findings; use of social networks; establishment of fora to assist in linking evidence with policy outcomes.

RAPID Outcome Mapping Approach ROMA approach takes these lessons into account has been field tested through more than 40 workshops and training courses worldwide. It is an eight-step approach for each of which the ODI has developed resources and policy tools to ensure each step is comprehensively addressed: 1. Define a clear, overarching policy objective.

2. Map the policy context around that issue and identify the key factors that may influence the policy process. The RAPID framework provides a useful checklist of questions.

3. Identify the key influential stakeholders. RAPID’s Alignment, Interest and Influence Matrix (AIIM) can be used to map actors along three dimensions: the degree of alignment (i.e. agreement) with the proposed policy, their level of interest in the issue, and their ability to exert influence on the policy process.

4. Develop a theory of change - identify the changes needed among them if they are to support the desired policy outcome.

5. Develop a strategy to achieve the milestone changes in the process - Force Field Analysis is a flexible tool that can be used to further understand the forces supporting and opposing the desired policy change and suggest concrete responses.

6. Ensure the engagement team has the competencies required to operationalise the strategy.

7. Establish an action plan for meeting the desired policy objective - useful tools include the RAPID Information matrix, DFID’s log frame and IDRC’s Outcome Mapping Strategy Map among them.

8. Develop a monitoring and learning system, not only to track progress, make any necessary adjustments and assess the effectiveness of the approach, but also to learn lessons for the future.

An example of ROMA approach can be seen in the case of the Wildlife Enforcement Monitoring System (WEMS) Initiative where a systematic approach of agreement has brought its implementation in Africa.

Results 1. Over 50 case studies on successful evidence-based policy engagement have been compiled, a network

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2. Development and facilitation of the evidence-based policy in Development Network (ebpdn), which links more than 20 institutional partners and thousands of practitioners working on evidence-based policy processes.

3. Creating an array of practical toolkits designed with civil society organisations, researchers and progressive policy makers in mind. For example, at the recent Tokyo Conference on Combating Wildlife crime, United Nations University and ESRI presented the first case of evidence based policy making maps on enforcement and compliance of CITES convention.

4. Direct support to civil society organisations (CSOs) to provide training in policy influencing and strategic communication.

5. Strengthening the capacity for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to influence other actors.

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy The Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, whose mission is to increase government effectiveness through the use of rigorous evidence about ―what works.‖ Since 2001, the Coalition's work with U.S. Congressional and Executive Branch officials has advanced evidence-based reforms in U.S. social programs, which have been enacted into law and policy. The Coalition has no affiliation with any programs or program models, and no financial interest in the policy ideas it supports, enabling it to serve as an independent, objective source of expertise to government officials on evidence-based policy.

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Policy-Based Evidence Making "Policy-based evidence making" is a pejorative term which refers to the commissioning of research in order to support a policy which has already been decided upon. The name has been suggested as a corollary to evidence-based policy making.

As the name suggests, policy-based evidence making means working back from a predefined policy to produce underpinning evidence. Working from a conclusion to provide only supporting evidence is an approach which contradicts most interpretations of the scientific method; however, it should be distinguished from research into the effects of a policy where such research may provide either supporting or opposing evidence.

In July 2006 Rebecca Boden and Debbie Epstein published a paper in which they wrote: This need [for evidence] has been reified in the UK and elsewhere, as routines of 'evidence-based policy'-making have been hardwired into the business of Government.

Intuitively, basing policies that affect people's lives and the economy on rigorous academic research sounds rational and desirable. However, such approaches are fundamentally flawed by virtue of the fact that Government, in its broadest sense, seeks to capture and control the knowledge producing processes to the point where this type of 'research' might best be described as 'policy-based evidence'.

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The term "policy-based evidence making" was later referred to in a report of the United Kingdom House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology into Scientific Advice, Risk and Evidence Based Policy Making issued in October 2006. The committee stated: [Ministers] should certainly not seek selectively to pick pieces of evidence which support an already agreed policy, or even commission research in order to produce a justification for policy: so-called "policy-based evidence making" (see paragraphs 95–6).

Where there is an absence of evidence, or even when the Government is knowingly contradicting the evidence—maybe for very good reason—this should be openly acknowledged.

Paragraph 89, House of Commons Science and Technology Committee: Scientific Advice, Risk and Evidence Based Policy Making The term has also been applied outside the strictly scientific arena, for example in a position paper for the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

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The National Registry of

Evidence-Based Programs and Practices Charity / Nonprofit Sector

Preliminary Note:

The nonprofit/voluntary sector is generally lacking tools for sharing and accessing best practices. Steps are being taken in some parts of the world, for example in the European Union, where the Europe 2020 Strategy has as a top priority the exchange of good practices and networking (including the nonprofit sector).

An initiative of sharing good practices in terms of human resources (HR) and leadership among European nonprofit organizations was financed by the EU and launched in 2013, called HR Twinning. The platform allows the public to search for good practices and its members the possibility to share their practices, engage in discussions in the forum section and enroll their organization. Membership is free. The project is currently limited to a European audience. ______

The National Registry of EvidenceBased Programs and Practices (NREPP) is a searchable online registry of interventions supporting substance abuse prevention and mental health treatment that have been reviewed and rated by independent reviewers. NREPP accepts submissions for interventions that meet minimum requirements to be considered for review. Minimum requirements include (1) demonstration of one or more positive outcomes among individuals, communities, or populations; (2) evidence of these outcomes has been demonstrated in at least one study using an experimental or quasi-experimental design; (3) the results of these studies have been published in a peer-reviewed journal or other professional publication, or documented in a comprehensive evaluation report; and (4) implementation materials, training and support resources, and quality assurance procedures have been developed and are ready for use by the public. NREPP is not an exhaustive list of interventions and inclusion in the registry does not constitute an endorsement. (Reference: National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. Federal Register/Vol. 76, No. 180/Friday, September 16, 2011/Notices) There is existing controversy about the lack of culturally appropriate evidence-based best practices and the need to utilize a research-based approach to validate interventions. Some communities have deployed practices over a long period of time that has produced positive outcomes as well as a general community consensus to be

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successful. The California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP) is working to identify such practices. (External Link: http://www.dmh.ca.gov/Multicultural_Services/CRDP.asp)

CRDP intends to improve access, quality of care, and increase positive outcomes for racial, ethnic and cultural communities. These communities have been identified as (1) African American, (2) Asian/Pacific Islanders, (3) Latinos, (4) Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Questioning, and (5) Native Americans. Strategic Planning Workgroups composed of mental health providers and community members as well as consumers and family members are given the task of identifying new approaches toward reducing disparities. The five Strategic Planning Workgroups work to identify new service delivery approaches defined by multicultural communities for multicultural communities using communitydefined evidence to improve outcomes and reduce disparities. Community- defined evidence is defined as ―a set of practices that communities have used and determined to yield positive results as determined by community consensus over time and which may or may not have been measured empirically but have reached a level of acceptance by the community.‖ (Reference: National Latina/o Psychological Association, Fall/Winter 2008, National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health, SAMHSA, and CMHS, Larke Nahme Huang, Ph.D)

Best Practice is a form of program evaluation in public policy. It is the process of reviewing policy alternatives that have been effective in addressing similar issues in the past and could be applied to a current problem. Determining "Best" or "Smart" Practices to address a particular policy problem is a commonly used but little understood tool of analysis because the concept is vague and should therefore be examined with caution.

Vagueness stems from the term "best" which is subjective. While some research and evidence must go into determining a practice the "best" it is more helpful to simply determine if a practice has worked exceptionally well and why. Instead of it being "the best", a practice might simply be a smart practice, a good practice, or a promising practice. This allows for a mix and match approach for making recommendations that might encompass pieces of many good practices.

Eugene Bardach provides the following theoretical framework in his book A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, Eightfold Path (policy analysis) for "best" or "smart" practices: Page 23 of 114

Develop Realistic Expectations Bardach advises the policy analyst to maintain realistic expectations when seeking a "best practice" in public policy analysis, because the practice may not be solving the problem at all and it may instead produce unfavorable results. Because a practice seems to be tailored to a specific policy problem and also based on solid research, it does not necessarily mean it is creating good results. However the research can produce thought-provoking concepts on what can and cannot work when put into practice.

Analyze Smart Practices In policy analysis a "best" or "smart" practice is a clear and concrete behavior that solves a problem or achieves a goal. Smart practices take ―advantage‖ of an idle opportunity at a low cost and little risk. Eugene Bardach refers to this as finding the free lunches. These are opportunities for creative policy improvements such as "cost-based pricing" or "input substitution" that have the possibility to generate public value at a very low cost. Breaking loose from conventions and challenging assumptions can also be way to take advantage of an idle opportunity. An example of this is the highly controversial practice of the government contracting out a community good or service to nonprofits or the private sector. This challenges the assumption that a community good or service must be financed through taxation and delivered by government employees.

Observe The Practice The primary mechanism in a "smart" practice is the ability or the means of achieving a goal in a cost-effective manner. The secondary mechanisms include implementing features, supportive features and optional features. It can be very complicated to separate between the functions in getting the mechanism to work and the features that support those functions.

Bardach recommends when adapting smart practices for another source, it is important to identify the core essence of the practice while allowing flexibility for how it is implemented so it remains sensitive to local conditions. Robust smart practices are adaptable to various conditions, have many operational features, and can employ similar but diverse ways to achieve their goals.

Describe Generic Vulnerabilities In addition to the reasons why a smart practice might succeed, an analyst should describe potential vulnerabilities that could lead a smart practice to fail—these weaknesses are "generic vulnerabilities‖. Two types of vulnerabilities are worth particular attention: 1) poor general management capacity, which makes it more difficult to effectively implement a smart practice, and 2) weaknesses inherent to the practice itself. Policymakers must develop safeguards in order to minimize the risk of generic vulnerabilities.

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But Will It Work Here?

The final step in identifying an appropriate "best practice" for a policy problem is to ensure that the context from which the practice is derived is comparable to the context in which it will be applied. Risks to implementing the selected "best practice" in the applied context as well as what support structures can be put in place need to be anticipated in order to maximize the likelihood of success. If utilizing a pilot or demonstration program "best practice" the success of that practice needs to be discounted in order to account for the better than average favorable conditions pilot and demonstration programs usually operate under. These conditions include increased enthusiasm, advantageous political and economic conditions, and less bureaucratic resistance due to the lack of permanency in pilot programs. Finally, when considering implementing a "best practice" on a wide scale one must be aware of the 'weakest link' sites with minimal to no resources and how those sites will be supported in order to create the desired policy outcomes.

Back To The Eightfold Path Excessive optimism about the expected impact of untested smart practices is a common critique. If a current practice is known to be ineffective, implementing a promising alternative after weighing the alternatives may be worth the risk.

Methodology According to Bretschneider et al.

Bretschneider et al. offers an alternate methodology for Best Practices research .

Bretschneider's approach is much more technical than Bardach's, and explores issues of "completeness" and comparability. He addresses the fact that fully establishing whether a practice is truly a "best practice" would require assessment in all contexts, while in practice, only example cases are analyzed. Bretschneider also stresses the fact that in order for something to be considered a "best practice" it must be arrived at through a comparative process between methodologies. In order for a BPA (as defined

by Bretschneider) to be valid, it must take into account all relevant approaches, since neglecting to do so would lead to inappropriate usage of the term "best." Comparing sample practices may yield a "good" practice, but may also be altogether unreliable, depending on how the sample was selected. ______

Use In Health And Human Services In recent years, public agencies and non-governmental organizations have been exploring and adopting best practices when delivering health and human services. In these settings, the use of the terms "promising practices", "best practices", and "evidence-based practices" is common and often confusing as there is not a general consensus on what constitutes promising practices or best practices. In this context, the use of the terms "best practices" and "evidence-based practices" are often used Page 25 of 114

interchangeably. Evidence-based practices are methods or techniques that have documented outcomes and ability to replicate as key factors.

Despite these challenges, literature suggests that there is some common use of and criteria for identifying best practices. For example, a general working definition used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in referring to a promising practice is defined as one with at least preliminary evidence of effectiveness in smallscale interventions or for which there is potential for generating data that will be useful for making decisions about taking the intervention to scale and generalizing the results to diverse populations and settings.

Since evidence of effectiveness, potential for taking the intervention to scale and generalizing the results to other populations and settings are key factors for best practices, the manner in which a method or intervention becomes a best practice can take some time and effort. The table below demonstrates the process for a promising practice to achieve the status of research validated best practice.

Research A program, activity or strategy that has the highest degree of proven Validated Best effectiveness supported by objective and comprehensive research and Practice evaluation.

A program, activity or strategy that has been shown to work effectively Field Tested and produce successful outcomes and is supported to some degree by Best Practice subjective and objective data sources.

A program, activity or strategy that has worked within one organization and shows promise during its early stages for becoming a best practice Promising with long term sustainable impact. A promising practice must have some Practice objective basis for claiming effectiveness and must have the potential for replication among other organizations.

Critique There are some criticisms of the term "best practice." Eugene Bardach claims that the work necessary to deem and practice the "best" is rarely done. Most of the time, one will find "good" practices or "smart" practices that offer insight into solutions that may or may not work for a given situation.

Scott Ambler challenges the assumptions that there can be a recommended practice that is best in all cases. Instead, he offers an alternative view, "contextual practice," in which the notion of what is "best" will vary with the context. Similarly, Cem Kaner and James Bach provide two scenarios to illustrate the contextual nature of "best practice" in their article. In essence, such critiques are consistent with the contingency theory, which was developed during the 1950s and 1960s.

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Cultural Relevancy In Social Programming Teaching Cultural Competence A Closer Look at Racial and Ethnic Identity Formation -

by Ebony Hall, Ph.D., M.Div., LMSW, and Shelia Lindsey

The new social worker of tomorrow is emerging with a new way of critical thinking and a new way of application. The new social worker is different, not settling or conforming for reasons of financial stability and job security. The new social worker is on a path of selfdiscovery and has embraced acceptance, where he or she is from, and all that it entails.

The new social worker speaks with confidence about race and ethnicity and knows about his or her culture. Are we ready?

For several decades, the social work profession has effectively saturated academia with various models of practice for students to be knowledgeable about other cultures in order to be culturally competent and sensitive (Sue, 1991; Locke, 1992; Poston, 1990; Rodgers & Potocky, 1998). As a younger generation of social workers emerges, the emphasis on identity not only creates a ―more comprehensive view of cultural Page 28 of 114

competence‖ (Garran & Rozas, 2013, p. 99), but attributes to a larger notion of being a healthy professional. The competency of social workers is limited when they do not possess tools of acknowledgment that can affect them when working with diverse populations. Teaching students to be mindful of and sensitive to issues, from potential language barriers to recognizing various religious sects, plays a role in effective practice. However, if the massive ―elephant in the room‖ continues to be overlooked, ethnicity and race will continue to have an influence on professional and personal relationships, leading to insufficient cultural competence resulting in poor services (Seipel & Way, 2006).

The social work profession is built upon culturally sensitive practices that advocate for social and economic justice for those who are disadvantaged, oppressed, and/or discriminated against. Standard 1.05(c) in the National Association of Social Workers’ (NASW) Code of Ethics (NASW, 2000), reminds social workers of their duty to be culturally competent and to purposefully ―obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression.‖ NASW’s National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (NASW, 2001) highlights this necessity by identifying standards that make up culturally competent practices, including self-awareness, crosscultural knowledge, skills, and leadership. Although ―diversity is taking on a broader meaning to include the sociocultural experiences of people of different genders, social classes, religious and spiritual beliefs, sexual orientations, ages, and physical and mental abilities‖ (p. 8), the historical impact of race on American society continues to play an integral part in the development and effectiveness of culturally competent practice.

Race is a social construct (American Anthropological Association, 1998) with the sole intention of separation and power based on the color of one’s skin. More accurate terms of ethnicity and ethnic origin have begun to emerge, not to displace the term of ―race,‖ but rather to highlight a significant component of ethnic and national origin. Because of the impact ―race‖ has had on society, it continues to be a necessary concept to acknowledge as the profession takes the journey toward fully embracing racial and ethnic identity.

Many institutions of higher learning create such space for students to explore identity formation through its emphasis on self-awareness. Within that emphasis is the basic act of each student to acknowledge one’s own racial and ethnic identity, especially White social work students, who are too often lumped together and struggle with identifying their ethnic roots and culture. Because White social workers make up more than half of the social workers in the United States (Whitaker, Weismiller, & Clark, 2006), it becomes vital for White students to take a journey of racial and ethnic self-discovery, not on the backs of students of color, but alongside them.

Some continue to ask, ―Why is racial and ethnic identity important to social workers in practice?‖ The answer is that knowing who you are influences how you interact. Casey Family Programs (2013) promotes identity formation through a three-part curriculum for social work professionals. It assists professionals in knowing how to explore race and

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ethnicity. The Knowing Who You Are curriculum prepares social workers to foster ―healthy development of their constituent’s racial and ethnic identity‖ (Casey Family Programs, 2013). Carolyne Rodriguez, LCSW, retired Texas State Strategy Director of Casey Family Programs, emphasizes the need to promote and instill identity formation for future and current social workers. She states, ―It is essential that social workers providing services to children, youth, and families have a solid understanding of their own cultural identities. If they are to effectively promote racial and ethnic pride with clients and are to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of culture, race, and ethnicity, this starts with knowing themselves. It is from this foundation that children, youth, and families will experience respect and appreciation for their cultural identities from social workers who are working with them and on their behalf.‖

Efforts that promote racial and ethnic identity formation are beneficial. However, it means students have to acknowledge and accept a history that is filled with acts of hatred based on power and privilege. Acknowledging institutional and individual acts of racism is uncomfortable for both White students and students of color, but all students need to learn about the history of racism and its role in American society. Racism continues to be ―a silent code that systematically closes the doors of opportunity to many individuals‖ (NASW Delegate Assembly, 1998). As stated by Blank (2006), ―Despite the decades that have passed since the beginning of the civil rights movement, racism is still a major issue in America.‖ This fact urges students to acknowledge the role that race plays in society, but also to accept their responsibility to acknowledge

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their own racial and ethnic identity and the role it plays and will play in their personal and professional life. Without such awareness, ―social workers contribute to [the] oppression when working with clients‖ (Seipel & Way, 2006), and any other persons with whom they may interact.

Having a healthy sense of racial and ethnic identity needs to be fostered in the classroom. Many social work programs offer a course that speaks to diversity and culture as part of the student’s degree plan. These courses serve as great opportunities for students to begin or continue their self-awareness. Through its Center for Diversity and Social Economic Justice, the Council on Social Work Education (2013) promotes the integration of education that ―fosters the achievement of diversity.‖ Social work practitioners are charged with delivering culturally competent services to the participants served. They should be able to respond to ―people of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and other diversity factors‖ (Garran & Rozas, 2013, p. 98). This charge is accompanied by the expectation of social work programs to instill such competency through active learning strategies, allowing students to examine their racial and ethnic identity and how it contributes to who they are personally and professionally. These courses are pivotal in equipping culturally competent and culturally sensitive social work practitioners.

The social work program at Tarleton State University continues to emphasize the importance of all social work students to acknowledge, accept, and activate their racial and ethnic identity as one of the first steps toward becoming a healthy social work professional. Similar to other smaller social work programs, Tarleton’s main campus is primarily comprised of traditional White social work students with limited exposure to diverse groups and different cultures. The inception of the ―Diverse Populations‖ course has provided an avenue of self-discovery, which has proven to be valuable for all of the students. ―The importance of learning your own race and ethnic identity is being able to understand and acknowledge where you came from. The more you understand about yourself, the easier it will be to work with all types of individuals who are trying to find themselves,‖ wrote Alexis, an undergraduate sophomore of German and Hungarian descent.

Social work students of color are also learning from the course in a manner that allows them not only to share their personal stories of institutional racism, but to hear stories from their White colleagues to develop a better understanding of White culture, ethnicity, and White privilege. ―When they ask me questions about my hair or about the music I listen to, I try educating them. Then I will ask them to tell me about some of their physical characteristics and interests,‖ said Brandi, a senior of African American and Indian descent.

During a project for the course titled ―Individual Diversity,‖ students are encouraged to explore their own diversity. Christina, a junior with various racial and ethnic backgrounds (German, Blackfoot Indian, Swedish, and African American), utilized

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Poston’s (1990) Biracial Identity Development Model to assist her on her journey toward racial and ethnic identity formation. She said, ―I remember as a child receiving a Black doll for my birthday. I cried. At that time, I thought the color of your palm determined what color you were. It was at that time my mother told me that I was Black. I didn’t understand.‖ Like Christina, many students who have taken this course and others similar have continued to support such educational activities to allow them to increase their selfawareness to better inform and equip them as generalist practitioners.

Overall, such efforts by accredited social work programs across the country value the importance of facilitating the racial and ethnic identity of all students and supporting an atmosphere of professional health. The course has proven to be effective for students of other majors as well. ―Both parents came from Mexico at a very young age. My parents did a good job integrating their culture in my upbringing and I never felt ashamed. As a result, I am also teaching my son about my culture, not the Mexican American one,‖ said Crystal, a junior of Mexican descent majoring in nursing. The course has evolved to include students pursuing degrees in child and family studies, criminal justice, nursing, and psychology.

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The Business End of Social Programming ______ Social Workers Need To Be Business Savvy Among the 10 imperatives for the next decade of the profession adopted by participants of the Social Work Congress in 2010 is ―infusing models of sustainable business and management practice in social work education and practice.‖ Fortunately, there are social work entrepreneurs who have blazed the trail of using social work skills with various business models, from social entrepreneurism to corporate sector services to private practice.

NASW NEWS Vol. 57, No. 1, January 2012

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Social Entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship is the attempt to draw upon business techniques to find solutions to social problems. This concept may be applied to a variety of organizations with different sizes, aims, and beliefs.

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Conventional entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, but social entrepreneurs also take into account a positive return to society. Social entrepreneurship typically attempts to further broad social, cultural, and environmental goals is often associated with the voluntary sector. At times, profit also may be a consideration for certain companies or other social enterprises.

The Modern Definition There are continuing arguments over precisely who counts as a social entrepreneur.

Thus far, there has been no consensus on the definition of social entrepreneurship, so many different sorts of fields and disciplines are associated with social entrepreneurship. Philanthropists, social activists, environmentalists, and other socially oriented practitioners are referred to as social entrepreneurs. For a clearer definition of what social entrepreneurship entails, it is necessary to set the function of social entrepreneurship apart from other socially oriented activities and identify the boundaries within which social entrepreneurs operate.[4] Some have advocated restricting the term to founders of organizations that primarily rely on earned income–meaning income earned directly from paying consumers. Others have extended this to include contracted work for public authorities, while still others include grants and donations.

Social entrepreneurship in modern society offers an altruistic form of entrepreneurship that focuses on the benefits that society may reap. Simply put, entrepreneurship becomes a social endeavor when it transforms social capital in a way that affects society positively. It is viewed as advantageous because the success of social entrepreneurship depends on many factors related to social impact that traditional corporate businesses do not prioritize. Social entrepreneurs recognize immediate social problems, but also seek to understand the broader context of an issue that crosses disciplines, fields, and theories. Gaining a larger understanding of how an issue relates to society allows social entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions and mobilize available resources to affect the greater global society. Unlike traditional corporate businesses, social entrepreneurship ventures focus on maximizing gains in social satisfaction, rather than maximizing profit gains. Both private and public agencies worldwide have had billion-dollar initiatives to empower deprived communities and individuals. Such support from organizations in society, such as government-aid agencies or private firms, may catalyze innovative ideas to reach a larger audience.

Prominent innovators associated with the term include Pakistani Akhter Hameed Khan and Bangladeshi Muhammad Yunus. Yunus was the founder of Grameen Bank, which pioneered the concept of microcredit for supporting innovators in multiple developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He received a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and also inspired programs such as the Infolady Social Entrepreneurship Programme. Others, such as Stephen Goldsmith, former Indianapolis mayor, focused social efforts on a more local level, engaging the private sector in providing many city services.

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History Social entrepreneurship is distinct from the concept of entrepreneurship, yet still shares several similarities with the classic concept. Jean-Baptiste Say, a French economist, defined an entrepreneur as a person who "undertakes" an idea and shifts perspectives in a way that it alters the effect that an idea has on society. The difference between "entrepreneurship" and "social entrepreneurship", however, stems from the purpose of a creation. Social entrepreneurs seek to transform societies at large, rather than transforming their profit margin, as classic entrepreneurs typically seek to do.

The concept of "social entrepreneurship" is not a novel idea, but it recently has become more popular among society and academic research, notably after the publication of "The Rise of the Social Entrepreneur" by Charles Leadbeater. Many activities related to community development and higher social purpose fall within the modern definition of social entrepreneurship. Despite the established definition nowadays, social entrepreneurship remains a difficult concept to define, since it may be manifested in multiple forms. A broad definition of the concept allows interdisciplinary research efforts to understand further and constantly challenge the notion behind social entrepreneurship. No matter in which sector of society certain organizations are (i.e. corporations or unincorporated associations and societies), social entrepreneurship focuses on the social impact that an endeavor carries. Whether social entrepreneurship is altruistic or not is less important than the effect it has on society.

The terms social entrepreneur and social entrepreneurship were used first in the literature on social change in the 1960s and 1970s. The terms came into widespread use in the 1980s and 1990s, promoted by Bill Drayton the founder of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and others such as Charles Leadbeater. From the 1950s to the 1990s Michael Young was a leading promoter of social entrepreneurship and in the 1980s, was described by Professor Daniel Bell at Harvard as 'the world's most successful entrepreneur of social enterprises' because of his role in creating more than sixty new organizations worldwide, including the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) which exists in the UK, Australia, and Canada and which supports individuals to realize their potential and to establish, scale, and sustain, social enterprises and social businesses. Another notable British social entrepreneur is Andrew Mawson OBE, who was given a peerage in 2007 because of his regeneration work including the Bromley by Bow Centre in East London.

Although the terms are relatively new, social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship may be found throughout history. A list of a few noteworthy people whose work exemplifies the modern definition of "social entrepreneurship" includes Florence Page 36 of 114

Nightingale, founder of the first nursing school and developer of modern nursing practices; Robert Owen, founder of the cooperative movement; and Vinoba Bhave, founder of India's Land Gift Movement. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries some of the most successful social entrepreneurs effectively straddled the civic, governmental, and business worlds. Such pioneers promoted ideas that were taken up by mainstream public services in welfare, schools, and health care.

Current practice Major Organizations Groups focused on social entrepreneurship may be divided into several categories: community-based enterprises, socially responsible enterprises, social services industry professionals, and socio-economic enterprises. Community-based enterprises are based on the social ventures of an entire community that uses its culture and capital to empower itself as an entire enterprise. Socially responsible enterprises focus on creating sustainable development through their initiatives that focus mostly on societal gains. Social service industry professionals work specifically in the sector of social services to expand social capitol for different individuals, communities, and organizations. Socio-economic enterprises include corporations that balance earning profits and nonprofit social change for communities. In addition, there are organizations dedicated to empowering social entrepreneurs, connecting them with mentors, strengthening their enterprise models, and preparing them for capital investments.

These accelerators help take social entrepreneurs to global scale. The earliest pioneer accelerator is the Global Social Benefit Institute.

One well-known contemporary social entrepreneur is Muhammad Yunus, founder and manager of Grameen Bank and its growing family of social venture businesses. He is known as the "father of microcredit," and established the microfinance revolution in helping millions of people in global rural communities access small loans. For his work, he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The work that Yunus did through Grameen Bank echoes a theme among modern day social entrepreneurs that emphasizes the enormous synergies and benefits that arise when business principles are unified with social ventures. Larger countries in Europe and South America have tended to work more closely with public organizations at both the national and local level.

Types of Social Entrepreneurship In The Power of Unreasonable People, John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan describe social entrepreneurs’ business structures as falling under three different models, applicable in different situations and economic climates: 1. The Leveraged Non-Profit: This business model leverages resources in order to respond to social needs. Leveraged non-profits make innovative use of available funds, in order to impact a need. These leveraged non-profits are more traditional Page 37 of 114

ways of dealing with issues, though are distinguished by their innovative approaches. An example of a leveraged non-profit is Barefoot College.

2. The Hybrid Non-Profit: This organizational structure can take on a variety of forms, but is distinctive because the hybrid non-profit is willing to use profit to sustain its operations. Hybrid non-profits are often created to deal with government or market failures, as they generate revenue to sustain the operation outside of loans, grants, and other forms of traditional funding. An example of a hybrid non-profit is Rick Aubry’s Rubicon Programs.

3. The Social Business Venture: These models are set up as businesses designed to create change through social means. Social business ventures evolved through a lack of funding—social entrepreneurs in this situation were forced to become for-profit ventures. In places like the United States, this model is friendly to environmental entrepreneurs, due to the available market opportunities. An example of this is the Whole Foods chain grocery store.

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Many social entrepreneurs move between these models as they look for a fit that fulfills their mission for changing the world.

International Presence Organizations such as Ashoka, the Skoll Foundation, the Omidyar Network, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Athgo, New Profit Inc., National Social Entrepreneurship Forum, Echoing Green, and the Global Social Benefit Institute among others, focus on highlighting these hidden change-makers who are scattered throughout the world, and providing various levels of resources to advance their initiatives.

The North American organizations tend to have a strongly individualistic stance focused on a handful of exceptional leaders, while others in Asia and Europe emphasize more how social entrepreneurs work within teams, networks, and movements for change. For example, The Skoll Foundation, created by eBay's first president, Jeff Skoll, makes capacity-building "mezzanine level" grants to social entrepreneurial organizations that already have reached a certain level of effectiveness. Then, they are connected through the annual Skoll World Forum and Social Edge, the Foundation's online community, and it highlights their work through partnerships with the Sundance Institute, Frontline World, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and other film and broadcast outlets. Skoll also supports the field of social entrepreneurship, including through Skoll's founding of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Said Business School at Oxford University. Social entrepreneurial business in the USA often sell products that donate either a portion, or all of their profits, to portions of the developing world. For example, NIKA Water Company sells bottled water in the USA and uses 100% of its profits to bring clean water to those in the developing world, and Newman's Own donates 100% of its profits to support various educational charities.

Role of Technology The Internet and social networking websites have been pivotal resources for the success and collaboration of many social entrepreneurs. In the twenty-first century, the Internet has become especially useful in disseminating information in short amounts of time. In addition to this, the Internet allows for the pooling of design resources using open source principles. These media allow ideas to be heard by broader audiences, help networks and investors to develop globally, and to achieve their goals with little or no start-up capital. For example, the rise of open-source appropriate technology as a sustainable development paradigm enables people all over the world to collaborate on solving local problems just as open source software development leverages collaboration.

For example, Blake Mycoskie extensively used the Internet in piloting Toms Shoes, a company that gives a pair of shoes to a person in need for every pair of shoes purchased. Another example would be the U.S.-based nonprofit Zidisha leverages the recent spread of internet and mobile technologies in developing technologies to provide an eBay-style microlending platform where disadvantaged individuals in developing Page 39 of 114

countries may interact directly with individual "peer-to-peer" lenders worldwide, sourcing small business loans at lower cost than ever before has been possible in most developing countries.

Public Opinion Controversy Many initiatives carried out with social entrepreneurs, while innovative, have had problems becoming sustainable and effective initiatives that ultimately are able to branch out and reach the larger society as a whole (versus a small community or group of people). Studies over the qualities encompassed in a social entrepreneur have shown that very few individuals possess the talent and skills of entrepreneurs with a primarily socially motivated outlook. Thus, compromises in social initiatives developed, often do not reach large audiences. Since the concept of social entrepreneurship has been popularized only recently, some advocates suggest that there needs to be some standardization of the process in scaling up social endeavors to increase impact across the globe.

A need for policymakers around the globe to understand social initiatives further is useful in increasing sustainability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Involvement and collaboration between private corporations and government agencies allow for increased monetary gain for carrying out initiatives, increased accountability on both ends, and increased connections with communities, individuals, or agencies in need.

For example, private organizations or nonprofit organizations have tackled unemployment issues in communities in the past. Only short-term solutions are presented, however, or solutions are unable to scale up to a larger degree in order to maximize the number of people affected. Government policies in the financial sector are able to tackle such a large issue; however, the little collaboration that has occurred between the two modes that serve society has stagnated the effectiveness of social entrepreneurship. This stagnation primarily rests in the motives and goals of social enterprises and that of those in policymaking. Those in policymaking naturally tend to have different priorities than social entrepreneurs, resulting in slow growth and expansion of social initiatives.

Since social entrepreneurship has only recently started to gain momentum, current social entrepreneurs are encouraging social advocates and activists to step up as innovative social entrepreneurs. Increasing the scope of social entrepreneurship naturally increases the likelihood of an efficient, sustainable, and effective initiative.

Increased participation draws more attention, especially from policymakers and privately owned corporations that may help shape social entrepreneurs through policy changes, training programs, and leadership development focused on developing social entrepreneurs. Simultaneously research shows that as social entrepreneurs attempt to widen their impact and scale their efforts, institutions will have a key role to play in their success.

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[Moreover], Social business, as the term has been commonly used since, was defined

by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books Creating a world without poverty—Social Business and the future of capitalism and Building Social Business—The new kind of capitalism that serves humanity's most pressing needs.

In these books, Yunus defined a Social Business a business:  

Created and designed to address a social problem A non-loss, non-dividend company, i.e.

1. It is financially self-sustainable and 2. Profits realized by the business are reinvested in the business itself (or used to start other social businesses), with the aim of increasing social impact, for example expanding the company’s reach, improving the products or services or in other ways subsidizing the social mission.

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Unlike a profit-maximizing business, the prime aim of a Social Business is not to maximize profits (although generating profits is desired). Furthermore, business owners are not receiving any dividend out of the business profits, if any.

On the other hand, unlike a non-profit, a Social Business is not dependent on donations or on private or public grants to survive and to operate, because, as any other business, it is self-sustainable. Furthermore, unlike a non-profit, where funds are spent only once on the field, funds in a Social Business are invested to increase and improve the business' operations on the field on an indefinite basis. Per Yunus' quote: "A charity dollar has only one life; a Social Business dollar can be invested over and over again."

Seven Principles of Social Business These were developed by Professor Muhammad Yunus and Hans Reitz, the co-founder of Grameen Creative Lab: 

     

Business objective will be to overcome poverty, or one or more problems (such as education, health, technology access, and environment) which threaten people and society; not profit maximization Financial and economic sustainability Investors get back their investment amount only; no dividend is given beyond investment money When investment amount is paid back, company profit stays with the company for expansion and improvement Environmentally conscious Workforce gets market wage with better working conditions Do it with joy

Criticism AntiCSR explained that there is no real criteria to be a Social Business, other than to claim to address a social problem. Some businesses use the social business label to mimic a charity and avoid criticism. Others use the label to improve their brand image and gain customers. AntiCSR also argued that the definition of a Social Business is vague. Yunus, for example, stresses the concept as a 'non-dividend paying company', where only the original investment is returned. The managers or owners of the firm can take large amounts of salary and other expenses and still remain a 'non-dividend' company. Other principles of Social Business are also subjective, such as 'environmentally conscious' and 'better working conditions'. These are difficult to define or measure.

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Collaboration Collaboration is working with others to do a task and to achieve shared goals. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective determination to reach an identical objective) — for example, an endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of

leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group. In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources. Collaboration is also present in opposing goals exhibiting the notion of adversarial collaboration, though this is not a common case for using the word.

Structured methods of collaboration encourage introspection of behavior and communication. These methods specifically aim to increase the success of teams as they engage in collaborative problem solving. Forms, rubrics, charts and graphs are useful in these situations to objectively document personal traits with the goal of improving performance in current and future projects.

Since the Second World War the term "Collaboration" acquired a very negative meaning as referring to persons and groups which help a foreign occupier of their country—due to actual use by people in European countries who worked with and for the Nazi German occupiers. Linguistically, "collaboration" implies more or less equal partners who work together—which is obviously not the case when one party is an army of occupation and the other are people of the occupied country living under the power of this army.

In order to make a distinction, the more specific term Collaborationism is often used for this phenomenon of collaboration with an occupying army. However, there is no waterPage 44 of 114

tight distinction; "Collaboration" and "Collaborator", as well as "Collaborationism" and "Collaborationist", are often used in this pejorative sense—and even more so, the equivalent terms in French and other languages spoken in countries which experienced direct Nazi occupation.

Classical Examples of Collaboration The following are some examples of successful collaboration efforts in the past.

Trade Trade originated with the start of communication in prehistoric times. Trading was the main facility of prehistoric people, who bartered goods and services from each other when there was no such thing as the modern day currency. Peter Watson dates the history of long-distance commerce from circa 150,000 years ago. Trade exists for many reasons. Due to specialisation and division of labor, most people concentrate on a small aspect of production, trading for other products. Trade exists between regions because different regions have a comparative advantage in the production of some tradable commodity, or because different regions' size allows for the benefits of mass production.

As such, trade at market prices between locations benefits both locations.

Community Organization The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision. They also share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include cohousing, residential land trusts, ecovillages, communes, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives. Typically, new members of an intentional community are selected by the community's existing membership, rather than by real-estate agents or land owners (if the land is not owned by the community).

Hutterite, Austria (16th century) Housing units are built and assigned to individual families but belong to the colony and there is very little personal property. Meals are taken by the entire colony in a common long room.

Oneida Community, Oneida, New York (1848) The Oneida Community practiced Communalism (in the sense of communal property and possessions) and Mutual Criticism, where every member of the community was subject to criticism by committee or the community as a whole, during a general meeting. The goal was to eliminate bad character traits.

Early Kibbutz settlements founded near Jerusalem (1890)

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A Kibbutz is an Israeli collective community. The movement combines socialism and Zionism in a form of practical Labor Zionism, founded at a time when independent farming was not practical or perhaps more correctly窶馬ot practicable. Forced by necessity into communal life, and inspired by their own ideology, the kibbutz members developed a pure communal mode of living that attracted interest from the entire world. While the kibbutzim lasted for several generations as utopian communities, most of today's kibbutzim are scarcely different from the capitalist enterprises and regular towns to which the kibbutzim were originally supposed to be alternatives.

Game Theory Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics and economics that looks at situations where multiple players make decisions in an attempt to maximize their returns. The first documented discussion of it is a letter written by James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave in 1713. Antoine Augustin Cournot's Researches into the Mathematical Principles of the Theory of Wealth in 1838 provided the first general theory.

It was not until 1928 that this became a recognized, unique field when John von Neumann published a series of papers.

Von Neumann's work in game theory culminated in the 1944 book The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior by von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern.

Military-Industrial Complex The term military-industrial complex refers to a close and symbiotic relationship among a nation's armed forces, its private industry, and associated political and commercial interests. In such a system, the military is dependent on industry to supply material and other support, while the defense industry depends on government for revenue.

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Skunk Works Skunk Works is a term used in engineering and technical fields to describe a group within an organization given a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy, tasked with working on advanced or secret projects. Founded at Lockheed Martin in 1943, the team developed highly innovative aircraft in short time frames, even beating its first deadline by 37 days. Creator of the organization, Kelly Johnson is said to have been an 'organizing genius' and had fourteen basic operating rules.

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was the project to develop the first nuclear weapon (atomic bomb) during World War II by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Formally designated as the Manhattan Engineer District, it refers specifically to the period of the project from 1941–1946 under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the administration of General Leslie R. Groves. The scientific research was directed by American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

While the aforementioned persons were influential in the project itself, the value of this project as an influence on organized collaboration is better attributed to Vannevar Bush. In early 1940, Bush lobbied for the creation of the National Defense Research Committee. Frustrated by previous bureaucratic failures in implementing technology in World War I, Bush sought to organize the scientific power of the United States for greater success.

The project succeeded in developing and detonating three nuclear weapons in 1945: a test detonation of a plutonium implosion bomb on July 16 (the Trinity test) near Alamogordo, New Mexico; an enriched uranium bomb code-named "Little Boy" on August 6 over Hiroshima, Japan; and a second plutonium bomb, code-named "Fat Man" on August 9 over Nagasaki, Japan.

[Principles of] Project Management As a discipline, Project Management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering, and defense. In the United States, the forefather of project management is Henry Gantt, called the father of planning and control techniques, who is famously known for his use of the "bar" chart as a project management tool, for being an associate of Frederick Winslow Taylor's theories of scientific management, and for his study of the work and management of Navy ship building. His work is the forerunner to many modern project management tools including the work breakdown structure (WBS) and resource allocation.

The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern project management era. Again, in the United States, prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad hoc basis using

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mostly Gantt charts, and informal techniques and tools. At that time, two mathematical project scheduling models were developed: (1) the "Program Evaluation and Review Technique" or PERT, developed as part of the United States Navy's (in conjunction with the Lockheed Corporation) Polaris missile submarine program;[10] and (2) the "Critical Path Method" (CPM) developed in a joint venture by both DuPont Corporation and Remington Rand Corporation for managing plant maintenance projects. These mathematical techniques quickly spread into many private enterprises.

In 1969, the Project Management Institute (PMI) was formed to serve the interest of the project management industry. The premise of PMI is that the tools and techniques of project management are common even among the widespread application of projects from the software industry to the construction industry. In 1981, the PMI Board of Directors authorized the development of what has become A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), containing the standards and guidelines of practice that are widely used throughout the profession. The International Project Management Association (IPMA), founded in Europe in 1967, has undergone a similar development and instituted the IPMA Project Baseline. Both organizations are now participating in the development of a global project management standard.

Academia Black Mountain College Founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier and other former faculty of Rollins College, Black Mountain was experimental by nature and committed to an interdisciplinary approach, attracting a faculty which included many of America's leading visual artists, poets, and designers.

Operating in a relatively isolated rural location with little budget, Black Mountain College inculcated an informal and collaborative spirit, and over its lifetime attracted a venerable roster of instructors.

Some of the innovations, relationships and unexpected connections formed at Black Mountain would prove to have a lasting influence on the postwar American art scene, high culture, and eventually pop culture. Buckminster Fuller met student Kenneth Snelson at Black Mountain, and the result was the first geodesic dome (improvised out of slats in

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the school's back yard); Merce Cunningham formed his dance company; and John Cage staged his first happening.

Not a haphazardly conceived venture, Black Mountain College was a consciously directed liberal arts school that grew out of the progressive education movement.

In its day it was a unique educational experiment for the artists and writers who conducted it, and as such an important incubator for the American avant garde.

Black Mountain proved to be an important precursor to and prototype for many of the alternative colleges of today ranging from the University of California, Santa Cruz to Hampshire College and Evergreen State College, among others.

Learning Community Dr. Wolff-Michael Roth and Stuart Lee of the University of Victoria assert that until the early 1990s the individual was the 'unit of instruction' and the focus of research. The two observed that researchers and practitioners switched to the idea that knowing is 'better' thought of as a cultural practice. Roth and Lee also claim that this led to changes in learning and teaching design in which students were encouraged to share their ways of doing mathematics, history, science, with each other. In other words, that children take part in the construction of consensual domains, and 'participate in the negotiation and institutionalisation of … meaning'. In effect, they are participating in learning communities.

This analysis does not take account of the appearance of Learning communities in the United States in the early 1980s. For example, The Evergreen State College, which is widely considered a pioneer in this area, established an intercollegiate learning community in 1984. In 1985, this same college established The Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, which focuses on collaborative education approaches, including learning communities as one of its centerpieces.

Classical music Although relatively rare compared with collaboration in popular music, there have been some notable examples of music written in collaboration between classical composers.

Perhaps the best-known examples are: 



Hexameron, a set of variations for solo piano on a theme from Vincenzo Bellini's opera I puritani. It was written and first performed in 1837. The contributors were Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Carl Czerny, Sigismond Thalberg, Johann Peter Pixis, and Henri Herz.

The F-A-E Sonata, a sonata for violin and piano, written in 1853 as a gift for the violinist Joseph Joachim. The composers were Albert Dietrich (first movement), Robert Schumann (second and fourth movements), and Johannes Brahms (third movement).

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Contemporary Examples Arts The romanticized notion of a lone, genius artist has existed since the time of Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, published in 1568. Vasari promulgated the idea that artistic skill was endowed upon chosen individuals by gods, which created an enduring and largely false popular misunderstanding of many artistic processes. Artists have used collaboration to complete large scale works for centuries, but the myth of the lone artist was not questioned by the public consciousness until the 1960s and 1970s.

Collaborative art groups        

Dada (1913) Fluxus (1957) Situationist International (1957) Experiments in Art and Technology (1967) Mujeres Muralistas (1973) Colab (1977) Guerrilla Girls (1985) SITO (1993)

Collaboration in Feminist Art Ballet Ballet is, almost always, by nature a collaborative art form. Ballet needs music, it needs dancers, it needs costumes, a venue, lighting, etc. Hypothetically, one person could control all of this. But most often, every work of ballet is the by product of collaboration.

From the earliest formal works of ballet, to the great 19th century masterpieces of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa, to the 20th century masterworks of George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky, to today’s ballet companies, such as New York’s BalletCollective, feature strong collaborative connections between choreographers, composers and costume designers are essential. Within dance as an art form, there is also the collaboration between choreographer and dancer. The choreographer creates a movement in her/his head and then physically demonstrates the movement to the dancer, which the dancer sees and attempts to either mimic or interpret - two or more people striving for a connected goal.

Business Collaboration in business can be found both inter- and intra-organization and ranges from the simplicity of a partnership and crowd funding to the complexity of a multinational corporation. Collaboration between public, private and voluntary sectors can be effective in tackling complex policy problems, but may be handled more Page 50 of 114

effectively by committed boundary-spanning teams and networks than by formal organizational structures. Collaboration between team members allows for better communication within the organization and throughout the supply chains. It is a way of coordinating different ideas from numerous people to generate a wide variety of knowledge. Collaboration with a selected few firms as opposed to collaboration with a large number of different firms has been shown to positively impact firm performance and innovation outcomes. The recent improvement in technology has provided the world with high speed internet, wireless connection, and web-based collaboration tools like blogs, and wikis, and has as such created a "mass collaboration." People from all over the world are efficiently able to communicate and share ideas through the internet, or even conferences, without any geographical barriers. The power of social networks it beginning to permeate into business culture where many collaborative uses are being found including file sharing and knowledge transfer.

A plethora of studies have shown that collaboration can be a powerful tool towards higher achievement and increased productivity since collective efficacy can significantly boost groups’ aspirations, motivational investment, morale, and resilience to challenges. However, a four-year study of interorganizational collaboration by Fischer and colleagues at the University of Oxford, found that successful collaboration can be rapidly derailed through external policy steering, particularly where it undermines relations built on trust.

On a more specific level, coworking spaces are businesses dedicated to providing an space for freelancers to work with others in a collaborative environment. Collaboration is one of the five coworking core values: Collaboration, openness, community, accessibility and sustainability.

Education In recent years, co-teaching has become one of the most widely used models of collaboration, found in classrooms across all grade levels and content areas. Once only regarded as collaboration between special education and general education teachers, it is now more generally defined as ―‌two professionals delivering substantive instruction to a diverse group of students in a single physical space."

As classrooms have become increasingly diverse, so too have the challenges for educators. Due to the diverse needs of students with designated special needs, English languages learners (ELL), and students of varied academic levels, teachers have been led to develop new approaches that provide additional support for their students. In practice, this is an inclusive model where students are not removed from the classroom to receive separate instruction, but rather they remain and receive collaborative instruction by both their general teacher and special education teachers.

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Societal changes that have taken place over the past few decades allows new ways of conceptualizing collaboration, and to understand the evolution and expansion of these types of relationships. For example, economic changes that have taken place domestically and internationally have resulted in the transformation from an industrydependent economy to an information-centered economy that is dependent on new technologies and expansion of industries that provide services. From an educational standpoint, such transformations were projected through federal reports, such as A Nation at Risk in 1983 and What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future in 1996.

In these reports, economic success could be assured if students developed the capacity to learn how to ―manage teams… and…work together successfully in teams‖.

The continuing development of Web 2.0 technologies, such as wikis, blogs, multiplayer games, online communities, and Twitter, among others, has changed the manner in which students communicate and collaborate. Teachers are increasingly using collaborative software to establish virtual learning environments (VLEs). This allows them to share learning materials and feedback with both students and in some cases, parents.

See also :   

Collaborative Partnerships: Business/Industry-Education Learning circle Collaborative partnerships

Music Musical collaboration occurs when musicians in different places or groups work on the same album or song. Typically, in today's music word, multiple parties are involved (singers, songwriters, lyrisits, composers, and producers) come together to create one song. For example, one specific collaboration from recent times (2015) was the song "45 seconds". This single represents a type of collaboration because it is a form of art that was developed by multiple artists with the inclusion of Rihanna (a recent pop idol), Paul McCartney (former guitarist and vocalist for the Beatles), and Kanye West (a currently popular rapper). Collaboration between musicians, especially with regards to jazz, is often heralded as the epitome of complex collaborative practice. Special websites as well as software have been created to facilitate musical collaboration over the Internet resulting in the emergence of Online Bands.

Several awards exist specifically for collaboration in music:   

Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals—awarded since 1988 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals—awarded since 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration—awarded since 2002

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Entertainment Collaboration in entertainment is a relatively new phenomenon brought on with the advent of social media, reality TV, and video sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Collaboration occurs when writers, directors, actors, producers and other individuals or groups work on the same television show, short film, or feature-length film. A revolutionary system has been developed by Will Wright for the production of the TV series title Bar Karma on CurrentTV. Special web-based software, titled Storymaker, has been written to facilitate plot collaboration over the Internet. Organizations such as Orange County Screenwriters Association bring together professional and amateur writers and filmmakers in a collaborative manner for entertainment development.

Publishing Collaboration in publishing can be as simple as dual-authorship or as complex as commons-based peer production. Technological examples include Usenet, e-mail lists, blogs and Wikis while 'brick and mortar' examples include monographs (books) and periodicals such as newspapers, journals and magazines.

Science Though there is no political institution organizing the sciences on an international level, a self-organized, global network had formed in the late 20th century. Observed by the rise in co-authorships in published papers, Wagner and Leydesdorff found international collaborations to have doubled from 1990 to 2005. While collaborative authorships within nations has also risen, this has done so at a slower rate and is not cited as frequently.

Medicine In medicine the physician assistant - physician relationship involves a collaborative plan to be on file with each state board of medicine where the PA works. This plan formally delineates the scope of practice approved by the physician.

Technology Due to the complexity of today's business environment, collaboration in technology encompasses a broad range of tools that enable groups of people to work together including social networking, instant messaging, team spaces, web sharing, audio conferencing, video, and telephony. Broadly defined, any technology that facilitates linking of two or more humans to work together can be considered a collaborative tool.

Wikipedia, Blogs, even Twitter are collaborative tools. Many large companies are developing enterprise collaboration strategies and standardizing on a collaboration platform to allow their employees, customers and partners to intelligently connect and interact.

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Enterprise collaboration tools (see analyst firm RSG's graphic for examples) are centered around attaining collective intelligence and staff collaboration at the organization level, or with partners. These include features such as staff networking, expert recommendations, information sharing, expertise location, peer feedback, and real-time collaboration. At the personal level, this enables employees to enhance social awareness and their profiles and interactions Collaboration encompasses both asynchronous and synchronous methods of communication and serves as an umbrella term for a wide variety of software packages. Perhaps the most commonly associated form of synchronous collaboration is web conferencing using tools such as Cisco TelePresence, Cisco WebEx Meetings, HP Halo Telepresence Solutions, GoToMeeting Web Conferencing, or Microsoft Live Meeting, but the term can easily be applied to IP telephony, instant messaging, and rich video interaction with telepresence, as well.

Examples of asynchronous collaboration software include Cisco WebEx Connect, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Sharepoint and MediaWiki.

The effectiveness of a collaborative effort is driven by three critical factors: Communication - Content Management - Workflow control

The Internet The low cost and nearly instantaneous sharing of ideas, knowledge, and skills has made collaborative work dramatically easier. Not only can a group cheaply communicate and test, but the wide reach of the Internet allows such groups to easily form in the first place, even among niche interests. An example of this is the free software movement in software development which produced GNU and Linux from scratch and has taken over development of Mozilla and OpenOffice.org (formerly known as Netscape Communicator and StarOffice).

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Commons-Based Peer Production Commons-based peer production is a term coined by Yale's Law professor Yochai Benkler to describe a new model of economic production in which the creative energy of large numbers of people is coordinated (usually with the aid of the internet) into large, meaningful projects, mostly without traditional hierarchical organization or financial compensation. He compares this to firm production (where a centralized decision process decides what has to be done and by whom) and market-based production (when tagging different prices to different jobs serves as an attractor to anyone interested in doing the job).

Examples of products created by means of commons-based peer production include 

Linux, a computer operating announcements website;



Kuro5hin, a discussion site for technology and culture; Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia; and Clickworkers, a collaborative scientific work.



Another example is Socialtext which is a software that uses tools such as wikis and weblogs and helps companies to create a collaborative work environment.

system;

Slashdot,

a

news

and

Massively distributed collaboration The term massively distributed collaboration was coined by Mitchell Kapor, in a presentation at UC Berkeley on 2005-11-09, to describe an emerging activity of wikis and electronic mailing lists and blogs and other content-creating virtual communities online. ______

Collaborative Software Collaborative Software or Groupware is an application software designed to help people involved in a common task to achieve goals. One of the earliest definitions of collaborative software is 'intentional group processes plus software to support them.'

The design information technology, seems to have several definitions. Understanding the differences in human interactions is necessary to ensure that appropriate technologies are employed to meet interaction needs.

Collaborative software is a broad concept that overlaps considerably with Computersupported cooperative work (CSCW). Some authors argue they are equivalent.[who?]

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According to Carstensen and Schmidt (1999) groupware is part of CSCW. The authors claim that CSCW, and thereby groupware, addresses "how collaborative activities and their coordination can be supported by means of computer systems." Software products such as email, calendaring, text chat, wiki, and bookmarking belong to this category whenever used for group work, whereas the more general term social software applies to systems used outside the workplace, for example, online dating services and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. It has been suggested that Metcalfe's law — the more people who use something, the more valuable it becomes — applies to these types of software.

The use of collaborative software in the work space creates a collaborative working environment (CWE). A collaborative working environment supports people in both their individual and cooperative work thus evolving into a new class of professionals, eprofessionals, who can work together irrespective of their geographical location.

Finally, collaborative software relates to the notion of collaborative work systems, which are conceived as any form of human organization that emerges any time that collaboration takes place, whether it is formal or informal, intentional or unintentional.

Whereas the groupware or collaborative software pertains to the technological elements of computer-supported cooperative work, collaborative work systems become a useful analytical tool to understand the behavioral and organizational variables that are associated to the broader concept of CSCW.

Groupware Collaborative software was originally designated as groupware and this term can be traced as far back as the late 1980s, when Richman and Slovak (1987) wrote: "Like an electronic sinew that binds teams together, the new groupware aims to place the computer squarely in the middle of communications among managers, technicians, and anyone else who interacts in groups, revolutionizing the way they work."

Even further back, in 1978 Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz coined the term groupware; their initial 1978 definition of groupware was, ―intentional group processes plus software to support them.‖ Later in their article they went on to explain groupware as ―computermediated culture... an embodiment of social organization in hyperspace." Groupware integrates co-evolving human and tool systems, yet is simply a single system.

In the early 1990s the first commercial groupware products were delivered, and big companies such as Boeing and IBM started using electronic meeting systems for key internal projects. Lotus Notes appeared as a major example of that product category, allowing remote group collaboration when the internet was still in its infancy. Kirkpatrick and Losee (1992) wrote then: "If GROUPWARE really makes a difference in productivity long term, the very definition of an office may change. You will be able to work efficiently as a member of a group Page 56 of 114

wherever you have your computer. As computers become smaller and more powerful, that will mean anywhere."

As collaborative software evolves and migrates onto the internet, it contributes to the development of the so-called Web 2.0 bringing a host of collaborative features that were originally conceived for within the corporate network. These include, amongst others, functionalities such as document sharing (including group editing), group calendar, instant messaging and web conferencing.

Groupware and Organizations The study of computer-supported collaboration includes the study of collaborative software and the social phenomena associated with it. There is a wealth of research produced about the impact of groupware in organizations and related social and psychological issues since the early eighties. Since 1984 the great majority of this work has been organized and communicated within the boundaries of a specialized scientific event - the Computer Supported Cooperative Work conferences - which are held by the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction biannually.

Design and Implementation Issues The complexity of groupware development is still an issue. One reason for this is the socio-technical dimension of groupware. Groupware designers do not only have to address technical issues (as in traditional software development) but also consider the social group processes that should be supported with the groupware application. Some examples for issues in groupware development are: 



  

Persistence is needed in some sessions. Chat and voice communications are routinely non-persistent and evaporate at the end of the session. Virtual room and online file cabinets can persist for years. The designer of the collaborative space needs to consider the information duration needs and implement accordingly.

Authentication has always been a problem with groupware. When connections are made point-to-point, or when log-in registration is enforced, it's clear who is engaged in the session. However, audio and unmoderated sessions carry the risk of unannounced 'lurkers' who observe but do not announce themselves or contribute.

Until recently, bandwidth issues at fixed location limited full use of the tools.

These are exacerbated with mobile devices.

Multiple input and output streams bring concurrency issues into the groupware applications.

Motivational issues are important, especially in settings where no pre-defined group process was in place.

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

Closely related to the motivation aspect is the question of reciprocity. Ellis and others have shown that the distribution of efforts and benefits has to be carefully balanced in order to ensure that all required group members really participate.

One approach for addressing these issues is the use of design patterns for groupware design. The patterns identify recurring groupware design issues and discuss design choices in a way that all stakeholders can participate in the groupware development process.

Groupware and Levels of Collaboration Groupware can be divided into three categories depending on the level of collaboration: 1. Communication can be thought of as unstructured interchange of information. A phone call or an IM Chat discussion are examples of this.

2. Conferencing (or collaboration level, as it is called in the academic papers that discuss these levels) refers to interactive work toward a shared goal.

Brainstorming or voting are examples of this.

3. Co-ordination refers to complex interdependent work toward a shared goal. A good metaphor for understanding this is to think about a sports team; everyone has to contribute the right play at the right time as well as adjust their play to the unfolding situation - but everyone is doing something different - in order for the team to win. That is complex interdependent work toward a shared goal: collaborative management.

Electronic Communication Tools Electronic communication tools send messages, files, data, or documents between people and hence facilitate the sharing of information. Examples include:        

synchronous conferencing asynchronous conferencing e-mail faxing voice mail Wikis Web publishing revision control

Electronic conferencing tools Electronic conferencing tools facilitate the sharing of information, but in a more interactive way. Examples include: 

Internet forums (also known as message boards or discussion boards) — a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage online text messages Page 58 of 114

      

Online chat — a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage real-time text messages Instant Messaging Telephony — telephones allow users to interact Videoconferencing — networked PCs share video and audio signals Data conferencing — networked PCs share a common whiteboard that each user can modify Application sharing — users can access a shared document or application from their respective computers simultaneously in real time Electronic meeting systems (EMS) — originally these were described as "electronic meeting systems," and they were built into meeting rooms. These special purpose rooms usually contained video projectors interlinked with numerous PCs; however, electronic meeting systems have evolved into webbased, any time, any place systems that will accommodate "distributed" meeting participants who may be dispersed in several locations.

Collaborative Management (Coordination) Tools Collaborative management tools facilitate and manage group activities. Examples include: 

    

 

electronic calendars (also called time management software) — schedule events and automatically notify and remind group members  project management systems — schedule, track, and chart the steps in a project as it is being completed  online proofing — share, review, approve, and reject web proofs, artwork, photos, or videos between designers, customers, and clients workflow systems — collaborative management of tasks and documents within a knowledge-based business process knowledge management systems — collect, organize, manage, and share various forms of information enterprise bookmarking — collaborative bookmarking engine to tag, organize, share, and search enterprise data prediction markets — let a group of people predict together the outcome of future events extranet systems (sometimes also known as 'project extranets') — collect, organize, manage and share information associated with the delivery of a project (e.g.: the construction of a building) social software systems — organize social relations of groups online spreadsheets — collaborate and share structured data and information Page 59 of 114



client portals — interact and share with your clients in a private online environment

Gathering applications This functionality may be included in some wikis and blogs, e.g. Wetpaint. Primarily includes:     

surveys project management feedback time tracking viewer restrictions

Wikis Either stand-alone (such as MediaWiki), part of a suite (such as TikiWiki or Sakai,) or web-based (such as Wikipedia). A wiki typically includes wiki pages (shared/editable pages) and associations between pages.

A Wiki might also include:   

workflow management page discussion/chat image and file galleries

Collaborative Software and Human Interaction The design intent of collaborative software (groupware) is to transform the way documents and rich media are shared in order to enable more effective team collaboration.

Collaboration, with respect to information technology, seems to have several definitions.

Some are defensible but others are so broad they lose any meaningful application.

Understanding the differences in human interactions is necessary to ensure the appropriate technologies are employed to meet interaction needs.

There are three primary ways in which humans interact: conversations, transactions, and collaborations.

Conversational interaction is an exchange of information between two or more participants where the primary purpose of the interaction is discovery or relationship building. There is no central entity around which the interaction revolves but is a free exchange of information with no defined constraints generally focused on personal experiences. Communication technology such as telephones, instant messaging, and email are generally sufficient for conversational interactions.

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Transactional interaction involves the exchange of transaction entities where a major function of the transaction entity is to alter the relationship between participants. The transaction entity is in a relatively stable form and constrains or defines the new relationship. One participant exchanges money for goods and becomes a customer.

Transactional interactions are most effectively handled by transactional systems that manage state and commit records for persistent storage.

In collaborative interactions the main function of the participants' relationship is to alter a collaboration entity (i.e., the converse of transactional). The collaboration entity is in a relatively unstable form. Examples include the development of an idea, the creation of a design, the achievement of a shared goal. Therefore, real collaboration technologies deliver the functionality for many participants to augment a common deliverable. Record or document management, threaded discussions, audit history, and other mechanisms designed to capture the efforts of many into a managed content environment are typical of collaboration technologies.

Collaboration in Education- two or more co-equal individuals voluntarily bring their knowledge and experiences together by interacting toward a common goal in the best interest of students' needs for the betterment of their educational success.

Collaboration requires individuals working together in a coordinated fashion, towards a common goal. Accomplishing the goal is the primary purpose for bringing the team together. Collaborative software helps facilitate the action-oriented team working together over geographic distances by providing tools that help communication, collaboration and the process of problem solving by providing the team with a common means for communicating ideas and brainstorming. Additionally, collaborative software may support project management functions, such as task assignments, timemanagement with deadlines and shared calendars. The artifacts, the tangible evidence of the problem solving process, including the final outcome of the collaborative effort, typically require documentation and archiving of the process itself, and may involve archiving project plans, deadlines and deliverables.

Collaborative software should support the individuals that make up the team and the interactions between them during the group decision making process. Many of today's teams are composed of members from around the globe, with some members using their second or third language in communicating with the group. This situation provides cultural as well as linguistic challenges for any software that supports the collaborative effort. The software may also support team membership, roles and responsibilities.

Additionally, collaborative support systems may offer the ability to support ancillary systems, such as budgets and physical resources.

Brainstorming is considered to be a tenet of collaboration, with the rapid exchange of ideas facilitating the group decision making process. Collaborative software provides areas that support multi-user editing, such as virtual whiteboards and chat or other forms of communication. Better solutions record the process and provide revision history. An emerging category of computer software, a collaboration platform is a unified

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electronic platform that supports synchronous and asynchronous communication through a variety of devices and channels.

An extension of groupware is collaborative media, software that allows several concurrent users to create and manage information in a website. Collaborative media models include wiki (Comparison of wiki software) and Slashdot models. Some sites with publicly accessible content based on collaborative software are: WikiWikiWeb, Wikipedia and Everything2. By method used we can divide them into:  

Web-based collaborative tools Software collaborative tools

Along with these, already traditional, methods recent expansion of corporate use of Second Life and other virtual worlds led to development of a newer generation of software that takes advantage of a 3D data presentation. Some of this software (3D Topicscape) works independently from virtual worlds and simply uses 3D to support user "in concept creation, planning, organization, development and actualization". Other designed specifically to assist in collaboration when using virtual worlds as a business platform, while yet another type of software, Collaborative Knowledge Management (cKM), bridges the gap and can be used simultaneously in Second Life and on the web.

By area served we can divide collaborative software into:    

Knowledge management tools Knowledge creation tools Information sharing tools Collaborative project management tools

Collaborative Project Management Tools Collaborative project management tools (CPMT) are very similar to collaborative management tools (CMT) except that CMT may only facilitate and manage a certain group activities for a part of a bigger project or task, while CPMT covers all detailed aspects of collaboration activities and management of the overall project and its related knowledge areas.

Another major difference is that CMT may include social software, Document Management System (DMS) and Unified Communication (UC) while CPMT mostly considers business or corporate related goals with some kind of social boundaries most commonly used for project management.

Background During the mid-1990s project management started to evolve into collaborative project management; this was when the process in which a project's inputs and outputs were carried out started to change with the evolution of the internet. Since the geographical Page 62 of 114

boundaries broadened the development teams increasingly became more remote changing the dynamics of a project team thus changing the way a project was managed.

Former chairman of General Electric, Jack Welch, believed that you could not be successful if you went it alone in a global economy. Therefore Welch became a driving force behind not only collaboration between organizations, but also collaborative project management.

Classification Collaborative project management tools Collaborative management tools (CMT) (CPMT) CPMT facilitate and manage social or group In addition to most CPMT examples, CMT project based activities. also includes: Examples include:          

Electronic calendars Project management systems Resource Management Workflow systems Knowledge management Prediction markets Extranet systems Social software Online spreadsheets Online artwork proofing, feedback, review and approval tool

                      

HR and equipment management Time and cost management Online chat Instant messaging Telephony Videoconferencing Web conferencing Data conferencing Application sharing Electronic meeting systems (EMS) Synchronous conferencing E-mail Faxing voice mail Wikis Web publishing Revision control Charting Document-centric collaboration Document retention Document sharing Document repository Evaluation and survey

Dimensions Different frameworks could be established based on a project needs and requirements in order to find the best software. But the best framework is the one in which the

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characteristics are so well defined that they cover all the aspects of collaboration activities and management of the overall project.

The challenge in determining which CPM software to use is having a good understanding of the requirements and tools needed for project development. There are many dynamics that make project management challenging (coordination, collaboration, sharing of knowledge and effectiveness of pm's to facilitate the process). Choosing the right CPM software is essential to complementing these issues. According to a survey conducted in 2008 to find out what project managers' expectations and uses of project management software are, the features most important to project managers with project management software were:   

Ability to plan using and sequence activities using CPM/PDM/PERT or Gantt Chart method, Produce project master schedules based on project/task/work breakdown structures, with subordinate details, Critical path calculation.

Dimensions Resources Requirements

System Requirements

Support Requirements

Collaboration Requirements

Descriptions / Examples    

Human Equipment Time Cost



 

Platform: The operating system that the system can perform on (example Windows, Mac, Linux). Platform type single and multiple.

Hardware: physical requirements such as hard drive space and amount of memory.

Installation/access: How and where the software is installed.

Types of installations stand alone, server based, web portal.

     

Email 24/7 or restricted schedules Online or web help Built-in Help i.e. MS Office On location assistance Training on-site/off-site

     

Group Size: The number of users that software supports Email list Revision Control Charting Document versioning Document retention



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 

Document sharing Document repository

Collaboration Software and Voting Methods Some collaboration software allows users to vote, rate, and rank choices, often for the purpose of extracting the collective intelligence of the participants. The votes, ratings, and rankings can be used in various ways such as:    

Producing an average rating, such as 4 out of 5 stars.

Calculating a popularity ranking, such as a "top 10" list.

Guiding the creation and organization of documents, such as in Wikipedia where voting helps to guide the creation of new pages.

Making a recommendation that may assist in making a decision.

In the case of decision making, Condorcet voting can combine multiple perspectives in a way that reduces intransitivity. Additional uses of collaborative voting, such as voting to determine the sequence of sections in a Wikipedia article, remain unexplored. It's worth noting that no matter what voting method is implemented, Arrow's Impossibility Theorem guarantees that an ideal voting system can never be attained if there are three or more alternatives that are voted upon.

In addition to allowing participants to rank pre-existing choices, some collaboration software allows participants to add new choices to the list of choices being ranked.

Voting in collaboration software is related to recommendation systems that generate appreciated recommendations based on ratings or rankings collected from many people.

Collaborative Software Vendors             

asana Basecamp Binfire Bitrix24 (Free) Bluescape Brightpod Ceiton workflow system Central Desktop Citadel/UX (Free and open-source software - FOSS) Comindware Tracker Confluence CollaborateCloud DeskAway

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                  

eXo Platform (Open Source) Freedcamp Huddle.net Hyperoffice IBM Connections Intellinote Jive LiquidPlanner Mavenlink Open Text Pivotal Labs SharePoint Smartsheet Tom's Planner Trello (Free) Yammer (Free) Wrike Xait Zoho

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Quality Control & Change Management Social Project Management Social project management is a nontraditional way of organizing projects and performing project management. It is, in its simplest form, the outcome of the application of the social networking (i.e.

Facebook) paradigm to the context of project ecosystems, as a continued response to the movement toward distributed, virtual teams. Distributed virtual teams lose significant communication value normally present when groups are collocated. Because of this, social project management is motivated by a philosophy of the maximizing of open, and continuous communication, both inside and outside the team. Because it is a response to new organizing structures that require technologically-mediated communications, Social Project Management is most often enabled by the use of Collaborative software inspired by social media (i.e. Ongozah).

This paradigm enables the project work to be published as activity stream and publicized via the integration with the social network of an organization. Social project management embraces both the historical best practices of Project management, and the open collaboration of Web 2.0.

While Project management 2.0 embraced a philosophical shift away from centralized command and control and focused strongly on the egalitarian collaboration of a team, social project management recognizes the important role of the project manager, especially on large projects. Additionally, while Project management 2.0 minimized the importance of computer-supported scheduling, social project management recognizes that while many projects can be performed using emergent planning and control, large, enterprise projects require centralized control accompanied by seamless collaboration.

Key concepts (how social project management differs from Project Management 2.0) Social business software, of which social project management is a subset, powers business performance based upon its ability to assist teams in managing exceptions.

Because it is based on the concepts of Social Business Software in general, Social

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Project Management software is differentiated from other collaborative project software by three key areas of functionality: First, social project management software is embedded into the social network of the larger organization. One goal that Project management 2.0 systems realized was the need to created project-based collaboration systems. However, PM2.0 tools were often adopted at the project level, and not the enterprise level. This led to the situation where team members on several projects might have to use multiple tools for collaboration, depending on what project they were working on at that moment. Additionally, because of the fragmented nature of the tools used, little visibility existed to any person outside of the project team.

Social project management is based upon the philosophy that the project team is one part of an integrated whole, and that valuable, relevant and unique abilities and knowledge exist within the larger organization. For this reason, Social Project Management systems are integrated into the collaborative platform(s) of an organization, so that communication can proceed outside the project boundaries.

Second, social project management software is organized around a formal project schedule, and all activities and collaborative functionality are linked to this schedule.

While PM 2.0 tools stressed collaboration, many tools provided little to no actual project management capabilities. While this often worked very well for smaller projects, especially ones with distributed teams, it could not scale to enterprise-level projects.

Social project management embraces the vision of seamless online collaboration within a project team, but also provides for the use of rigorous project management techniques.

Third, social project management software provides an activity stream that allows the team, and its stakeholders to build ambient awareness of the project activity and status.

This is what makes social project management "social". The concept of Ambient awareness enables distributed teams to build awareness in ways that previously was restricted to teams that were collocated. Using the Activity Stream paradigm, large distributed teams are provided with a constant stream of information regarding the project. While in the past, this kind of continuous communication might have been posited to create Information Overload, this stream of small bits of information has been shown to create significant alignment between people working together, without overload.

Standard Compliance It is important to keep several standard compliances (e.g. PRINCE2, ISO 21500, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK 5.0)

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Social Project Management Requirements Shift The increasing complexity of multi-project business operations advances multiple business relationships. Business subjects can cooperate in one project and compete in another, while sharing resources only when necessary. They can play diverse roles in projects, for instance: a project manager, a client, a coordinator, a subcontractor, or a consultant. Process of dealing with the multi-project business operations conducting therefore has to be holistic enough. Therefore two classic views on project management are obsolete: Single project management, focusing on merely technological project results; and single project portfolio management view, focusing on project results of a single company. These limited project management aspects are replaced by the holistic understanding of project participants goals and their will to cooperate in further projects.

Of course the Project management social view states new requirements for the software support raising well above just connecting the PM Software with social network solutions. [9] and video introduction

Project Management 2.0 (sometimes mistakenly called Social Project Management) is one branch of evolution of project management practices, which was enabled by the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Such applications include: blogs, wikis, collaborative software, etc. Because of Web 2.0 technologies, small distributed & virtual teams can work together much more efficiently by utilizing the new-generation, usually low or no-cost Web-based project management tools. These tools challenge the traditional view of the project manager, as Project Management 2.0 represents a dramatic increase in the ability for distributed teams' collaboration. While Web 2.0 tools and Project Management 2.0 systems may enable the project team to collaborate more richly online, these tools often have no audit-able project management functionality, and the Project Management 2.0 term may be a misnomer.

Comparison Of Traditional Project Management and Project Management 2.0 While traditional project management structures focused on the paradigm of the project manager as controller, Project management 2.0 stresses the concept of distributed collaboration, and the project manager as a leader. Project management 2.0 advocates open communication. While traditional project management often was driven by formal reporting and hierarchical structures, project management 2.0 stresses the need for access to information for the whole team. This has led to one of the many criticisms of Project Management 2.0 - that it cannot scale to large projects. However, for distributed teams performing agile development, which are often emergent structures, the use of rich collaborative software may enable the development of collective intelligence

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Common comparisons of traditional project management vs. project management 2.0 are listed in the table below.

Traditional Project Management Project Management 2.0 Centralization of control Decentralization of control Top-down planning Bottom-up planning Authoritarian environment Collaborative environment Implied structure Emergent structures Limited/Restricted Access to the plan Organized/Unlimited Access to the plan Local Access to information Global/Live Access to information Limited Communications within team Unlimited Communications within team Separate projects Holistic approach Overly complex tools Easy to use tools Rigidity of tools Flexibility of tools

Criticisms 1. Project Management 2.0 is sometimes treated as a neologism and a marketing buzzword. The argument exists that Project Management 2.0 does not represent a new way of executing project management and delivering projects, [7] but just a variation of traditional project management.

2. Sometimes Project Management 2.0 is regarded as a separate methodology of project management that can be applied to small projects only.

3. Web 2.0 and PM 2.0 tools are often islands of technology, and do not enable collaboration across multiple project teams, unless all teams have chosen the same tool implementation. ______

Quality Control Quality Control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "A part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements".

This approach places an emphasis on three aspects: 1. Elements such as controls, job management, defined and well managed processes, performance and integrity criteria, and identification of records 2. Competence, such as knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications 3. Soft elements, such as personnel, integrity, confidence, organizational culture, motivation, team spirit, and quality relationships.

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Controls include product inspection, where every product is examined visually, and often using a stereo microscope for fine detail before the product is sold into the external market. Inspectors will be provided with lists and descriptions of unacceptable product defects such as cracks or surface blemishes for example.

The quality of the outputs is at risk if any of these three aspects is deficient in any way.

Quality control emphasizes testing of products to uncover defects and reporting to management who make the decision to allow or deny product release, whereas quality assurance attempts to improve and stabilize production (and associated processes) to avoid, or at least minimize, issues which led to the defect(s) in the first place. For contract work, particularly work awarded by government agencies, quality control issues are among the top reasons for not renewing a contract

Notable Approaches to Quality Control There is a tendency for individual consultants and organizations to name their own unique approaches to quality control—a few of these have ended up in widespread use:

Terminology

Approximate year of first use

Statistical quality control (SQC)

1930s

Total quality control (TQC)

1956

Statistical process control (SPC)

1960s

Company-wide quality control (CWQC)

1968

Total Quality Management (TQM)

1985

Six Sigma (6Ďƒ)

1986

Description The application of statistical methods (specifically control charts and acceptance sampling) to quality control.:556 Popularized by Armand V. Feigenbaum in a Harvard Business Review article and book of the same name. Stresses involvement of departments in addition to production (e.g., accounting, design, finance, human resources, marketing, purchasing, sales).

The use of control charts to monitor an individual industrial process and feed back performance to the operators responsible for that process. Inspired by control systems.

Japanese-style total quality control Quality movement originating in the United States Department of Defense that uses (in part) the techniques of statistical quality control to drive continuous organizational improvement.

Statistical quality control applied to business strategy. Originated by Motorola.

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Quality Control in Project Management In project management, quality control requires the project manager and the project team to inspect the accomplished work to ensure its alignment with the project scope. In practice, projects typically have a dedicated quality control team which focuses on this area.

Change Management Corrective and preventive action (CAPA, also called corrective action / preventive action, or simply corrective action) are improvements to an organization's processes taken to eliminate causes of non-conformities or other undesirable situations. CAPA is a concept within good manufacturing practice (GMP), and numerous ISO business standards. It focuses on the systematic investigation of the root causes of identified problems or identified risks in an attempt to prevent their recurrence (for corrective action) or to prevent occurrence (for preventive action).

Corrective actions are implemented in response to customer complaints, unacceptable levels of product non-conformance, issues identified during an internal audit, or adverse or unstable trends in product and process monitoring such as would be identified by statistical process control (SPC). Preventive actions are implemented in response to the identification of potential sources of non-conformity.

To ensure that corrective and preventive actions are effective, the systematic investigation of the root causes of failure is pivotal. CAPA is part of the overall quality management system (QMS).

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Concepts  

Clearly identified sources of data which identify problems that will be investigated.

Root cause analysis to identify the cause of a discrepancy or deviation and suggest corrective actions of a problem which is identified.

A common misconception is that the purpose of preventive action is to avert the occurrence of a similar potential problem. This process is all part of corrective action, because it is a process of determining such similarities that should take place in the event of a discrepancy.

Preventive action is any proactive methodology used to determine potential discrepancies before they occur and to ensure that they do not happen (thereby including, for example, preventive maintenance, management review or other common forms of risk avoidance). Corrective and preventive actions both include investigation, action, review, and further action if so required. It can be seen that both fit into the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) philosophy as determined by the Deming-Shewhart cycle.

Investigations to root cause may conclude that no corrective or preventive actions are required, and additionally may suggest simple corrections to a problem with no identified systemic root cause. When multiple investigations end in no corrective action, a new problem statement with expanded scope may be generated, and a more thorough investigation to root cause performed.

Implementation of corrective and preventive actions is the path towards improvement and effectiveness of Quality Management Systems. Corrective actions is nothing but the action/s based on the problem identification. The problem or a non-conformance can be identified internally through staff suggestions, management reviews, document reviews or internal audits. Customer complaints / suggestions, customer rejections, nonconformities raised in customer / third party audits and recommendations by the auditors are the external sources which lead to find the root cause of the problem.

Corrective action is a reaction to any of the cause/non-conformance mentioned above and can be divided in two phases of action: 1) Identification of root cause: Total Quality Management tools such as fish-bone or cause and effects analysis can be practiced.

CAPA is appropriate and effective if and only if the root cause of problem(s) has been identified. 2) Taking necessary actions: The effectiveness of the corrective action taken has to be verified periodically through a systematic approach of PDCA (plan-do-checkact) cycle.

Preventive action is prediction of problem and trying to avoid the occurrence (fail safe) through self initiated actions and analysis related with processes/products. This can be initiated with the help of active participation of staff members/workers through improvement teams, improvement meetings, opportunities for improvement during internal audits, management review, customer feedback and deciding own goals Page 74 of 114

quantized in terms of business growth, reducing rejections, utilizing the equipment effectively, etc.

Examples of Corrective Actions       

Error Proofing Visible or Audible Alarms Process Redesign [Systems] Redesign Training or enhancement/ modification of existing training programmes Improvements to maintenance schedules Improvements to material handling or storage

In some cases a combination of such actions may be necessary to fully correct the problem. ______ Moreover, Change Management is an approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. In a project management context, change management may refer to a project management process wherein changes to the scope of a project are formally introduced and approved.

Approach Organizational change is a structured approach in an organization for ensuring that changes are smoothly and successfully implemented to achieve lasting benefits.

Reasons for change Globalization and the constant innovation of technology result in a constantly evolving business environment. Phenomena such as social media and mobile adaptability have revolutionized business and the effect of this is an ever increasing need for change, and therefore change management. The growth in technology also has a secondary effect of increasing the availability and therefore accountability of knowledge. Easily accessible information has resulted in unprecedented scrutiny from stockholders and the media and pressure on management.

With the business environment experiencing so much change, organizations must then learn to become comfortable with change as well. Therefore, the ability to manage and adapt to organizational change is an essential ability required in the workplace today.

Yet, major and rapid organizational change is profoundly difficult because the structure, culture, and routines of organizations often reflect a persistent and difficult-to-remove "imprint" of past periods, which are resistant to radical change even as the current environment of the organization changes rapidly.

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Due to the growth of technology, modern organizational change is largely motivated by exterior innovations rather than internal moves. When these developments occur, the organizations that adapt quickest create a competitive advantage for themselves, while the companies that refuse to change get left behind. This can result in drastic profit and/or market share losses.

Organizational change directly affects all departments from the entry level employee to senior management. The entire company must learn how to handle changes to the organization.

Choosing what changes to implement When determining which of the latest techniques or innovations to adopt, there are four major factors to be considered: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Levels, goals, and strategies Measurement system Sequence of steps Implementation and organizational change

Managing the Change Process Regardless of the many types of organizational change, the critical aspect is a company’s ability to win the buy-in of their organization’s employees on the change.

Effectively managing organizational change is a four-step process: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Recognizing the changes in the broader business environment Developing the necessary adjustments for their company’s needs Training their employees on the appropriate changes Winning the support of the employees with the persuasiveness of the appropriate adjustments

As a multi-disciplinary practice that has evolved as a result of scholarly research, organizational change management should begin with a systematic diagnosis of the current situation in order to determine both the need for change and the capability to change. The objectives, content, and process of change should all be specified as part of a Change Management plan.

Change management processes should include creative marketing to enable communication between changing audiences, as well as deep social understanding about leadership’s styles and group dynamics. As a visible track on transformation projects, Organizational Change Management aligns groups’ expectations, communicates, integrates teams and manages people training. It makes use of performance metrics, such as financial results, operational efficiency, leadership commitment, communication effectiveness, and the perceived need for change to

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design appropriate strategies, in order to avoid change failures or resolve troubled change projects.

Successful change management is more likely to occur if the following are included: 1. Benefits management and realization to define measurable stakeholder aims, create a business case for their achievement (which should be continuously updated), and monitor assumptions, risks, dependencies, costs, return on investment, dis-benefits and cultural issues affecting the progress of the associated work 2. Effective communication that informs various stakeholders of the reasons for the change (why?), the benefits of successful implementation (what is in it for us, and you) as well as the details of the change (when? where? who is involved? how much will it cost? etc.)

3. Devise an effective education, training and/or skills upgrading scheme for the organization 4. Counter resistance from the employees of companies and align them to overall strategic direction of the organization 5. Provide personal counseling (if required) to alleviate any change-related fears 6. Monitoring of the implementation and fine-tuning as required

Project Management Project management is the process and activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals in Page 77 of 114

scientific or daily problems. A project is a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually timeconstrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.

The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget. The secondary — and more ambitious — challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.

Approaches There are a number of approaches for managing project activities including lean, iterative, incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the methodology employed, careful consideration must be given to the overall project objectives, timeline, and cost, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all participants and stakeholders.

The traditional approach A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional approach", five developmental components of a project can be distinguished (four stages plus control): 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

initiation planning and design execution and construction monitoring and controlling systems completion and finish point

Not all projects will have every stage, as projects can be terminated before they reach completion. Some projects do not follow a structured planning and/or monitoring process. And some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Many industries use variations of these project stages. For example, when working on a brick-and-mortar design and construction, projects will typically progress through stages like pre-planning, conceptual design, schematic design, design development, construction drawings (or contract documents), and construction administration. In software development, this approach is often known as the waterfall model, i.e., one Page 78 of 114

series of tasks after another in linear sequence. In software development many organizations have adapted the Rational Unified Process (RUP) to fit this methodology, although RUP does not require or explicitly recommend this practice. Waterfall development works well for small, well defined projects, but often fails in larger projects of undefined and ambiguous nature. The Cone of Uncertainty explains some of this as the planning made on the initial phase of the project suffers from a high degree of uncertainty. This becomes especially true as software development is often the realization of a new or novel product. In projects where requirements have not been finalized and can change, requirements management is used to develop an accurate and complete definition of the behavior of software that can serve as the basis for software development. While the terms may differ from industry to industry, the actual stages typically follow common steps to problem solving—"defining the problem, weighing options, choosing a path, implementation and evaluation."

PRINCE2 PRINCE2 is a structured approach to project management released in 1996 as a generic project management method. It combines the original PROMPT methodology (which evolved into the PRINCE methodology) with IBM's MITP (managing the implementation of the total project) methodology. PRINCE2 provides a method for managing projects within a clearly defined framework.

PRINCE2 focuses on the definition and delivery of products, in particular their quality requirements. As such, it defines a successful project as being output-oriented (not activity- or task-oriented) through creating an agreed set of products that define the scope of the project and provides the basis for planning and control, that is, how then to coordinate people and activities, how to design and supervise product delivery, and what to do if products and therefore the scope of the project has to be adjusted if it does not develop as planned.

In the method, each process is specified with its key inputs and outputs and with specific goals and activities to be carried out to deliver a project's outcomes as defined by its Business Case. This allows for continuous assessment and adjustment when deviation from the Business Case is required.

PRINCE2 provides a common language for all participants in the project. The governance framework of PRINCE2 – its roles and responsibilities – are fully described and require tailoring to suit the complexity of the project and skills of the organisation.

Critical Chain Project Management Critical chain project management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing project execution designed to deal with uncertainties inherent in managing projects, while taking into consideration limited availability of resources (physical, human skills, as well as management & support capacity) needed to execute projects.

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CCPM is an application of the theory of constraints (TOC) to projects. The goal is to increase the flow of projects in an organization (throughput). Applying the first three of the five focusing steps of TOC, the system constraint for all projects is identified as are the resources. To exploit the constraint, tasks on the critical chain are given priority over all other activities. Finally, projects are planned and managed to ensure that the resources are ready when the critical chain tasks must start, subordinating all other resources to the critical chain.

The project plan should typically undergo resource leveling, and the longest sequence of resource-constrained tasks should be identified as the critical chain. In some cases, such as managing contracted sub-projects, it is advisable to use a simplified approach without resource leveling.

In multi-project environments, resource leveling should be performed across projects.

However, it is often enough to identify (or simply select) a single "drum". The drum can be a resource that acts as a constraint across projects, which are staggered based on the availability of that single resource.

One can also use a "virtual drum" by selecting a task or group of tasks (typically integration points) and limiting the number of projects in execution at that stage.

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Process-Based Management The incorporation of process-based management has been driven by the use of Maturity models such as the CMMI (capability maturity model integration; see this example of a predecessor) and ISO/IEC15504 (SPICE – software process improvement and capability estimation).

Agile Project Management Agile project management encompasses several iterative approaches, based on the principles of human interaction management and founded on a process view of human collaboration. Agile-based methodologies are "most typically" employed in software development as well as the "website, technology, creative, and marketing industries."

This sharply contrasts with traditional approaches such as the Waterfall method. In agile software development or flexible product development, the project is seen as a series of relatively small tasks conceived and executed to conclusion as the situation demands in an adaptive manner, rather than as a completely pre-planned process.

Advocates of this technique claim that:   

It is the most consistent project management technique since it involves frequent testing of the project under development.

It is the only technique in which the client will be actively involved in the project development.

The only disadvantage with this technique is that it should be used only if the client has enough time to be actively involved in the project every now and then.

Agile is an umbrella term for multiple project management methodologies, including: 



  

Scrum - A holistic approach to development that focuses on iterative goals set by the Product Owner through a backlog, which is developed by the Delivery Team through the facilitation of the Scrum Master.

Extreme Programming (XP) - A set of practices based on a set of principles and values, with a goal to develop that provides real value by implementing tight feedback loops at all levels of the development process and using them to steer development. XP popularized Test Driven Development (TDD) and Pair Programming. eXtreme Manufacturing (XM) - An agile methodology based on Scrum, Kanban and Kaizen that facilitates rapid engineering and prototyping.

Crystal Clear - An agile or lightweight methodology that focuses on colocation and osmotic communication.

Kanban (かんばん(看板)?) - A lean framework for process improvement that is frequently used to manage work in progress (WIP) within agile projects. Kanban has been specifically applied in software development.

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

Scrum ban a mixed scrum and kanban approach to project management. It focuses on taking the flexibility of kanban and adding the structure of scrum to create a new way to manage projects.

Lean Project Management Lean project management uses the principles from lean manufacturing to focus on delivering value with less waste and reduced time.

Extreme Project Management In critical studies of project management it has been noted that several PERT based models are not well suited for the multi-project company environment of today. Most of them are aimed at very large-scale, one-time, non-routine projects, and currently all kinds of management are expressed in terms of projects.

Using complex models for "projects" (or rather "tasks") spanning a few weeks has been proven to cause unnecessary costs and low maneuverability in several cases. The generalization of Extreme Programming to other kinds of projects is extreme project management, which may be used in combination with the process modeling and management principles of human interaction management.

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Benefits Realization Management Benefits realization management (BRM) enhances normal project management techniques through a focus on outcomes (the benefits) of a project rather than products or outputs, and then measuring the degree to which that is happening to keep a project on track. This can help to reduce the risk of a completed project being a failure by delivering agreed upon requirements/outputs but failing to deliver the benefits of those requirements.

In addition, BRM practices aim to ensure the alignment between project outcomes and business strategies. The effectiveness of these practices is supported by recent research evidencing BRM practices influencing project success from a strategic perspective across different countries and industries.

An example of delivering a project to requirements might be agreeing to deliver a computer system that will process staff data and manage payroll, holiday and staff personnel records. Under BRM the agreement might be to achieve a specified reduction in staff hours required to process and maintain staff data.

Processes Traditionally, project management includes a number of elements: four to five process groups, and a control system. Regardless of the methodology or terminology used, the same basic project management processes will be used. Major process groups generally include:     

Initiation Planning or design Production or execution Monitoring and controlling Closing

In project environments with a significant exploratory element (e.g., research and development), these stages may be supplemented with decision points (go/no go decisions) at which the project's continuation is debated and decided. An example is the Phase–gate model.

Initiating The initiating processes determine the nature and scope of the project. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’ needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

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The initiating stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:     

analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goals reviewing of the current operations financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedules

Planning and Design After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of detail (see example of a flow-chart). The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project's chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.

Project planning generally consists of           

determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or rolling wave); developing the scope statement; selecting the planning team; identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure; identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and networking the activities in their logical sequence; estimating the resource requirements for the activities; estimating time and cost for activities; developing the schedule; developing the budget; risk planning; gaining formal approval to begin work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management, identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

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For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

Executing Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project plan to accomplish the project's requirements.

Monitoring and Controlling Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling includes:    

Measuring the ongoing project activities ('where we are'); Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be); Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we get on track again); Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented.

In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and control process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:     

Continuing support of end-users Correction of errors Updates of the software over time In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change.

Change is a normal and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This is referred to as change management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any Page 85 of 114



change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or more simply, ―as built.‖ The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts. Construction document management is a highly important task undertaken with the aid an online or desktop software system, or maintained through physical documentation. The increasing legality pertaining to the construction industries maintenance of correct documentation has caused the increase in the need for document management systems.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project. Successful project management identifies these components, and tracks and monitors progress so as to stay within time and budget frames already outlined at the commencement of the project.

Closing Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof.

Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

This phase consists of: 



Contract closure: Complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase.

Project close: Finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the project or a project phase

Also included in this phase is the Post Implementation Review. This is a vital phase of the project for the project team to learn from experiences and apply to future projects.

Normally a Post Implementation Review consists of looking at things that went well and analyzing things that went badly on the project to come up with lessons learned.

Project controlling and project control systems Project controlling should be established as an independent function in project management. It implements verification and controlling function during the processing of a project in order to reinforce the defined performance and formal goals. The tasks of project controlling are also:  

the creation of infrastructure for the supply of the right information and its update the establishment of a way to communicate disparities of project parameters

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   

the development of project information technology based on an intranet or the determination of a project key performance indicator system (KPI) divergence analyses and generation of proposals for potential project regulations the establishment of methods to accomplish an appropriate project structure, project workflow organization, project control and governance creation of transparency among the project parameters

Fulfillment and implementation of these tasks can be achieved by applying specific methods and instruments of project controlling. The following methods of project controlling can be applied:          

investment analysis cost–benefit analysis value benefit analysis expert surveys simulation calculations risk-profile analysis surcharge calculations milestone trend analysis cost trend analysis target/actual-comparison

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget. Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Projects may be audited or reviewed while the project is in progress.

Formal audits are generally risk or compliance-based and management will direct the objectives of the audit. An examination may include a comparison of approved project management processes with how the project is actually being managed. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors and fixes.

Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement, and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how important the projects are to the financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls exist. Auditors should review the development process and procedures for how they are implemented. The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be assessed if needed or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved throughout the process to catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An auditor can serve as a controls consultant as part of the development team or as an independent auditor as part of an audit.

Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating

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strong controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines:     

A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives Standards for new systems Project management policies for timing and budgeting Procedures describing the process Evaluation of quality of change

Topics Project Managers A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers can have the responsibility of the planning, execution, and closing of any project, typically relating to construction industry, engineering, architecture, computing, and telecommunications. Many other fields in production engineering and design engineering and heavy industrial have project managers.

A project manager is the person accountable for accomplishing the stated project objectives. Key project management responsibilities include creating clear and attainable project objectives, building the project requirements, and managing the triple constraint for projects, which is cost, time, and scope.

A project manager is often a client representative and has to determine and implement the exact needs of the client, based on knowledge of the firm they are representing. The ability to adapt to the various internal procedures of the contracting party, and to form close links with the nominated representatives, is essential in ensuring that the key issues of cost, time, quality and above all, client satisfaction, can be realized.

Project Management Types While Project management, by itself, is a discipline that can apply to any project intended to deliver solutions for any purpose, it is often tailored to accommodate the specific and repeatable needs of different and highly specialized industries. For example, the construction industry, which focuses on the delivery of things like buildings, roads, and bridges, has developed its own specialized form of project management that it refers to as Construction project management and for which project managers can become trained and certified in. The Information technology industry has also evolved to develop its own form of Project management that is referred to as IT Project management and which specializes in the delivery of technical assets and services that are required to pass through various lifecycle phases such as planning, design, development, testing, and deployment. Biotechnology project management focuses on the intricacies of biotechnology research and development.

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For each type of project management, project managers develop and utilize repeatable templates that are specific to the industry they're dealing with. This allows project plans to become very thorough and highly repeatable, with the specific intent to increase quality, lower delivery costs, and lower time to deliver project results.

Work Breakdown Structure The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a tree structure that shows a subdivision of effort required to achieve an objective—for example a program, project, and contract.

The WBS may be hardware-, product-, service-, or process-oriented (see an example in a NASA reporting structure (2001)).

A WBS can be developed by starting with the end objective and successively subdividing it into manageable components in terms of size, duration, and responsibility (e.g., systems, subsystems, components, tasks, sub-tasks, and work packages), which include all steps necessary to achieve the objective.

The work breakdown structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established.

The work breakdown structure can be displayed in two forms one in form of a table with subdivision of tasks two in form of an organisational chart.

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Challenges to Success In designing and implementing youth development programs, there are always barriers that must be overcome. The following section highlights specific barriers and also provides minimizing strategies, solutions or ―barrier busters" in order to help you overcome these challenges.

Many barriers in youth development center on a common mindset that exists within the field. This mindset involves several interrelated tensions(Lawson, Anderson-Butcher, & Barkdull, 2002; Anderson-Butcher, Midle, Hansford, Fallara, & Grotevant, 2004), including but not limited to the following: 1. Quantity versus quality: Do we want to serve more youth with fewer programs or serve less youth with more quality programming?

2. Safe haven versus comprehensive youth development: Are we mostly concerned with keeping youth supervised and safe or do we truly desire to develop important skills, assets and competencies among participants?

3. Unstructured versus structured: Do we have a loosely knit, free-play, unstructured program or a strict, predictable and structured one?

4. Academic versus social/recreational: Do we focus only on structured academic programming, especially academic achievement, or focus on social, recreational and enrichment?

5. Activity-oriented versus results-oriented: Is our intent to provide activities in which youth will engage or to provide intentional programs that are designed to create outcomes?

Barrier: Common Mindset and Related Tensions Individuals working within youth development will approach their work with varying degrees of these aforementioned mindsets. Too often, however, it seems youth development programs are focused on the masses, safe havens, mostly unstructured, social/recreational, and activity-oriented (e.g., Anderson-Butcher et al., 2004).

The section below presents common mindset and related tension barriers and makes suggestions about how to address them:

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Common Mindset 6. Tendency of staff to implement ―activities‖ as opposed to focusing on creating outcomes 7. Programs serve as ―holding pens,‖ where the perception is that programs are successful as long as [participants] are busy, supervised and having fun 8. Programs attempt to do ―everything‖ and do nothing really well 9. Programs are too academic, are truly extended school days and many youth will not come

Minimizing Strategies 10. Provide high quality, results-oriented programs 11. Use logic models to link program activities to intended outcomes 12. Define the purpose for each program and activity (program with intention) 13. Focus on developing skills, competencies and assets within all programs and activities 14. Do not forgo quality of programming just to serve more youth 15. Provide a programs;

balance

between

activity-oriented

and

results-oriented

16. use social and recreational activities to recruit youth into other more outcomes-focused programs 17. Work with licensing agencies and resource/referral networks to support quality improvement efforts

Barrier: Recruitment and Retention Many times these mindsets and related tensions are grounded in issues around recruiting and retaining youths’ involvement in programming. For instance, if programs are too structured and academic, youth simply will not attend. Conversely, if programs are too social/recreational, then outcomes will not occur. Likewise, youth often selfselect into these programs. If programs are not designed to meet youths’ needs and interests, they simply will not be motivated to participate.

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The section below presents common recruitment and retention barriers and makes suggestions about how to address them.

Specific Barriers and Minimizing Strategies Barrier: Recruitment and Retention 18. It is hard to attract different ―types‖ of youth 19. Youth feel ―required‖ to attend 20. Youth do not feel they have a say in what types of programs are offered; programs are implemented by staff ―to the kids‖ 21. Youth self-select and are not ―attracted‖ to certain types of programs 22. Programs use ―one size fits all‖ approaches 23. Attendance is sporadic and not regular 24. There are many opportunities, both pro- and anti-social that compete for youths’ time 25. Programs are not located where youth can access them

Minimizing Strategies 26. Design program so participants have choices, ―say so‖ and control 27. Plan programs and activities with participants 28. Use social/recreational activities to recruit youth 29. Develop relationships among youth, staff and peers to increase motivation for involvement 30. Design fun, engaging and meaningful programs 31. Ensure cultural sensitivity and appreciate diversity; use inclusive language 32. Counteract social norms and labels 33. Ensure there are programs that meet multiple needs 34. Have multiple activities arranged simultaneously so youth can choose

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35. Individualize programs to meet identified youth needs 36. Provide specific programs for aggregate groups of youth with common characteristics, needs or desires (i.e., gender-specific programs; have a 4H Club, Boy Scouts, and/or dance classes within an after-school program)

Barrier: Behavioral Management Problems Another common barrier or challenge within youth development programming involves behavior management and discipline issues. Sometimes youth simply act out and are non-compliant. It truly is difficult to create positive outcomes for youth when participants are uncooperative and taking attention away from programming. Table 6.9 presents common behavioral management problem barriers and makes suggestions about how to address them.

Specific Barriers and Minimizing Strategies 37. Barrier: Behavioral management problems 38. Youth display inappropriate behaviors that take staff away from the program and attention away from other youth and the program activity 39. Time within the programs is not maximized 40. Youth have a lot of unstructured, undirected time in programs 41. Transitions between programs and activities are not well thought out 42. There is no consistent schedule of activities so youth do not know what is coming next and act out 43. Staff often focus on the negative and related consequences 44. Youth are bored because activities are not developmentally or skill-level appropriate 45. Rules are not well known and consistently reinforced 46. Programs do not have extra staff who can address acting out behaviors 47. Staff are not well trained in preventing and de-escalating problem behaviors

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Minimizing Strategies 48. Anticipate problems before they arise rather than waiting for a crisis to occur 49. Enhance ―time-on-task" or time that youth are actively engaged in a program activity (as opposed to sitting and waiting) 50. Use appropriate tone and inflection when talking with youth 51. Reduce time where youth are inactive or in unstructured activities (i.e., provide activities for youth to do when they first arrive to the program) 52. Provide consistency within the program through regular schedules and activities that happen each time 53. Have enough equipment/supplies to enhance the number of youth engaged in the activity (i.e., 10 basketballs for 30 youth as opposed to 1:30) 54. Instead of having one activity for the entire group, break into several smaller groups to do the same activity (i.e., have three kickball games as opposed to one) 55. Prepare youth for transitions ahead of time by reminding them there is 5 minutes left 56. Maximize while simultaneously containing space (ie., use cones for boundaries in games; enforce that certain activities are in certain rooms and wandering is not allowed) 57. Provide at least five positive comments for every one negative comment 58. Use precision commands that direct youth to choose the ―right‖ behaviors 59. Provide age-appropriate, individualized and engaging programs 60. Use and reinforce school rules or guidelines to provide youth with consistent messages

Barrier: Funding It might be easier for you and other youth development workers to implement quality, results-oriented programs, attract and retainall youth, and prevent behavior problems if there were endless financial and human resources available to programs and staff.

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Funding is a very real challenge that often times drives many of our program planning decisions.

The section below presents common funding barriers and makes suggestions about how to address them.

Barrier: Funding 1. Programs are under-funded 2. Programs and organizations have their funding cut during hard economical times 3. Funding streams for specific types of programs are nonexistent 4. It is hard to find funding for administrative overhead, but administration is essential to the implementation of quality and accountable programs 5. Inadequate funding contributes to low pay and high turnover rate for staff

Minimizing Strategies 1. Ensure the services you are providing relate to the outcomes toward which you are working 2. Evaluate programs and document success stories and outcomes 3. Make sure you are in compliance with the requirements of your funding source 4. Develop strong working relationships with current and potential funders 5. Collaborate with other partners to maximize program opportunities (i.e., work with the school to secure low-cost space) 6. Use volunteers to support program operations 7. Develop partnerships with local businesses and others who can contribute resources/supplies 8. Find ways to blend funding streams to support 9. Support, listen to and value staff

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10. If you do not have extra moneyto pay staff, then develop other ways to show them they are appreciated 11. Encourage staff to be creative, have fun and be challenged

In Conclusion Clearly, youth development programs and services, including after-school programs at schools and in the community, have the potential to benefit youth, schools and families.

Unfortunately, in too many schools, communities and neighborhoods this enormous potential remains untapped. When these programs’ potential is untapped, the desirable outcomes identified in the previous discussion are not achieved. No one is served under these circumstances.

Thus, the key is to unleash the potentialof existing youth development programs and services and to develop new ones as well. After-school programs, both school-based and school-linked, are especially important. In fact, after-school programs have the potential to enhance school improvement initiatives, while simultaneously fostering healthy youth development.

This important work requires dedicated, informed youth leaders. These leaders must know which outcomes they want and need toachieve as well as how to implement theoretically-sound, research-supported design principles and program strategies to achieve them.

These leaders also must know how to adapt their programs and services in response to the local conditions and populations needing to be served. They especially must know how to engage youth as co-designers and co-leaders. Moreover, they must know to how anticipate, identify and address common barriers to success.

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Documentation Is the Key Documentation is a set of documents provided on paper, or online, or on digital or analog media, such as audio tape or CDs. Example are user guides, white papers, online help, quick-reference guides. It is becoming less common to see paper (hard-copy) documentation. Documentation is distributed via websites, software products, and other on-line applications.

Professionals educated in this field are termed documentalists. This field changed its name to information science in 1968, but some uses of the term documentation still exists and there have been efforts to reintroduce the term documentation as a field of study.

Principles for Producing Documentation While associated ISO standards are not easily available publicly, a guide from other sources for this topic may serve the purpose. David Berger has provided several principles of document writing, regarding the terms used, procedure numbering and even lengths of sentences, etc.

Guidelines The following is a list of guides dealing with each specific field and type:  

documentation in health care thesis writing Further information: Dissertation



papers for academic journal publishing (i.e. Journal of Food Science and Analytical Chemistry)

Procedures and Techniques The procedures of documentation vary from one sector, or one type, to another. In general, these may involve document drafting, formatting, submitting, reviewing, approving, distributing, repositing and tracking, etc., and are convened by associated SOPs in a regulatory industry.

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Producing Documentation Technical writers and corporate communicators are professionals whose field and work is documentation. Ideally, technical writers have a background in both the subject matter and also in writing and managing content (information architecture). Technical writers more commonly collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs), such as engineers, medical professionals, or other types of clients to define and then create content (documentation) that meets the user's needs. Corporate communications includes other types of written documentation that is required for most companies.

Specializing Documentation 



 

Marketing Communications (MarCom): MarCom writers endeavor to convey the company's value proposition through a variety of print, electronic, and social media. This area of corporate writing is often engaged in responding to proposals.

Technical Communication (TechCom): Technical writers document a company's project or service. Technical publication include user guides, installation manuals, and troubleshooting/repair/replace procedures.

Legal Writing: This type of documentation is often prepared by attorneys or paralegals who could be in private practice or retained as corporate council.

Compliance documentation: This type of documentation codifies Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), for any regulatory compliance needs, as for safety approval, taxation, financing, technical approval, etc.

Indexing  

Index (database) Index (search engine)

Documentation In Computer Science The following are typical software documentation types      

Request for Proposal (RFP) Requirements/ Statement of work/ Scope of Work (SOW) Software Design and Functional Specification System Design and Functional Specifications Change Management, Error and Enhancement Tracking User Acceptance Testing

The following are typical hardware and service documentation types  

network diagrams network maps

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 

datasheet for IT systems (Server, Switch, e.g.)

Service Catalog and Service Portfolio (ITIL)

Documentation include such as feasibility report, technical documentation, operational documentation, log book, etc.

Tools for Documenting Software There are many types of software and applications used to create documentation.

SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION FOLDER (SDF) A common type of software document written by software engineers in the simulation industry is the SDF. When developing software for a simulator, which can range from embedded avionics devices to 3D terrain databases by way of full motion control systems, the engineer keeps a notebook detailing the development "the build" of the project or module. The document can be a wiki page, MS word document or other environment. They should contain a requirements section, an interface section to detail the communication interface of the software. Often a notes section is used to detail the proof of concept, and then track errors and enhancements. Finally, a testing section to document how the software was tested. This documents conformance to the client's requirements. The result is a detailed description of how the software is designed, how to build and install the software on the target device, and any known defects and workarounds. This build document enables future developers and maintainers to come up to speed on the software in a timely manner, and also provides a roadmap to modifying code or searching for bugs.

SOFTWARE FOR NETWORK INVENTORY AND CONFIGURATION (CMDB) These software tools can automatically collect data of your network equipment. The data could be for inventory and for configuration information. The ITIL Library requests to create such a database as a basis for all information for the IT responsible. It's also the basis for IT documentation.

Documentation In Criminal Justice "Documentation" is the preferred term for the process of populating criminal databases.

Examples include the National Counter-terrorism Center's Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment ("TIDE"), sex offender registries, and gang databases.

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Keep It Simple, Stupid KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson (1910–1990). The term "KISS principle" was in popular use by 1970. Variations on the phrase include "keep it short and simple", "keep it simple and straightforward" and "keep it small and simple".

Origin The acronym was reportedly coined by Kelly Johnson, lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (creators of the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes, among many others).

While popular usage has translated it for decades as "Keep it simple, stupid", Johnson translated it as "Keep it simple stupid" (no comma), and this reading is still used by many authors. There was no implicit meaning that an engineer was stupid; just the opposite.

The principle is best exemplified by the story of Johnson handing a team of design engineers a handful of tools, with the challenge that the jet aircraft they were designing must be repairable by an average mechanic in the field under combat conditions with only these tools. Hence, the "stupid" refers to the relationship between the way things break and the sophistication available to repair them.

The acronym has been used by many in the United States Air Force and the field of software development.

Variants The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts, such as Occam's razor, Leonardo da Vinci's "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", Mies Van Der Rohe's "Less is more", or Antoine de Saint Exupéry's "It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus Cars, urged his designers to "Simplify, then add lightness". Rube Goldberg's machines, intentionally overly-complex solutions to simple tasks or problems, are humorous examples of "non-KISS" solutions.

An alternative view – "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler" – is attributed to Albert Einstein, although this may be an editor's paraphrase of a lecture he gave.

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A variant used in marketing is "keep it simple and straightforward".

In Film Animation Master animator Richard Williams explains the KISS principle in his book The Animator's Survival Kit, and Disney's Nine Old Men write about it in Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, a considerable work of the genre. The problem faced is that inexperienced animators may "over-animate" in their works, that is, a character may move too much and do too much. Williams urges animators to "KISS".

In software development       

List of software development philosophies Minimalism (computing) Reduced instruction set computing Worse is better (Less is more) Don't repeat yourself (DRY) You aren't gonna need it (YAGNI) Rule of Least Power

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References ______ 1. http://www.uniteforsight.org/public-health-management/evidence-based-programs 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_practice 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence-based_policy 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy-based_evidence_making 5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice 6. http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/teaching-cultural-competence/ 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_entrepreneurship 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_business 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_control 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_and_preventive_action 11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management 12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_project_management 13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management_2.0 15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_software 16. http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/courses/Implementations/resources/imp_course.pdf 17. https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Other-Resources/Family-and-CommunityEngagement/Models-for-Family-and-Community-Engagement/Youth-Development.pdf.aspx 18. https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Other-Resources/Family-and-CommunityEngagement/Models-for-Family-and-Community-Engagement/Youth-Development.pdf.aspx 19. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentation 20. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle 21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analysis

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Notes ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

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Attachment A NREPP Roadmap to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs

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A Road Map to Implementing

Evidence-Based Programs

June 2012

Table of Contents Course Overview ...................................................................................... 3

About this Course ................................................................................ 3

Intended Audience ............................................................................... 3

What to Expect.................................................................................... 3

Course Topics ..................................................................................... 4

Course Learning Objectives ................................................................... 4

Implementation Language ....................................................................... 5

The Five Stages of Implementation .......................................................... 7

Exploration: Getting Started..................................................................... 8

Identifying Community Needs................................................................ 8

Assessing Organizational Capacity.......................................................... 9

Searching Program Registries to Select the Right Program ....................... 11

Understanding Program Fidelity and Adaptation ..................................... 12

Installation: Launching Your Program.................................................... 13

Initial Implementation: Expect the Unexpected ..................................... 15

Full Implementation: The Program is in Place ........................................ 16

Program Sustainability: Maintaining Your Program’s Success ................ 18

Contact Us .............................................................................................. 19

Appendix A – Resources ......................................................................... 20

Appendix B - References ........................................................................ 24

Appendix C – Supplemental Documents ................................................. 25

Course Overview About this Course This course provides guidance to facilitate selection and implementation of one of the many evidence-based programs related to prevention and treatment that are publicly available today. You will learn how to (1) select the program that best matches your organization's needs and (2) carry out the steps necessary to implement the program you choose.

Intended Audience Individuals who may benefit from this course include members of an organization working collaboratively to identify and implement an evidence-based program.

Whether you're looking for a program that addresses bullying, underage drinking, drug abuse, or treatment of a specific mental health disorder, the information here can help you in the selection and implementation of a suitable program. Those who may find the course useful are: 



Administrators, program directors, or clinicians charged with identifying, selecting, and implementing a program to meet the needs of their target population, funders, community, etc.

Individuals interested in learning more about best practices and strategies for successful program selection and implementation

What to Expect This course provides overall guidance for appropriately selecting and implementing the program of your choice. The focus is not on individuals choosing a program, but rather on an organization working collaboratively to select and implement a program to fit its needs. Experience has shown that organizational commitment, readiness, and flexibility are all critical to successful selection and implementation of an evidence-based program or practice.

This course includes several components. A section on terminology will introduce you to some of the language you may encounter during your program selection and implementation tasks. A glossary is also available if you need it. Each page is supplemented with links to other resources that may prove helpful to your learning experience. The information presented here has been distilled from professional publications, and full references appear at the end.

A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 3 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

Course Topics The following topics are covered in this course: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Course Overview Implementation Language Five Stages of Implementation Exploration: Getting Started Installation: Launching Your Program Initial Implementation: Expect the Unexpected Full Implementation: The Program is in Place Program Sustainability: Maintaining Your Program's Success

Course Learning Objectives This course will help you learn:     

Basic terms related to program selection and implementation How to identify your organization's needs Where to find available programs How to select the best program for your organization's needs, with a focus on implementation The five basic stages of program implementation

A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 4 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

Implementation Language This section will introduce you to some of the terms used in the field of implementation science and research.

To begin, the general term program, as used in this course, refers to an intervention designed to bring about specific outcomes for specific purposes or populations. An example would be a program based on scientific principles designed to prevent drug abuse by children.

Implementation refers to putting the program — and the scientific principles — to work in a real setting, such as a school or community to bring benefits to a particular target audience.

Dissemination of programs refers to the targeted distribution of information and program materials to a specific public health or clinical practice audience. The intent is to spread knowledge about the programs and encourage their use.

Increasingly, the approach to prevention and treatment includes the use of evidence-based programs and practices. Evidence-based signifies that the approach is based in theory and has undergone scientific evaluation. This contrasts with approaches based on tradition, convention, belief, or anecdotal evidence. The shift to evidence-based programs seeks to enhance the potential for positive results. Today, many foundations, government agencies, and state legislatures encourage or require the use of evidence-based programs in service delivery plans.

Evidence-based programs are designed by program developers such as researchers at universities, practitioners in the field, and businesses engaged in promoting and distributing social services programs.

Many evidence-based programs contain a defined set of core components, which are the essential parts of a program. Some sample core components might be:  There are five lessons of 30 minutes each that cover five specific themes.  Sessions are conducted with a group of four to six elementary school students.  The intervention is delivered in the home during home visits.  The intervention is delivered in a specific sequence of stages.

In the above example, if you decide to change the length or frequency of the lessons, or you use the program with a group of 12 middle school students, or you conduct the program in a classroom instead of at home, or you change the order in which the core components are introduced to the target population, you have changed the core components, and you are no longer implementing the program with fidelity. As a result, you cannot expect the same outcomes the developer predicted.

A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 5 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

So, the term fidelity refers to including all the core components of a program during implementation to help ensure successful outcomes. The term adaptation refers to the process of changing a program to meet specific needs. If you adapt a program for any reason, you must maintain the core components to ensure success. Adaptation will be discussed in more detail later.

Selecting a program for implementation in your setting involves careful planning, community and organizational involvement, and a comprehensive assessment of resources. Once this process is completed, you are ready to determine program fit.

Program fit can be described as the (potential) match between your community's needs, resources, and capacity to implement a program—with the requirements of the program.

A critical piece of implementing any program or practice is the ability to measure the effect of the program on the population you are serving. In an outcome evaluation, it is important to use outcome measures: How is the system performing? What is the impact or result on what you are trying to change? In a process evaluation, use process measures: Are the parts/steps in the system performing as planned?

A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 6 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

The Five Stages of Implementation Successfully implementing a program that fits your organization's needs is a process - not a single event - that occurs in multiple stages of planning, purposeful action, and evaluating.

It is not enough to simply select a proven evidence-based program and assume success will automatically follow. Good implementation strategies are essential.

The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN)1 reviewed more than 2,000 articles on the implementation of programs and identified five main stages of successful implementation (Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005), which are all interrelated:     

Exploration Installation Initial Implementation Full Implementation Program Sustainability

Since the stages are connected, issues addressed (or not addressed) in one stage can affect another stage. Moreover, changes in your organization or community may require you to revisit a stage and address activities again to maintain the program.

1

National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) – http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 7 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

Exploration: Getting Started The goal of the Exploration Stage is to select the right evidence-based program.

Your organization will strive to identify the best program fit, which is the match between needs and resources and the characteristics of the program (this is discussed in greater detail later). Four main activities are involved in this stage:  Identify your community's needs to determine the type of program that will be most appropriate.  Assess your organizational capacity including financial resources, organizational commitment, and community buy-in to determine your ability to implement a program with fidelity.  Search program registries to select a program that matches your community needs, your organization's available resources, and available programs.  Understand program fidelity and program adaptation.

Focusing on these activities to identify a good program fit is part of ensuring successful implementation.

Identifying Community Needs Much has been written about the importance of the community needs assessment.

Identifying your target population and understanding its needs, challenges, and assets is critical to your success in choosing an appropriate program. Articulating the outcomes you want to achieve (such as reducing underage alcohol use or improving parental bonding) will provide the framework for exploring the range of evidence-based programs and practices and selecting the best fit for your organization.

See Community Needs Assessment Resources and Tools2 for more information on community needs assessments.

2

See Appendix A A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 8 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

Assessing Organizational Capacity Financial and Personnel Costs Programs cost money. You will likely need program-specific materials to implement the program (manuals, materials, etc.). However, implementing a new program may also require additional funds to hire new staff or purchase needed equipment or space. Contact the developer to discuss the program you are considering. The developer can clarify basic information such as costs, time needed, what to expect, etc. You also need to clearly identify your financial and staff and community resources. Do you have space available? Do you have the funding you need to fully implement the program? How much will the program itself cost? The program developer often indicates in the program materials how much it will cost for staff training, materials, additional equipment, technical assistance support, and all other costs directly associated with the program. Ask the program developer about these implementation costs and the cost of service delivery (how a program bills for the services it provides), if appropriate.

There may also be other less obvious costs to consider related to infrastructure. For example, if the program indicates the need for staff with specific skills (such as someone with a master's degree in social work), you will need to consider the skills of your current staff members and determine if you need to hire someone new or train a current staff person. If the program requires that all staff members have access to a computer program or an Internet connection, additional funds may be required to make such resources available. It is also important to pay attention to caseload standards as many evidence-based programs require a specific caseload that may be dramatically different from usual care. The overall size and scope of the chosen program will influence the potential associated costs of implementing it.  

3 4

Questions To Ask: Financial and Personnel Resources3 See Organizational Capacity Resources and Tools4 for more information on organizational capacity.

See Appendix C See Appendix A A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 9 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

Commitment and Buy-In Your organization's staff at all levels will need to be committed to the implementation process for the long term. It may take one to four years to implement a program and achieve positive outcomes, and the process will continue throughout the life of the program. Discussions — and commitments — are extremely important.

It is also important to understand that achieving buy-in is not a one-time event.

Those in positions of leadership, who often make program decisions, and also the practitioners, support staff, and human resources staff will need to stay committed to facilitating delivery of the program and eliminating barriers to success.

 Questions To Ask: Commitment and Buy-In5  See Organizational Capacity Resources and Tools6 for more information on organizational capacity.

5 6

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Searching Program Registries to Select the Right Program Once you have a clear idea of your program needs and your organizational resources, you may search registries of programs to select a program that matches your needs. It is important to read and understand the criteria used to rate or classify programs as these will differ by source. Registries and other resources may also be specific to certain topics or service areas such as education, mental health, juvenile justice, etc.

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) provides a checklist of questions (CSAP, 2009) you may ask to see how well your potential selection might fit your needs:  

7 8

Questions To Ask: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)'s Checklist for Program Fit7 See Program Registries Resources and Tools8 for more information on program registries.

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Understanding Program Fidelity and Adaptation Two especially important concepts introduced earlier in the section on implementation language are program fidelity and program adaptation. It is common for an organization to decide to "adapt" a program at the time of selection (that is, change it to fit its needs) rather than plan to implement the program with fidelity (that is, as it was designed by the program developer). Typically, organizations want to change either (1) the program's content or (2) the mode of delivery.

You may choose to adapt a program for a variety of reasons, such as  Differences in the target population: for example, your organization may be looking for a program suitable for a Latino population and find a good program that is not specifically targeted to Latinos; you might consider adjusting the program to serve that community  Issues with complexity or ease of use: for example, a teacher may want to deliver a certain classroom-based program, but class time is not long enough  Potential barriers to implementation such as time, money, resources, or accessing the target population

 Lack of perceived efficacy, relevance, or acceptance of the program

 Lack of understanding of what makes the program work

Please be cautioned that your adaptations may have implications that will affect the program's results. Many believe adapting a program is the easier route for achieving desired outcomes, but the opposite is often true. Adapting an intervention so that it meets the needs of a certain target population requires a thorough understanding of the program theory and the components mentioned earlier.

Adapting a component of a program without understanding the underlying rationale may result in undesired or unintended program outcomes. Once adaptations have been made (without input from the program developer), you cannot expect to see the outcomes produced by the original.

Adapting a program may also require additional resources (personnel, time, and funds) to monitor the adaptation and evaluate the outcomes. Program adaptations may be necessary, but they will require additional planning and evaluation above and beyond implementation with fidelity.

See Fidelity and Adaptation Resources and Tools9 for more information on fidelity and adaptation.

9

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Installation: Launching Your Program Once a program has been selected and materials purchased, the process of installing a program begins. Installation refers to making the structural and instrumental changes necessary to implement the program within an organization.

Establishing an Implementation Team within your organization will be critical at this stage. The Implementation Team is a core set of individuals charged with providing guidance through full implementation of the program. This team helps ensure engagement of the stakeholders, creates readiness for implementation, ensures fidelity to the program, monitors outcomes, aligns systems, and removes barriers to implementation. An organization can choose to develop the Implementation Team during the Exploration Stage; however, the participants may change as you move into the Installation Stage.

The following are typical tasks to be conducted during this stage:      

Establish space in the organization for the program, including both physical space and process space.

Develop easily accessible data systems to collect and measure the effects of the program and the process.

Install and debug any needed equipment (e.g., software).

Interview current staff to ensure a match with needed qualifications.

Recruit, select, and hire additional staff as needed.

Train staff to use the program and any new systems or equipment needed to implement the program.

Best Practices The following are best practices for the Installation Stage:  Establish an Implementation Team. o A strong understanding of the program to be implemented o Knowledge of how to successfully implement the program with fidelity o An ability to become more effective and efficient over time through experience  Identify and engage an individual or group of individuals to

"champion" or promote your chosen program.

o Look for people within the organization and the community who are influential, respected, and committed to the program. These people must have the ability to identify problems that arise and to propose solutions to support and ensure the success of the program. These individuals should be active participants in the implementation process and involved with or be members of the Implementation Team.  Budget for startup costs.

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o Since installation occurs prior to the provision of the new service, funds will be expended that are not reimbursable or covered through other funding mechanisms.  Recognize and address issues regarding readiness. o Individuals do not adapt to change in the same way or along the same time line. Preparing for change and recognizing change occurs in stages leads to a supportive climate for implementation.

Potential Challenges The following are potential challenges during the Installation Stage: 

The organization will be spending money before new services are being provided.  The "status quo" or "business as usual" attitudes and behaviors will be challenged and can cause discomfort and disruption.  A deeper understanding of the challenges of implementing the new program may surface as practitioners, staff, and leadership individuals are asked to change behaviors and processes.

The new program may cause disequilibrium in the system. For example, many agencies and partners will be affected as new services are provided, particularly with respect to referral procedures.

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Initial Implementation: Expect the Unexpected During the initial implementation stage, individuals begin to put into practice all that has been planned for during exploration and installation. Practitioners and staff will be changing their behavior, using new skills for the first time, and incorporating new practices into their everyday routine.

This stage is often awkward because people are now expected to perform new skills and engage in new processes, which may lead them to perform in an uncoordinated or hesitant fashion. Practicing and implementing new skills with fidelity will take time.

Best Practices The following are best practices for the Initial Implementation Stage: 1. Manage the Change Process. One role for the Implementation Team will be to guide and manage the change process and help mitigate fear and resistance. As the team works to remove barriers, it can address issues that surface and help maintain the momentum of the initiative. The Implementation Team can help to set realistic goals and expectations regarding implementation progress, time lines, and the collection and use of the right data at the right time.

2. Accept Abundant Coaching. Ongoing consistent coaching for line staff and practitioners is critical to implementation success. A coach can be trained by the program developer or have extensive experience implementing the program in a similar organizational environment. A coach can provide immediate feedback and support to practitioners and staff. Coaching minimizes resistance, increases positive perceptions of the program and implementation, and enhances skills development. Coaching also helps manage expectations and normalize the implementation. Coaches may be employed by the organization to support staff and assist with monitoring outcomes with ongoing technical assistance.

Potential Challenges The following are potential challenges during the Initial Implementation Stage: 

Resistance to change: Putting new and unfamiliar skills and processes to use can be uncomfortable.  Inertia: Program implementation may get stalled on bumps and snags along the way, causing the initiative to lose momentum.  Program adaptations: Discomfort and uncertainty can lead to changes to core intervention components.  Unrealistic expectations: Organizational leaders and funders may have unrealistic expectations regarding implementation progress or consumer outcomes during this stage.

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Full Implementation: The Program is in Place Full implementation occurs when the program is integrated into the service, organization, and system settings. The processes and procedures to provide the selected program are now in place. For example, staffing is complete, caseloads are full, services are being more skillfully provided by staff, and funding streams are in place. It now becomes important to maintain and improve the program through excellent monitoring and purposeful improvement to avoid entering program drift (that is, edging toward a lack of fidelity). Your program or service is ready to be evaluated, with a focus on assessing program fidelity. Fidelity measures, which can be provided by the program developer, are commonly used at this point to determine if the program is being delivered as intended.

After a program has been implemented with fidelity, program modifications may be considered to help produce better outcomes. For example, if fidelity is high but outcomes are not as expected, this may require program adaptation, an adjustment to the program to fit the specific needs of the organization or its recipients.

All adaptations should be carried out carefully and systematically with the help of the program developer and with attention to both process and outcome evaluations. Process evaluation determines if the program has been implemented as intended; for example, if you accomplished what you intended. Outcome evaluation refers to reviewing the results to determine if the program is working for the intended population and how this is measured. Outcome evaluation refers to reviewing the results to determine if the program is working for the intended population and how this is measured.

Best Practices The following are best practices for the Full Implementation Stage: 1. Maintain and improve service, linkages, support, and infrastructure.

2. Maintain integrated, fully functioning core program components. If adaptations must be made, engage the program developer in the adaptation process.

3. Monitor and evaluate fidelity to ensure the program is being skillfully delivered, using fidelity measures and indicators developed specifically for this purpose.

Potential Challenges The following are potential challenges during the Full Implementation Stage:    

Lack of training or failure to receive the full dosage of training intended Lack of required materials Use of some but not all of the required lessons and delivery strategies Failure to offer the program in the required sequence of stages A Road Map to Implementing Evidence-Based Programs | 16 http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutLearn.aspx

     

Failure to plan for and manage staff turnover Lack of adequate referrals Lack of time to implement the entire program Miscellaneous difficulties or inconveniences, such as technology or equipment failures Day-to-day crises Failure to maintain the buy-in and support of staff, administrators, or others

Organizational issues may also contribute to this failure, such as:    

Lack of funding Inadequate infrastructure Lack of data-driven decisionmaking or autonomous decisionmaking, where frontline staff are not communicating decisions to leadership or management Lack of administrative support

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Program Sustainability: Maintaining Your Program’s Success Sustainability is only possible when full implementation has been achieved.

Sustaining change can be difficult. Your program is not frozen in time and must adapt continually to changes in the community, funding streams, and organizational priorities. Organizational culture, leadership, and staff need to be nurtured and maintained. The involvement of high-level administrators in a continuous feedback loop with the Implementation Team, providers, and recipients is critical. At this stage, an organization should institutionalize a quality assurance mechanism to evaluate use of data. This will facilitate assessing the effectiveness and quality of the program.

Most importantly, sustainability can and should be planned for early in the implementation process and examined at each stage.

"The bridge from science to service must be built, repaired, maintained, and improved." - NIRN Brief, January 2009 Best Practices The following are best practices for the Program Sustainability Stage: 1. Ensure continued funding for the program and the supporting infrastructure is built into organization's budget.

2. Ensure fidelity to core program components.

3. Develop and implement plans for quality improvement, including regular review of process and outcome measures and using results to improve the program.

4. Evaluate data systems that support decisionmaking regarding the

implementation of your program's outcomes.

5. Develop new community partnerships while maintaining existing

relationships.

6. Share positive results with staff, community and others to maintain buy-in and support.

Celebrate success with program recipients, staff, and community.

Potential Challenges The following are potential challenges during the Program Sustainability Stage:  Obstacles and challenges to ongoing success can be many and varied. The best approach is to continue to monitor results and be alert to changes that might affect your program.  Changes that might occur include: o Funding levels or sources of funding o Staff turnover o Organizational priorities o Organizational leadership

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Contact Us Thank you for completing our learning module on implementation. We wish you success in selecting and implementing the right program for your community. If you have feedback, comments, or further questions, please Contact Us10.

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Appendix A – Resources Community Needs Assessment Tools   

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CDC Evaluation Working Group: Framework for Program Evaluation http://www.cdc.gov/eval/framework/index.htm Child Welfare Information Builder: Evaluation Toolkit and Logic Model Builder http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/developing/toolkit/ Community Toolbox: Implementing Best Process for Community Change and Improvement http://ctb.ku.edu/en/promisingapproach/ FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse

Prevention: Evaluation Toolkit

http://www.friendsnrc.org/evaluation-toolkit RE-AIM: Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance Framework http://www.re-aim.org/ W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Evaluation Handbook http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2010/W-K-KelloggFoundation-Evaluation-Handbook.aspx W.K. Kellogg Foundation: Logic Model Development Guide http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2006/02/WK-KelloggFoundation-Logic-Model-Development-Guide.aspx

Further Reading Aarons, G. A., Wells, R. S., Zagursky, K., Fettes, D. L., & Palinkas, L. A. (2009). Implementing evidence-based practice in community mental health agencies: A multiple stakeholder analysis. American Journal of Public Health 99(11):2087-95.  Understanding Evaluation: The way to better Prevention Programs http://ed.gov/PDFDocs/handbook.pdf (PDF, 207KB) 

Organizational Capacity Tools NREPP’s Questions to Ask Program Developers http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/pdfs/questions_to_ask_developers.pdf (PDF, 54KB)  FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention: Integrating Evidence-Based Practices into CBCAP Programs: A Tool for Critical Discussions--Appendix D-Implementation Plan Worksheet http://friendsnrc.org/direct-download-menuitem/doc_download/46introduction-and-getting-started (PDF, 156KB) 

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http://friendsnrc.org/direct-download-menuitem/doc_download/47appendices (PDF, 99KB) Further Reading 

 

Chinman, M., Imm, P., & Wandersman, A. (2004). Getting to Outcomes ™ 2004: Promoting accountability through methods and tools for planning, implementation, and evaluation. No. TR-TR101. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Available at http://www.rand.org/publications/TR/TR101/ .

Hall, G. E., Dirksen, D. J., & George, A. A. (2006). Measuring implementation

in schools: Levels of use. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Wiseman, S., Chinman, M., Ebener, P., Hunter, S., Imm, P., & Wandersman,

A. (2007). Getting to outcomes: 10 steps for achieving results-based accountability. No. TR-TR101/2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

Available at http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR101.2/.

Fidelity and Adaptation Tools California Healthy Kids Resource Center: Fidelity Guidelines and Checklists for Research-Validated Programs http://www.californiahealthykids.org/c/@sDGcv3s0nPHWQ/Pages/fidelity.ht ml  FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention: Integrating Evidence-Based Practices into CBCAP Programs: A Tool for Critical Discussions http://www.friendsnrc.org/cbcap-priority-areas/evidence-base-practice-incbcap/integratingevidence-based-practice-resources  The Chadwick Center for Children and Families: - Adaptation Guidelines for Serving Latino Children and Families Affected by Trauma http://www.chadwickcenter.org/WALS/wals.htm  The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin http://www.hogg.utexas.edu/programs_cai_bib.html#poc_ca 

Program Registries Tools Blueprints for Violence Prevention: Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence o Model Programs: http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/modelprograms.html o Promising Programs: http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/promisingprograms.html  California Evidence Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare http://www.cebc4cw.org 

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  

  

    

California Healthy Kids Resource Center http://www.californiahealthykids.org/rvalidated Campbell Collaboration (C2) http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/ Center for the Study of Social Policy: Exemplary Early Childhood Programs http://www.strengtheningfamilies.net/index.php/program_tools/change/cate gory/learning_from_exemplary_programs/ Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, Social Programs that Work http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/ Cochrane Collaboration http://www.cochrane.org/ National Association of County and City Health Officials: The Model Practice Database http://www.naccho.org/topics/modelpractices/database/index.cfm National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency: Model Programs Guide http://www.dsgonline.com/mpg_non_flash/search.htm Promising Practices Network: Programs that Work http://www.promisingpractices.net/programs.asp Public Health Agency of Canada: The Canadian Best Practices Portal http://cbpp-pcpe.phac-aspc.gc.ca/intervention/list Sociometrics: Effective Programs http://www.socio.com/effectiveprograms.php

Additional Resources 

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CASEL, Safe and Sound: An Education Leader's Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs http://www.edutopia.org/safe-and-sound-education-leaders-guide-evidencebased-social-and-emotional-learning-sel-p Child Trends: Research to Improve Children's Lives http://www.childtrends.org/_portalcat.cfm?LID=C6CEDAFE-34FF-4DFD9CD745899CE5D128 Children's Services Council, Palm Beach County. Evidence-Based Programs http://www.evidencebasedassociates.com/reports/research_review.pdf (PDF, 360KB) Department of Education's Expert Panel on Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Programs http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/exemplary01/index.html Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPICentre), University of London http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/ FRIENDS: National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP): Integrating Evidence-Based Resources http://friendsnrc.org/cbcap-priority-areas/evidence-base-practice-incbcap/integrating-evidence-based-practice-resources

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



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Guide to Community Preventive Services (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) http://www.thecommunityguide.org/index.html NASMHPD Research Institute (NRI): Center for Mental Health Quality and Accountability: Synthesis of Reviews of Children's Evidence-Based Practices.

Prepared by Jacqueline Yannacci, M.P.P., and Jeanne C. Rivard, Ph.D., June 2005. http://ebp.networkofcare.org/uploads/Synthesis_of_Reviews_of_the_Researc h_on_Evidence_Based_and_Promising_Practices_9592994.pdf (PDF, 1.6MB) Pew Partnership for Civic Change: Solutions for America (The Guide for Civic Problem Solving) http://www.solutionsforamerica.org/

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Appendix B - References  Backer, T. E. (2001). Finding the balance: Program fidelity and adaptation in substance abuse prevention. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, SAMHSA Model Programs (www.samhsa.gov).  California Department of Education, California Department of Public Health: California Healthy Kids Resource Center. (2010). Fidelity guidelines and checklists for research-validated programs. Available at http://www.californiahealthykids.org/fidelity.  CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention). (2009). Identifying and selecting evidence-based interventions. HHS Pub. No. (SMA) 09-4205.

Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  Domitrovich, C. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2000). The study of implementation: Current findings from effective programs that prevent mental disorders in school-aged children. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 11(2), 193–221.  Dusenbury, L., Brannigan, R., Falco, M., & Hansen, W. B. (2003). A review of research on fidelity of implementation: Implications for drug abuse prevention in school settings. Health Education Research, 18(2), 237–256.  Elliott, D. S., & Mihalic, S. (2004). Issues in disseminating and replicating effective prevention programs. Prevention Science, 5(1), 47–53.  Fixsen, D. L., Blase K. A., Duda, M. A., Naoom, S. F., Van Dyke, M. (2010).

Implementation of evidence-based treatments for children and adolescents: Research findings and their implications for the future. In J. R. Wiez and A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents.

New York: Guidford Press.  Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blase, K. B, & Wallace, F. (2007).

Implementation: The missing link between research and practice. APSAC Advisor, 19 (1 & 2), pp. 4–11.  Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blase, K. A., Friedman, R. M., & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. The National Implementation Research Network. FMHI Publication #231. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. o Available at http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/  Mowbray, C. T., Bybee, D., Holter, M., & Lewandowski, L. (2006). Validation of a fidelity rating instrument for consumer-operated services. American Journal of Evaluation, 27(1), 9–27.  NCI (National Cancer Institute). (n.d.). Using what works: Adapting evidence-based programs to fit your needs. Module 4, Making the evidencebased program fit your needs: Adaptation and your program summary.

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Appendix C – Supplemental Documents Questions to Ask:   

Financial and Personnel Resources

Commitment and Buy-In

CSAP's Checklist for Program Fit

Questions to Ask: Financial and Personnel Resources Recruitment/Hiring  If you need to hire new staff, how much will it cost to recruit and fund additional staff?  Will you need to increase from part-time to full-time staff?

Staff Training  How much will it cost to train staff on the new evidence-based program?  How much will it cost to train staff on the necessary skills to support the new evidence-based program?

Equipment and Maintenance  What additional equipment will you need to purchase such as computers, cell phones, furniture, telecommunication equipment, or other resources?  What technical support will be required to maintain any new equipment?  How much will it cost to maintain the equipment?

Facilities  What are the space requirements to implement the new program?  Will you need to increase your office and meeting space to accommodate new staff or program recipients?  Do you have the funds available to acquire any new space required?

Sustainability  What are the long-term costs associated with maintaining the program?  What are the long-term costs associated with maintaining the organizational infrastructure required for implementation?

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Questions to Ask: Commitment and Buy-In Leadership  What is the leadership’s plan to ensure and sustain community commitment and buy‐in?  What barriers are anticipated that might influence program implementation and how will these barriers be addressed, both inside and outside the organization?  How will leadership address possible resistance to systems change both inside and outside the organization?

Staff/Providers  How will all staff be engaged to work to create a hospitable environment for a new program?  How will staff be trained and supported to ensure and sustain commitment and buy‐in.

Support Staff  How will current recruitment and hiring policies be changed or addressed if found to inhibit or delay of program implementation?  How will the new program affect billing for new services and what systems will be required to accommodate these changes?

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Questions to Ask: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)’s Checklist for Program Fit  Is the program appropriate for the population identified in the community needs assessment and community logic model? Has the program been implemented successfully with the same or a similar population? Are the population differences likely to compromise the results?  Is the program delivered in a setting similar to the one planned by your community? In what ways is the context different? Are the differences likely to compromise the program’s effectiveness?  Is the program culturally appropriate? Did members of the culturally identified group participate in developing it? Were program materials adapted to the culturally identified group?  Are program materials (e.g., manuals, procedures) available to guide implementation? Are training and technical assistance available to support implementation? Are monitoring or evaluation tools available to help track implementation quality?  Is the program culturally feasible, given the values of the community?  Is the program politically feasible, given the local power structure and priorities of the implementing organization? Does the program match the mission, vision, and culture of the implementing organization?  Is the program administratively feasible, given the policies and

procedures of the implementing organization?

 Is the program technically feasible, given staff capabilities, time

commitments, and program resources?

 Is the program financially feasible, given the estimated costs of implementation (including costs for purchase of implementation materials and specialized training or technical assistance)?

Thoughtful consideration and discussion of the above questions will be helpful in identifying the right program.

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SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) www.nrepp.samhsa.gov

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Attachment B Designing Successful Programs and Services

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OHIO COMMUNITY COLLABORATION MODEL FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

Designing Successful Programs and Services Introduction As a result of your conditions and resources assessment, you have identified individual, family, school and community conditions that potentially represent barriers to student achievement, healthy development and success in school. Together with your partners, you also mapped out the various resources available in your school community and identified potential gaps in programs and services.

In this chapter, and in subsequent chapters, we talk in detail about how you can design successful programs and services with your partners that address the conditions underlying student learning. This is a critical component within the Ohio Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement (OCCMSI).

Five core program and service components are the defining features of (and the drivers for) the Ohio Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement (see Figure 1.3).

A growing amount of research supports their individual and collective contributions to school improvement. These core components are: 1. Academic learning: models, strategies and practices involving classroom instruction, tutoring, school climate interventions, academic enrichment and curriculum alignment; 2. Youth development: models, strategies and practices including after-school programming, mentoring, leadership groups, social recreation and other youth programs; 3. Family engagement and support: models, strategies and practices including parent education classes, parent/teacher organization activities, family resource centers and support for learning at home; 4. Health and social services: models, strategies and practices such as mental health, primary care, health and nutrition education, physical education and related supports; and 5. Community partnerships: models, strategies and practices targeting higher education, faith-based organizations, business partnerships, service learning and other community building strategies.

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OHIO COMMUNITY COLLABORATION MODEL FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

Each component is described in some detail in a special chapter. Each chapter follows the same developmental progression. We define each component. We then present researchsupported design principles and strategies. Then we identify predictable barriers to implementation, and we also provide “barrier busting strategies” (i.e., strategies you can use to minimize their effects).

Clearly, each component is different and even unique; and that is why we devoted a special chapter to each. On the other hand, these five core components are alike in this fundamental way: Some of the same theoretically-sound, research-supported principles serve as drivers for their success. In other words, these five core components rest on a common conceptual and empirical foundation. Key program design principles and strategies comprise part of this common foundation. This chapter presents these common concepts and principles for quality programming.

Overarching design principles and strategies for successful programming Essentially, quality programming is quality programming. Identifiable, generic principles and strategies apply to all five components: academic learning, youth development, family engagement and support, health and social services, and community partnerships.

The design principles and strategies presented in this chapter are derived from a growing body of research on programs of all kinds. Most of this research focuses on programs that work – programs that produce good, predictable results and do not yield unintended, undesirable consequences.

You will want to use these principles and strategies and practice them in your present programs and services in schools, community agencies and neighborhoods. When you are successful at implementing these strategies, the school, students, parents and families will benefit. In today’s accountability-rich environment, this kind of success is not only important, it is vital to your continuing support and resources.

Table 4.1 lists research-supported design principles and strategies for successful, resultsoriented programs. You will see similar tables in several of the chapters that follow.

Table 4.1: Overarching design principles and strategies for successful programming Principle Structural considerations Results-oriented

Definition • Programs are tailor-made to achieve specific results with targeted populations; staff know that merely offering programs and services is not enough and hold themselves accountable for desired results

Logical

• The best programs benefit from strong, solid intervention logic; they work to assure that needs are related to services and outcomes

Comprehensive

•

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OHIO COMMUNITY COLLABORATION MODEL FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

Table 4.1: Overarching design principles and strategies for successful programming Principle

Definition • • •

Programs target multiple systems (i.e., families, schools, communities and peers) and reinforce consistent messages across settings Programs develop linkages and communication networks across systems (school-to-home, family-to-school, etc.)

Programs use multiple strategies to accomplish their goals

Evaluation-driven

•

Evaluation methods and frameworks guide the program from the start, data-based decision making is the norm and data are used for learning, development and continuous improvement

Theoretically-sound and research-supported

•

Program designers consult relevant theory and research when they make program decisions; as a result, programs have strong theoretical justifications, are supported by research and, where warranted, represent an evidence-based, best practice Staff may adopt model programs and curricula that are already known to be effective at addressing the identified needs

•

Implementation considerations Varied teaching and • Programs involve varied, research-supported learning experiences learning methods and teaching methods that are interactive, experiential, engaging and address multiple learning styles • Lessons also provide opportunities for direct application of newly learned skills within real-life settings Sufficient dosage

• •

The program’s frequency, intensity and duration are sufficient to achieve desired results Follow-up booster sessions are included as needed

Implementation fidelity

•

The program is implemented in the way in which it was originally designed; for example, the program’s time requirements (how much time, how time is distributed) are not altered, and program staff know they cannot make random changes without risking results

Well-trained staff

• • •

Staff support the program and ensure implementation fidelity Staff are well-trained, valued and supported Staff meet highest qualification required for licensure in their respective professions

Shared ownership and leadership

•

Participants have a genuine “say so” in program design, implementation, and improvement; they’re viewed as partners, not as dependent, ignorant clients, and they become the program’s best advocates, recruiters and supporters

Targeted and strategic Personalized to meet individual needs

While programs often target groups or populations, each individual receives special treatment and has access to special opportunities as needed; every person feels special; no one is lost in the crowd • Programs are started early enough to have an impact, are sensitive to

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Table 4.1: Overarching design principles and strategies for successful programming Principle

Definition the developmental needs of the participants (i.e., age, stage of life cycle, etc.) and are offered by the right providers and in the right places to facilitate participation

Underlying values Culturally competent

• •

Family-supportive and -centered

• •

Self-determination and minimal intrusion

• •

Programs are tailored to the cultural norms and values of the participants, and staff make every effort to include targeted persons in planning, implementation and evaluation Programs take into account the special features of the local neighborhood community and the sponsoring organization Programs are designed to support and strengthen families and in recognition of their needs and aspirations Programs for kids operate in close consultation with parents, and staff make special efforts to recruit, involve and engage parents as participants and partners Programs do not decrease the likelihood that people will help themselves and each other, nor do they interfere with parents’ efforts to raise their children Program providers strive for the “least intrusive intervention” (comprehensive enough to meet needs, but selective and limited to the needs and problems at hand)

Empowerment-oriented

•

Programs help develop the capacities of individuals, groups and families to help themselves and each other, and to gain access to the services, supports and resources they want and need

Strength-based

•

Program builds from participants’ strengths and assets, incorporating strategies that allow participants to experience success and esteem

Relationships and affect Positive relationships and bonding

•

Programs promote strong interpersonal relationships among participants, staff, volunteers, etc.

Programs promote bonding and connections with others and institutions in order to facilitate the adoption of positive norms and values

•

Meaningful and enjoyable

• • •

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Programs need to be enjoyable (as viewed through the eyes of the participants) Programs also include meaningful activities that are valuable to the participants both inside and outside the program Important incentives such as food, entertainment, lotteries, games, etc., should be included to help recruit and retain participants

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Table 4.1: Overarching design principles and strategies for successful programming Principle

Definition

Engaging staff

•

Staff have qualities essential for effective programming such as genuineness, empathy, communication skills in presenting and listening, openness, willingness to share and help, ability to make participants feel welcome and included, dedication, flexibility, humor, accountability and credibility

From: Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczak, & Hawkins, 2002; ash & Anderson-Butcher, in press; Anderson-Butcher, in press; Greenberg, Weissberg, O’Brien, Zins, Fredericks, Resnick, & Elias, 2003; Hawkins et al., 2002; Nation et al., 2004; Kumpfer & Alvarado, 2003; Roth, Brooks-Gunn, Murray, & Foster, 1998; Weissberg et al., 2003.

Table 4.2: Check list of overarching design principles and/or strategies for successful programs Program is designed to create intended results The logic behind the program makes sense as the services link to outcomes Program uses multiple strategies to accomplish its goals (comprehensive) Program is evaluation-driven and continuously improved upon Program is research-supported and theoretically-sound A variety of teaching and learning strategies are used There is sufficient dosage The program is implemented the way it was originally designed Staff are well-trained in the program design Participants have a “say so” in how the program is structured and implemented Program is tailored to meet individual needs Program is appropriately timed and located Program is implemented in culturally competent ways Program is family-centered and -supportive Strategies foster self-determination and personal control Participants are empowered Participants’ strengths are built upon in the program Positive relationships and bonding are created Program activities are enjoyable and meaningful to participants Staff are engaging

Researched-based programs You need to consider adopting and implementing model programs that have been identified through research to be effective at producing intended outcomes for youth and families. There has been a trend towards the adoption of evidence-based programs and strategies within various settings that support youth and families. As such, several lists have been generated that overview model or effective programs which have been Implementation Guide, Version 2

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researched extensively and found to be effective at creating outcomes. The theory is that outcomes for youth and families will be more likely to occur if something that is shown to work is implemented.

When you attempt to use research-based programs and strategies, you will quickly learn that you need to adapt them to fit your local participants and settings. As you review the other programs and curricula, including the research related to them, you will need to keep four things in mind: (1) Understand which components of the programs have been empirically tested and have resulted in positive outcomes; (2) If a certain program does not meet your populations’ needs, look for another theoretically-sound, research supported program that does or contextualize the program to meet your needs; (3) Ensure the program or curriculum is implemented with fidelity; and (4) Evaluate your program to determine your needs for learning and improvement and also whether you are able to achieve the outcomes you want and need.

Table 4.3: Places to find model, research-based programs • • • • • • •

• • • •

Blueprints Violence Prevention http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/ Youth Violence: Surgeon General's Report http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/report.html Preventing Crime: What Works http://www.ncjrs.org/works/ Safe and Drug-Free Schools: Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/9900statereport/index.html HIV/AIDS Prevention Research Synthesis: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/hivcompendium/HIVcompendium.htm SAMHSA Model Programs http://modelprograms.samhsa.gov/template_cf.cfm?page=model_list National Registry of Effective Programs http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA043906/ii.asp Safe and Sound: An Education Leader’s Guide to Evidence-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs http://www.casel.org/progrevfr.htm What Works Clearinghouse http://www.w-w-c.org/ Council for Excellence in Government http:///www.excelgov.org/displayHybrid.asp?keyword=prppcsHome&keywordMult=prppcsInterv entions Promising Practices Network http://www.promisingpractices.net/ International Campbell Collaboration http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/Fralibrary.html

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Using program logic models Logic models have emerged as very helpful tools in planning effective programs. A logic model is a plausible and sensible organizing device for your planning and implementation. A logic model helps you identify all of the essential parts of a program, how they fit together and how participants in your program will benefit, i.e., what they had and needed when they first joined the program and the outcomes yielded by the program in relation to participant “inputs.”

A logic model is a simple graphic representation of the content, structure and flow of your program strategy designed to address a community condition. Included are assumptions, intentions, inputs, activities, outputs and desired immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes. They require some intensive thought and work. However, the benefits they yield justify the front-end investments they require.

For example, they help you organize your thinking and incorporate relevant research.

They guide you through the process participants will follow and they require you to identify progress indicators (intermediate/immediate outcomes) and desirable, longer term outcomes. They also require you to think through the conditions and principles needing to be in place for the program to be effective. Most logic models include the following components: Conditions and resources assessment You’ll want to identify the social and academic conditions your program will address.

(See the conditions and resources assessment chapter.) You should consider student and family strengths and weaknesses and available or potential program, school and community resources available to address student and family needs and conditions. Your conditions and resources assessment should help you answer the following questions: • • • • •

Who do we need to serve?

Why does this population need programs and services?

Do you need to accommodate different sub-sets of the population in need?

Are there special groups in your population that may need different services?

How will the participants be different as a result of the programs and services?

Program assumptions Then you’ll identify the theoretical assumptions you are making to support your program activities. In this component, you need to be explicit about why you think your program activities will lead to desired outcomes by answering the following questions: • • •

What does the research say about what type of program meets the needs of this population or problem?

Does the program logically meet the needs of the clients?

Is the program designed around the best practices that are known to be effective?

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Program resources Here you’ll identify the resources you will need to run your program. Resources here are broadly defined and may include things like finances, staff, settings, volunteers, equipment, supplies and contracted services. You also may need to consider any constraints that may limit or circumscribe your program such as ethical issues, laws, regulations and funding requirements.

Program activities You’ll then want to describe program activities. These are the things you do, the services you offer or the links you make to services for students and their families. For example, you may conduct tutoring sessions, provide recreation opportunities, conduct home visits, provide in-service training about educational enrichment to teachers, etc.

It is important to understand the above four steps and components are the ingredients of your program – they form the basis of your daily actions and activities. The next four components help you define your program accountabilities. They will help you know if you did what you intended to do and if you reached your intended results: Program outputs Outputs are the direct products of service activities and are usually measured as volumes.

These measures are sometimes referred to as process measures and might include things like the number of tutoring sessions you provided, the number of recreation opportunities provided, the number of home visits conducted, the number of in-service training sessions to teachers provided, etc.

Program outcomes Immediate outcomes are those produced closest to the service. They may include student or parent gains in knowledge, changes in attitude, acquisition of skills, revised values or modified intentions that are directly linked to the your program strategy.

Intermediate outcomes are the sustained behavioral impacts of your program effort.

Sustained behavioral change is crucial to producing good long-term outcomes.

Long-term outcomes are generally measured at the school or community level. In the OCCMSI, long-term outcomes would include measures of children succeeding in school and being prepared for a successful transition to adulthood.

Once again, developing a program logic model has many benefits. It helps to structure your critical thinking about program assumptions, intent, structure and accountabilities. It helps to communicate about your program with staff and stakeholders, and helps to keep you focused. Finally, it is indispensable in the identification of the evaluation data you need to collect.

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C onditions

A ssum ptions

Problem s or conditions are identified through an assessm ent process that considers both strengths and w eaknesses

T heoretical assum ptions supporting the intervention (program ) and outcom es are addressed early in the logic m odel process

Problem s or conditions should be analyzed and narrow ed to provide focus for the intervention

This is w here a 'theory of change' begins to be developed - w hy the intervention activities w ill result in the desired outcom es

Problem s or conditions should be translated into expected outcom es

O utputs O utputs are the direct products of intervention activities and are usually m easured as volum es For exam ple, num ber of classes taught, num ber of counseling sessions conducted, num ber of peer m entoring relationships developed, num ber of public service announcem ents aired

Inputs

A ctivities

This is w here you identify the resources you w ill need to conduct activities required by your intervention - finances, staff, settings, volunteers, equipm ent, supplies

D uring this stage, the actual actions required by the intervention are com pleted.

Y ou w ill also need to consider constraints that m ay lim it or circum scribe your intervention - ethical issues, law s, regulations, funding requirem ents

Im m ediate O utcom es

Im m ediate outcom es are those produced closest to the intervention. T hey m ay include gains in know ledge, changes in attitude, acquisition of skills, revised values, or m odified intentions that are directly linked to the strategy

For exam ple, fam ily training sessions are conducted, kids are counseled, kids are m entored, the public is educated, teachers are inserviced, etc

Interm ediate O utcom es

Long-term O utcom es

Interm ediate outcom es are the sustained behavioral im pacts of the intervention.

Sustained behavioral change is crucial to producing good outcom es

L ong-term outcom es com e from the problem or conditions addressed by intervention. For group program s or broad intervention strategies, they m ay be m easured at the com m unity level and tracked over tim e to determ ine change

Figure 4.1: Basic logic model components

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Figure 4.2 presents an example of an actual program logic model developed in a school.

The model has been recast slightly to fit the school improvement framework and some of the detail from the original has been dropped due to space considerations. The program reflected in the model is a mentoring program. It was developed in response to two needs – a low percentage of second graders reading at grade level and high-school students in a career-tech program that have poor attendance and also struggle with reading. A key assumption underpinning the model is that high school students can actually improve their own reading skills by working with younger students.

The model also shows how various resources combine to support the program. It uses 21st Century Community Learning Center funds plus matching funds from area business. It also includes a partnership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters to provide training and supervision for the mentors. Further, details about how the program will be provided are identified. It is a 24-week program with a one-on-one meeting between mentors and mentees occurring once per week for 45 minutes. The high school students keep a journal about their experiences and the elementary students have reading progress checked every six weeks.

Various levels of outcomes are shown. Both the mentors and mentees are expected to gain in reading skills and proficiency. Further, it is expected that both groups will have improved attitudes toward reading. Finally, all of these efforts are aimed at school success for both groups and a successful transition to adulthood for the older students.

Activity oriented programs vs results oriented programs Programs may be categorized into a two-part classification: (1) Activity-oriented programs and (2) Results-oriented programs. Most of your time and effort must be directed toward results-oriented programs.

Activity-oriented programs typically involve free and directed play at all levels. The focus is on the activity rather than on the results that you expect from the activity.

Activity-oriented programs include basketball, family events, school assemblies, community festivals and arts and drama. These activity-oriented programs are fun and enjoyable for the participants.

Results-oriented programs target improvements or changes in the participants’ knowledge, attitudes, awareness and/or behavior. Programs are designed to help participants learn, improve and change in positive ways. Results-oriented programs are intentional interventions with anticipated outcomes. Research provides the program’s rhyme and reason. The main idea behind results-oriented programs is to make sure the program and the strategies and activities you are providing correspond to the problem you are trying to solve.

Moving from an activity-oriented perspective to a results-oriented one will require intentional planning and thoughtful implementation by program leaders. The key is to strike a good balance between results-oriented programs and activity programs.

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A ccountabilities C onditions and R esources

Program and Service Strategies

E ffort

Im m ediate/Interm ediate O utcom es

C onditions -R eading diagnostic assessm ents indicate 50% of 2nd grade students do not read at grade level.

1. 2nd graders and high school m entors w ill have im proved literacy skills

-H igh school students in the career-tech program have poor attendance and do not read at grade level.

M entoring Program H igh school students are m entors and reading tutors for second grade students.

A ssum ptions -H igh school m entors have m ore desire to attend school because of their enjoym ent of m entoring and a sense of responsibility to their m entee

1. 22 high school studentm entors receive training in reading tutoring and m entoring from Big B rothers/Big Sisters and reading specialist

1. 2nd graders and high school m entors w ill form friendship-like relationships

2. M entors m eet w ith students as a class, one-on-one, once/w eek for 45 m inutes

-2nd grade m entees w ill have im proved social skills as a result of being m entored

3. M entors m eet w ith students for 24 w eeks

-Tutoring can im prove the reading skills of young readers

4. H igh school m entors journal about their experiences as m entors

5. M entors w ill have new reading skills/strategies

5. Reading progress of 2nd graders is assessed every 6 w eeks

6. M entors w ill feel a sense of responsibility for their m entee

6. D aily school attendance of m entors is tracked

7. M entors and m entees w ill look forw ard to m entoring w eekly sessions

-C oordination of partners -Space for program -B ig B rothers/B ig Sisters; evaluation and training -H igh School teacher; coordinate students

2. H igh school m entors w ill have im proved school attendance

2. H igh school m entors w ill gain know ledge in m entoring and early literacy and tutoring skills

-H igh school m entors can im prove their ow n reading skills by tutoring

R esources -21st CC LC Funding & m atching funding from local business

3. M entors and m entees w ill have positive experiences reading together

M entees and M entors are successful in school and m ore prepared for a successful transition to adulthood

4. M entees w ill practice reading skills w ith their m entors

8. M entors w ill feel like they are having a positive im pact on their m entees

1. 2nd graders w ill have im proved Social Skills 2. M entors w ill have im proved m entoring and tutoring skills

-H igh school and 2nd grade students -2nd grade teachers

Evaluation and Feedback/C ontinuous Im provem ent

Figure 4.2: Example of a program logic model Implementation Guide, Version 2

L ong-term O utcom es

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Attracting and retaining participants It is important that you also pay critical attention to designing strategies within your programs that focus on the successful recruitment and retention of participants.

Participants are unlikely to benefit from quality program designs if they are not present enough to reap program benefits.

Successful recruitment Every program designer faces this question: How will we attract and recruit the participants who will benefit from our programs and services? Program magnets are the attraction and recruitment mechanisms for participants (Lawson, Anderson-Butcher, Barkdull, & Byrnes, 2000). They get “people in the door," a fundamental first step in developing every successful program. Common program magnets include: • • • • • • •

Activities offered are of interest; Program fits personal goals (i.e., want to discipline my child more appropriately, need to belong. have a desire to help others); Friends attend; Have some already established relationship with the program staff; Program participation is a requirement (i.e., parent requires youth attendance, child welfare system requires parent attendance); Support for program involvement (i.e., teachers encourage student involvement, employer provides time-off for community service); and They receive a referral to the program.

Successful involvement and engagement Unfortunately, attendance at the program’s first session does not necessarily mean individuals will continue to participate on an ongoing basis. Once individuals have been successfully recruited, it is essential that program leaders understand how to engage and retain participants once they have started the program.

Program hooks and glue anchor participants to the program and keep them there (Lawson et al., 2000). Program hooks are retention mechanisms that also engage participants. Glue refers to the social bonding mechanisms that keep participants coming back for more (i.e., relationships with others, social networks, etc). Common program hooks and glue include: • • • • • •

Relationships with others involved in the program (i.e., participants and staff); Participants experience a sense of belonging to a peer group or institution (i.e., social bonding; “feels like family”); Program activities are engaging; Program continues to fit personal needs and goals; Program is a safe and fun place to be; and Receive continued support for involvement via encouragement, incentives and rewards (i.e., teachers encourage involvement; employers offer paid time-off).

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When participants keep coming because they are “hooked” and “bonded,” the program already has started to have some beneficial effects. For example, youth often need to be involved in any program that is meaningful and enjoyable, and some need to develop friendships with other participants. Most activity programs are designed with these needs in mind.

Results-oriented programs require additional strategies and mechanisms to achieve desired outcomes. Many have detailed specifications regarding what you need to do to get these outcomes. The outcome production mechanisms and strategies are vital to your success. Our general design principles described earlier in this chapter, in fact, reflect some of these important outcome production mechanisms and strategies. For example, results-oriented programs pay strict attention to things like staffing skills and credentials, the amount of program exposure necessary to increase the likelihood of positive impact (dosage), personalization of the experience with a strengths-based orientation and the use of personalized teaching and learning technologies that match a student’s unique needs in program design.

Obstacles to recruitment and retention There are common issues related to the design, management and implementation of programs that often impact recruitment, retention and quality programming. Essentially, program staff must ask the questions: Did we make mistakes when we designed and implemented this program? Have we implemented the program in accordance with the research and the program’s specifications? These design flaws (Lawson et al., 2000) will deter participants from engaging in your program.

Table 4.4: Barriers and minimizing strategies Barrier: Common design problems

Minimizing strategies:

• •

•

• • • • • • •

Lack of clear vision Unclear roles and responsibilities for staff and others involved in the program (i.e., principals, teachers, etc.)

Inappropriate expectations for staff and others involved in the program (i.e., principals, teachers, etc.)

Pay and benefits for staff Sustainability Program is not implemented in the way it is designed to operate Ineffective or non-existent training for staff Lack of communication and coordination Individuals involved do not truly understand the program’s purpose or intent

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• • • • • • • •

Design programs in response to identified needs and desires; “know where you are going and what is going to get you there” Be clear and realistic about roles, responsibilities and expectations for stakeholders Secure stable financial support for the programs Provide additional incentives and rewards for staff (i.e., flexible work schedule, etc.)

Create program logic models Provide training and support for staff in program design and implementation Hold program staff accountable for program implementation and effectiveness Ensure programs are coordinated and communication channels exist Socially market the program, its goals and expected outcomes 4.13

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Final thoughts This chapter was structured to provide you with generic building blocks for successful programs. In addition, the section on logic models provided a practical way of designing results-oriented programs. Designers of successful, solid programs follow a resultsoriented planning sequence, they incorporate research-supported design principles and strategies, they use activities to get to results and they have systems in place that help engage and retain the participants.

Finally, as we discussed in the introduction, we describe in some detail the critical components necessary for our approach to school improvement: academic learning, youth development, family engagement, health and social services and community partnerships. Each of the following five chapters follows the same developmental progression. First, we define each component. We then present research-supported design principles and strategies. Finally, we identify predictable barriers to implementation, and we also provide “barrier busting” strategies – strategies you can use to minimize their effects.

In the appendix, we also provide you with a self-assessment tool that helps guide your thinking about designing and implementing successful programs and services. These core components will serve as key building blocks within your school improvement efforts.

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References Anderson-Butcher, D. (2006). Building effective family support programs and interventions. In C. Franklin, M. Harris, & P. Allen-Meares (Eds.). School Social Work and Mental Health Worker’s Training and Resource Manual. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cash, S.J., & Anderson-Butcher, D. (2006). Supporting at-risk youth and their families in the community. In C. McCauly & P. Pecora (Eds.).Enhancing the well-being of children and families through effective interventions: UK and USA evidence for practice. London & Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley.

Catalano, R.F., Berglund, M.L., Ryan, J.A.M., Lonczak, H.S., & Hawkins, J.D. (2002).

Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention & Treatment, 5.

Greenberg, M.T., Weissberg, R.P., O’Brien, M.U., Zins, J.E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., & Elias, M.J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466-474.

Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Kosterman, R., Abbott, R., & Hill, K. G. (1999).

Preventing adolescent health-risk behaviors by strengthening protection during childhood. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 153(3), 226-232.

Kumpfer, K.L., & Alvarado, R. (2003). Family-strengthening approaches for the prevention of youth problem behaviors. American Psychologist, 58(6/7), 457-465.

Lawson, H.A., Anderson-Butcher, D., Barkdull, C., & Byrnes, E.C. (2000). The Learning Plus evaluation, Phase 1: Assessing implementation dynamics, documenting progress indicators and achievements, clarifying key program features and interventions, identifying needs and lessons learned, and paving the way for an outcomes evaluation. Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City School District.

Nation, M., Crusto, C., Wandersman, A., Kumpfer, K., Seybolt, D., Morrisey-Kane, E., & Davino, K. (2003). What works in prevention: Principles of effective prevention programs. American Psychologist, 58, 449-456.

Roth, J., Brooks-Gunnn, J., Murray, L., & Foster, W. (1998). Promoting healthy adolescents: Synthesis of youth development program evaluations. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 8(4), 423-459.

Weissberg, R.P., Kumpfer, K.L., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2003). Prevention that works for children and youth: An introduction, American Psychologist. 58(6/7), 425-432.

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Attachment C Cultural Competence in Social Work

Page 113 of 114

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS

NASW

Standards

for

Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice

2001

NASW

Standards

for

Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice

Terry Mizrahi, MSW, PhD NASW President (2001-2003) Ruth W. Mayden, MSS, LSW NASW President (1999-2001) National Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity 1999-2001 Saundra H. Starks, EdD, ACSW, LCSW Lina Fong, PhD, ACSW, LCSW Emma Montero, MSW Ada E. Deer, ACSW Inderjit K. Jaipaul, DSW, ACSW Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, DSW, ACSW Robert D. Showers, BSW Clara Simmons, ACSW, DCSW Nelrene Yellow Bird, MSW Halaevalu F. Vakalahi, DSW Irene Moreda, DSW NASW Staff Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, NASW Executive Director Leticia Diaz, MS Luisa L贸pez, MSW Tracy Whitaker, ACSW

Standards

f o r C u l t u ra l C o m p e t e n c e i n S o c i a l Wo r k P ra c t i c e Standard 1. Ethics and Values

Standard 6. Empowerment and Advocacy

Social workers shall function in accordance with

Social workers shall be aware of the effect of

the values, ethics, and standards of the profession,

social policies and programs on diverse client

recognizing how personal and professional values

populations, advocating for and with clients

may conflict with or accommodate the needs of

whenever appropriate.

diverse clients.

Standard 7. Diverse Workforce Standard 2. Self-Awareness

Social workers shall support and advocate for

Social workers shall seek to develop an under-

recruitment, admissions and hiring, and retention

standing of their own personal, cultural values

efforts in social work programs and agencies that

and beliefs as one way of appreciating the

ensure diversity within the profession.

importance of multicultural identities in the lives of people.

Standard 8. Professional Education Social workers shall advocate for and participate

Standard 3. Cross-Cultural Knowledge

in educational and training programs that help

Social workers shall have and continue to devel-

advance cultural competence within the profession.

op specialized knowledge and understanding about the history, traditions, values, family sys-

Standard 9. Language Diversity

tems, and artistic expressions of major client

Social workers shall seek to provide or advocate

groups that they serve.

for the provision of information, referrals, and services in the language appropriate to the client,

Standard 4. Cross-Cultural Skills

which may include use of interpreters.

Social workers shall use appropriate methodological approaches, skills, and techniques that

Standard 10. Cross-Cultural Leadership

reflect the workers’ understanding of the role of

Social workers shall be able to communicate

culture in the helping process.

information about diverse client groups to other professionals.

Standard 5. Service Delivery

Prepared by the

Social workers shall be knowledgeable about

NASW National Committee

and skillful in the use of services available in the

on Racial and Ethnic Diversity

community and broader society and be able to make appropriate referrals for their diverse

Adopted by the NASW Board of Directors

clients.

June 23, 2001

4

5

Introduction The Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice are based on the policy statement “Cultural Competence in the Social Work Profession” published in Social Work Speaks: NASW Policy Statements (2000b) and the NASW Code of Ethics (2000a), which charges social workers with the ethical responsibility to be culturally competent. Both were originally adopted by the 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly.

NASW “supports and encourages the development of standards for culturally competent social work practice, a definition of expertise, and the advancement of practice models that have relevance for the range of needs and services represented by diverse client populations” (NASW, 2000b, p. 61).

The material that follows is the first attempt by the profession to delineate standards for culturally competent social work practice.

The United States is constantly undergoing major demographic changes. The 1990 to 2000 population growth was the largest in American history with a dramatic increase in people of color from 20 percent to 25 percent (Perry & Mackum, 2001). Those changes alter and increase the diversity confronting social workers daily in their agencies. The complexities associated with cultural diversity in the United States affect all aspects of professional social work practice, requiring social workers to strive to deliver culturally competent services to an ever-increasing broad range of clients. The social work profession traditionally has emphasized the importance of the person-in-environment and the dual perspective, the concept that all people are part of two systems: the larger societal system and 7

their immediate environments (Norton, 1978).

Definitions

Social workers using a person-in-environment framework for assessment need to include to

The NASW Board of Directors, at its June 2001

varying degrees important cultural factors that

meeting, accepted the following definitions of

have meaning for clients and reflect the culture of

culture, competence, and cultural competence in the

the world around them.

practice of social work. These definitions are drawn from the NASW Code of Ethics and Social

In the United States, cultural diversity in social

Work Speaks.

work has primarily been associated with race and ethnicity, but diversity is taking on a broader

Culture

meaning to include the sociocultural experiences

“The word ‘culture’ is used because it implies the

of people of different genders, social classes,

integrated pattern of human behavior that

religious and spiritual beliefs, sexual orientations,

includes thoughts, communications, actions,

ages, and physical and mental abilities. A brief

customs, beliefs, values, and institutions of a

review of the social work literature in the past few

racial, ethnic, religious, or social group” (NASW,

years points to the range of potential

2000b, p. 61). Culture often is referred to as the

content areas that require culturally sensitive and

totality of ways being passed on from generation

culturally competent interventions. These

to generation. The term culture includes ways in

include addressing racial identity formation for

which people with disabilities or people from

people of color as well as for white people; the

various religious backgrounds or people who are

interrelationship among class, race, ethnicity,

gay, lesbian, or transgender experience the world

and gender; working with low-income families;

around them.

working with older adults; the importance of

The Preamble to the NASW Code of Ethics begins

religion and spirituality in the lives of clients;

by stating:

the development of gender identity and sexual

The primary mission of the social work profession

orientation; immigration, acculturation, and

is to enhance human well-being and help meet the

assimilation stresses; biculturalism; working

basic human needs of all people, with particular

with people with disabilities; empowerment

attention to the needs and empowerment of people

skills; community building; reaching out to new

who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in

populations of color; and how to train for culturally

poverty.

competent models of practice.

And goes on to say, “Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end

Therefore, cultural competence in social work

discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other

practice implies a heightened consciousness of

forms of social injustice” (NASW, 2000a, p. 1).

how clients experience their uniqueness and deal

Second, culture is mentioned in two ethical

with their differences and similarities within a

standards:

larger social context.

Value: Social Justice and the Ethical Principle: Social workers challenge social injustice.

This means that social workers’ social change

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efforts seek to promote sensitivity to and

consultation, and supervision from people

knowledge about oppression and cultural and

who are competent in those interventions or

ethnic diversity.

techniques.

Value: Dignity and Worth of the Person and the

When generally recognized standards do not

Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent

exist with respect to an emerging area of

dignity and worth of the person.

practice, social workers should exercise careful

This value states that social workers treat each

judgment and take responsible steps (including

person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful

appropriate education, research, training,

of individual differences and cultural and ethnic

consultation, and supervision) to ensure the

diversity.

competence of their work and to protect clients from harm.

Competence

Cultural competence is never fully realized,

The word competence is used because it implies

achieved, or completed, but rather cultural

having the capacity to function effectively within

competence is a lifelong process for social

the context of culturally integrated patterns of

workers who will always encounter diverse

human behavior defined by the group.

clients and new situations in their practice.

In the Code of Ethics competence is discussed in

Supervisors and workers should have the expectation

several ways. First as a value of the profession:

that cultural competence is an ongoing learning

Value: Competence and the Ethical Principle: Social

process integral and central to daily supervision.

workers practice within their areas of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise.

Cultural Competence

This value encourages social workers to continually

Cultural competence refers to the process by which

strive to increase their professional knowledge

individuals and systems respond respectfully and

and skills and to apply them in practice. Social

effectively to people of all cultures, languages,

workers should aspire to contribute to the

classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and

knowledge base of the profession.

other diversity factors in a manner that recognizes,

Second, competence is discussed as an ethical

affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families,

standard:

and communities and protects and preserves the

1.04 Competence

dignity of each.

Social workers should provide services and

“Cultural competence is a set of congruent

represent themselves as competent only within

behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come

the boundaries of their education, training,

together in a system or agency or among

license, certification, consultation received,

professionals and enable the system, agency, or

supervised experience, or other relevant

professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural

professional experience.

situations� (NASW, 2000b, p. 61).

Social workers should provide services in

Operationally defined, cultural competence is the

substantive areas or use intervention techniques

integration and transformation of knowledge

or approaches that are new to them only

about individuals and groups of people into

after engaging in appropriate study, training,

specific standards, policies, practices, and attitudes

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used in appropriate cultural settings to increase

Social workers should have a knowledge base

the quality of services, thereby producing better

of their clients’ cultures and be able to

outcomes (Davis & Donald, 1997). Competence

demonstrate competence in the provision of

in cross-cultural functioning means learning new

services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures

patterns of behavior and effectively applying

and to differences among people and cultural

them in appropriate settings.

groups.

Gallegos (1982) provided one of the first

Social workers should obtain education about

conceptualizations of ethnic competence as “a set

and seek to understand the nature of social

of procedures and activities to be used in acquiring

diversity and oppression with respect to race,

culturally relevant insights into the problems of

ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual

minority clients and the means of applying such

orientation, age, marital status, political belief,

insights to the development of intervention

religion, and mental or physical disability.

strategies that are culturally appropriate for

Finally, the Code reemphasizes the importance of

these clients.” (p. 4). This kind of sophisticated

cultural competence in the last section of the

cultural competence does not come naturally

Code,

to any social worker and requires a high level of

Responsibilities to the Broader Society.

Section

6.

Social

Workers

Ethical

professionalism and knowledge.

There are five essential elements that contribute

6.04 Social and Political Action

to a system’s ability to become more culturally

Social workers should act to expand choice and

competent. The system should (1) value diversity,

opportunity for all people, with special regard for

(2) have the capacity for cultural self-assessment,

vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and

(3) be conscious of the dynamics inherent when

exploited people and groups.

cultures interact, (4) institutionalize cultural

Social workers should promote conditions that

knowledge, and (5) develop programs and services

encourage respect for cultural and social diversity

that reflect an understanding of diversity between

within the United States and globally. Social

and within cultures. These five elements must be

workers should promote policies and practices

manifested in every level of the service delivery

that demonstrate respect for difference, support

system. They should be reflected in attitudes,

the expansion of cultural knowledge and

structures, policies, and services.

resources, advocate for programs and institutions

The specific Ethical Standard for culturally

that demonstrate cultural competence, and

competent social work practice is contained

promote policies that safeguard the rights of and

under Section 1. Social workers’ ethical responsibilities

confirm equity and social justice for all people.

to clients.

Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination

1.05 Cultural Competence and Social Diversity

against any person, group, or class on the basis of

Social workers should understand culture and

race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual

its functions in human behavior and society,

orientation, age, marital status, political belief,

recognizing the strengths that exist in all

religion, or mental or physical disability.

cultures.

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Goals and Objectives of the Standards

Standards for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice

These standards address the need for definition, support, and encouragement for the development

Standard 1. Ethics and Values

of a high level of social work practice that

Social workers shall function in accordance with

encourages cultural competence among all social

the values, ethics, and standards of the profession,

workers so that they can respond effectively,

recognizing how personal and professional values

knowledgeably, sensitively, and skillfully to the

may conflict with or accommodate the needs of

diversity inherent in the agencies in which they

diverse clients.

work and with the clients and communities they serve.

Interpretation A major characteristic of a profession is its ability

These standards intend to move the discussion of

to establish ethical standards to help professionals

cultural competence within social work practice

identify ethical issues in practice and to guide

toward the development of clearer guidelines,

them in determining what is ethically acceptable

goals, and objectives for the future of social work

and unacceptable behavior (Reamer, 1998).

practice.

Social work has developed a comprehensive set of ethical standards embodied in the NASW Code of

The specific goals of the standards are

Ethics that “address a wide range of issues, including,

to maintain and improve the quality of

for example, social workers’ handling of

culturally competent services provided by

confidential

social workers and programs delivered by

between social workers and their clients, conflicts

social service agencies

of interest, supervision, education and training,

to establish professional expectations so that

and social and political action” (Reamer, 1998,

social workers can monitor and evaluate their

p. 2). The Code includes a mission statement,

culturally competent practice

which sets forth several key elements in social

to provide a framework for social workers to

work practice, mainly the social workers’

assess culturally competent practice

commitment to enhancing human well-being

to inform consumers, governmental regulatory

and helping meet basic human needs of all people;

bodies, and others, such as insurance carriers,

client empowerment; service to people who are

about the profession’s standards for culturally

vulnerable and oppressed; focus on individual

competent practice

well-being in a social context; promotion of social

to establish specific ethical guidelines for

justice and social change; and sensitivity to cultural

culturally competent social work practice in

and ethnic diversity. Social workers clearly have an

agency or private practice settings

ethical responsibility to be culturally competent

to provide documentation of professional

practitioners.

information,

sexual

contact

expectations for agencies, peer review committees, state regulatory bodies, insurance

The Code recognizes that culture and ethnicity

carriers, and others.

may influence how individuals cope with problems

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and interact with each other. What is behaviorally

examine their own cultural backgrounds and

appropriate in one culture may seem abnormal in

identities to increase awareness of personal

another. Accepted practice in one culture may be

assumptions, values, and biases. The workers’

prohibited in another. To fully understand and

self-awareness of their own cultural identities is

appreciate these differences, social workers must

as fundamental to practice as the informed

be familiar with varying cultural traditions and

assumptions about clients’ cultural backgrounds

norms. Clients’ cultural backgrounds may affect

and experiences in the United States. This

their help-seeking behaviors as well. The ways in

awareness of personal values, beliefs, and biases

which social services are planned and implemented

inform their practice and influence relationships

need to be culturally sensitive to be culturally

with clients. Cultural competence includes

effective. Cultural competence builds on the

knowing and acknowledging how fears, ignorance,

profession’s valued stance on self-determination

and the “isms” (racism, sexism, ethnocentrism,

and individual dignity and worth, adding inclusion,

heterosexism, ageism, classism) have influenced

tolerance, and respect for diversity in all its forms.

their attitudes, beliefs, and feelings.

It requires social workers to struggle with ethical dilemmas arising from value conflicts or special

Social workers need to be able to move from

needs of diverse clients such as helping clients

being culturally aware of their own heritage to

enroll in mandated training or mental health

becoming culturally aware of the heritage of

services that are culturally insensitive. Cultural

others. They can value and celebrate differences

competence requires social workers to recognize

in others rather than maintain an ethnocentric

the strengths that exist in all cultures. This does

stance and can demonstrate comfort with differ-

not imply a universal nor automatic acceptance of

ences between themselves and others. They have

all practices of all cultures. For example, some

an awareness of personal and professional

cultures subjugate women, oppress persons based

limitations that may warrant the referral of a

on sexual orientation, and value the use of corporal

client to another social worker or agency that can

punishment and the death penalty. Cultural

best meet the clients’ needs. Self-awareness also

competence in social work practice must be

helps in understanding the process of cultural

informed by and applied within the context of

identity formation and helps guard against

NASW’s Code of Ethics and the United Nations

stereotyping. As one develops the diversity within

Declaration of Human Rights.

one’s own group, one can be more open to the diversity within other groups.

Standard 2. Self-Awareness Social workers shall develop an understanding of

Cultural competence also requires social workers

their own personal and cultural values and beliefs

to appreciate how workers need to move from

as a first step in appreciating the importance of

cultural awareness to cultural sensitivity before

multicultural identities in the lives of people.

achieving cultural competence and to evaluate growth and development throughout these

Interpretation

different levels of cultural competence in

Cultural competence requires social workers to

practice.

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Self-awareness becomes the basis for professional

group oppression, adjustment styles, socioeco-

development and should be supported by

nomic backgrounds, life processes, learning

supervision and agency administration. Agency

styles, cognitive skills, worldviews and specific

administrators and public policy advocates also

cultural customs and practices, their definition of and

need to develop strategies to reduce their own

beliefs about the causation of wellness and illness or

biases and expand their self-awareness.

normality and abnormality, and how care and services should be delivered. They also must seek

Standard 3. Cross-Cultural Knowledge

specialized knowledge about U.S. social, cultural,

Social workers shall have and continue to

and political systems, how they operate, and how

develop specialized knowledge and understanding

they serve or fail to serve specific client groups.

about the history, traditions, values, family

This includes knowledge of institutional, class,

systems, and artistic expressions of major client

culture, and language barriers that prevent

groups served.

diverse client group members from using services.

Interpretation

Cultural competence requires explicit knowledge

Cultural competence is not static and requires

of traditional theories and principles concerning

frequent relearning and unlearning about diversity.

such areas as human behavior, life cycle development,

Social workers need to take every opportunity to

problem-solving skills, prevention, and rehabilitation.

expand their cultural knowledge and expertise by

Social workers need the critical skill of asking

expanding their understanding of the following

the right questions, being comfortable with

areas: “the impact of culture on behavior, attitudes,

discussing cultural differences, and asking clients

and values; the help-seeking behaviors of diverse

about what works for them and what is comfortable

client groups; the role of language, speech

for them in these discussions. Furthermore,

patterns, and communication styles of various

culturally competent social workers need to know

client groups in the communities served; the

the limitations and strengths of current theories,

impact of social service policies on various client

processes and practice models, and which have

groups; the resources (agencies, people, informal

specific applicability and relevance to the service

helping networks, and research) that can be used

needs of culturally diverse client groups.

on behalf of diverse client groups; the ways that professional values may conflict with or

Standard 4. Cross-Cultural Skills

accommodate the needs of diverse client groups;

Social workers shall use appropriate methodological

and the power relationships in the community,

approaches, skills, and techniques that reflect the

agencies, or institutions and their impact on

workers’ understanding of the role of culture in

diverse client groups” (Gallegos, pp. 7–8).

the helping process.

Social workers need to possess specific knowledge

Interpretation

about the particular providers and client groups

The personal attributes of a culturally competent

they work with, including the range of historical

social worker include qualities that reflect

experiences, resettlement patterns, individual and

genuineness, empathy, and warmth; the capacity

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19

to respond flexibly to a range of possible solutions;

communication skills in response to direct and

an acceptance of and openness to differences

indirect communication styles of diverse clients

among people; a willingness to learn to work with

understand the interaction of the cultural

clients of different backgrounds; an articulation

systems of the social worker, the client, the

and clarification of stereotypes and biases and

particular agency setting, and the broader

how these may accommodate or conflict with

immediate community

the needs of diverse client groups; and personal

effectively use the clients’ natural support

commitment to alleviate racism, sexism, homo-

system in resolving problems—for example,

phobia, ageism, and poverty. These attributes are

folk healers, storefronts, religious and spiritual

important to the direct practitioner and to the

leaders, families of creation, and other community resources

agency administrator.

demonstrate advocacy and empowerment

More specifically, social workers should have the

skills in work with clients, recognizing and

skills to

combating the “isms”, stereotypes, and myths

work with a wide range of people who are culturally different or similar to themselves,

that are appropriate to the targeted client

cultures of these clients

population and make appropriate referrals

assess the meaning of culture for individual

when indicated

consult with supervisors and colleagues for

discussion of differences, and respond to

feedback and monitoring of performance and

culturally biased cues

identify features of their own professional

master interviewing techniques that reflect

style that impede or enhance their culturally

an understanding of the role of language in

competent practice

the client’s culture

identify service delivery systems or models

and establish avenues for learning about the

clients and client groups, encourage open

held by individuals and institutions

evaluate the validity and applicability of new

conduct a comprehensive assessment of client

techniques, research, and knowledge for work

systems in which cultural norms and behaviors

with diverse client groups.

are evaluated as strengths and differentiated

from problematic or symptomatic behaviors

Standard 5. Service Delivery

integrate the information gained from a

Social workers shall be knowledgeable about

culturally competent assessment into culturally

and skillful in the use of services available in the

appropriate intervention plans and involve

community and broader society and be able to

clients and respect their choices in developing

make appropriate referrals for their diverse

goals for service

clients.

select and develop appropriate methods, skills, and techniques that are attuned to

Interpretation

their clients’ cultural, bicultural, or marginal

Agencies and professional social work organizations

experiences in their environments

need to promote cultural competence by supporting

generate a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal

the evaluation of culturally competent service

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21

delivery models and setting standards for cultural

reflective of the cultural heritage of clients

competence within these settings. Culturally

and families using the service

competent social workers need to be aware of and

concern clients of diverse backgrounds

cultural differences and similarities between workers and clients. This includes monitoring

not accepting staff remarks that insult or demean clients and their culture

cultural competence among social workers (agency evaluations, supervision, in-service

attending to social issues (for example, housing, education, police, and social justice) that

vigilant about the dynamics that result from

supporting the inclusion of cultural competence standards in accreditation bodies and

training, and feedback from clients).

organizational policies as well as in licensing and certification examinations

Social workers need to detect and prevent exclusion of diverse clients from service oppor-

developing staffing plans that reflect the

tunities and seek to create opportunities for

organization and the targeted client population

clients, matching their needs with culturally

(for example, hiring, position descriptions, performance evaluations, training)

competent service delivery systems or adapting services to better meet the culturally unique

culturally competent practice

needs of clients. Furthermore, they need to foster policies and procedures that help ensure access to care that accommodates varying cultural beliefs.

developing performance measures to assess

including participation of client groups in the development of research and treatment protocols.

For direct practitioners, policymakers, or administrators, this specifically involves

Standard 6. Empowerment and Advocacy

actively recruiting multiethnic staff and

Social workers shall be aware of the effect of

including cultural competence requirements

social policies and programs on diverse client

in job descriptions and performance and

populations, advocating for and with clients

promotion measures

whenever appropriate.

reviewing the current and emergent demographic trends for the geographic area served by the

Interpretation

agency to determine service needs for the

Culturally competent social workers are keenly

provision of interpretation and translation

aware of the deleterious effects of racism,

services

sexism, ageism, heterosexism or homophobia,

creating service delivery systems or models

anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism, classism, and

that are more appropriate to the targeted

xenophobia on clients’ lives and the need for

client populations or advocating for the

social advocacy and social action to better

creation of such services

empower diverse clients and communities.

including participation by clients as major stakeholders in the development of service

As first defined by Solomon (1976), empowerment

delivery systems

involves facilitating the clients’ connection with

ensuring that program decor and design is

their own power and, in turn, being empowered

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23

by the very act of reaching across cultural barriers.

Interpretation

Empowerment refers to the person’s ability to do

Increasing cultural competence within the

for themselves while advocacy implies doing for

profession requires demonstrated efforts to

the client. Even in the act of advocacy, social

recruit and retain a diverse cadre of social workers,

workers must be careful not to impose their

many of whom would bring some “indigenous”

values on clients and must seek to understand

cultural competence to the profession as well as

what clients mean by advocacy. Respectful

demonstrated efforts to increase avenues for the

collaboration needs to take place to promote

acquisition of culturally competent skills by all

mutually agreed-on goals for change.

social workers. Diversity should be represented at all levels of the organization, and not just among

Social workers need a range of skills and abilities

direct practitioners.

to advocate for and with clients against the underlying devaluation of cultural experiences

The social work profession has espoused a

related to difference and oppression and power and

commitment to diversity, inclusion, and affirmative

privilege in the United States. The empowerment

action. However, available statistics indicate that in

tradition in social work practice suggests a

the United States social workers are predominantly

promotion of the combined goals of consciousness

white (88.5 percent) and female (78.0 percent).

raising and developing a sense of personal power

The proportion of people of color has remained

and skills while working toward social change.

relatively stable in the social work membership of

Best practice views this as a process and outcome

the National Association of Social Workers over a

of the empowerment perspective (Gutiérrez,

period of several years: 5.3 percent identify

1990; Simon, 1994). Social workers using this

themselves as African American; Hispanics, including

standard will apply an ecosystems perspective and

Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other

a strengths orientation in practice. This means

Hispanic groups constitute about 2.8 percent of

that workers consider client situations as they

the membership; Asians and Pacific Islanders 1.7

describe needs in terms of transitory challenges

percent; and American Indians/First Nations

rather than fixed problems. According to

People 0.5 percent (Gibelman & Schervish, 1997).

Gutiérrez and Lewis (1999), empowerment is a model for practice, a perspective and a set of

Social work client populations are more diverse

skills and techniques. The expectation is that

than the social work profession itself. In many

culturally competent social workers reflect

instances, service to clients is targeted to margin-

these values in their practice.

alized communities and special populations, groups that typically include disproportionately

Standard 7. Diverse Workforce

high numbers of people of color, elderly people,

Social workers shall support and advocate for

people with disabilities, and clients of lower

recruitment, admissions and hiring, and reten-

socioeconomic status.

tion efforts in social work programs and agencies that ensure diversity within the profession.

Matching workforce to client populations can be an effective strategy for bridging cultural differences

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25

between social worker and client, although it

The social work profession should be encouraged

cannot be the only strategy. The assumption is that

to take steps to ensure cultural competence as an

individuals of similar backgrounds can understand

integral part of social work education, training

each other better and communicate more effectively

and practice, and to increase research and

(Jackson & López, 1999). Yet an equally compelling

scholarship on culturally competent practice

fact is that “the majority of clinicians from the

among social work professionals. This includes

mainstream dominant culture will routinely

undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs

provide care for large numbers of patients of

in social work as well as post-master’s training,

diverse ethnic and/or cultural backgrounds.

continuing education, and meetings of the

Clearly increasing the numbers of culturally

profession. Social agencies should be encouraged

diverse social workers is not sufficient. Even these

to provide culturally competent in-service training

professionals will need to be able to provide care

and opportunities for continuing education for

for patients who are not like themselves” (Jackson

agency-based workers. NASW should contribute

& López, 1999, p. 4). In addition, culturally

to the ongoing education and training needs for

competent social workers who bring a special skill

all social workers, with particular emphasis on

or knowledge to the profession, like bicultural and

promoting culturally competent practice in

bilingual skills, or American Sign Language (ASL)

continuing education offerings in terms of content,

skills, are entitled to professional equity and

faculty, and auspice.

should not be exploited for their expertise but should be appropriately compensated for skills

In addition, the NASW Code of Ethics clearly

that enhance the delivery of services to clients.

states, “Social workers who provide supervision and consultation are responsible for setting clear,

Standard 8. Professional Education

appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries”

Social workers shall advocate for and participate

(p. 14). This highlights the importance of pro-

in educational and training programs that help

viding culturally sensitive supervision and field

advance cultural competence within the profession.

instruction, as well as the pivotal role of supervisors and field instructors in promoting culturally competent practice among workers and students.

Interpretation Cultural competence is a vital link between the theoretical and practice knowledge base that

Standard 9. Language Diversity

defines social work expertise. Social work is a

Social workers shall seek to provide and advocate

practice-oriented profession, and social work

for the provision of information, referrals, and

education and training need to keep up with and

services in the language appropriate to the client,

stay ahead of changes in professional practice,

which may include the use of interpreters.

which includes the changing needs of diverse client populations. Diversity needs to be

Interpretation

addressed in social work curricula and needs to be

Social workers should accept the individual person

viewed as central to faculty and staff appointments

in his or her totality and ensure access to needed

and research agendas.

services. Language is a source and an extension of

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27

personal identity and culture and therefore, is

Social agencies and social workers have a

one way individuals interact with others in their

responsibility to use language interpreters when

families and communities and across different

necessary, and to make certain that interpreters

cultural groups. Individuals and groups have a

do not breach confidentiality, create barriers to

right to use their language in their individual and

clients when revealing personal information that

communal life.

is critical to their situation, are properly trained and oriented to the ethics of interpreting in a

Language diversity is a resource for society, and

helping situation, and have fundamental knowledge

linguistic diversity should be preserved and

of specialized terms and concepts specific to the

promoted. The essence of the social work

agency’s programs or activities.

profession is to promote social justice and eliminate discrimination and oppression based on linguistic

Standard 10. Cross-Cultural Leadership

or other diversities. Title VI of the Civil Rights

Social workers shall be able to communicate

Act clarifies the obligation of agencies and service

information about diverse client groups to other

providers to not discriminate or have methods of

professionals.

administering services that may subject individuals to discrimination.

Interpretation Social work is the appropriate profession to take

Agencies and providers of services are expected to

a leadership role not only in disseminating

take reasonable steps to provide services and

knowledge about diverse client groups, but also

information in appropriate language other than

in actively advocating for fair and equitable

English to ensure that people with limited

treatment of all clients served. This role should

English proficiency are effectively informed and

extend within and outside the profession.

can effectively participate in and benefit from its Guided by the NASW Code of Ethics, social work

programs.

leadership is the communication of vision to create It is the responsibility of social services agencies

proactive processes that empower individuals,

and social workers to provide clients services in

families, groups, organizations, and communities.

the language of their choice or to seek the assistance

Diversity skills, defined as sensitivity to diversity,

of qualified language interpreters. Social workers

multicultural leadership, acceptance and tolerance,

need to communicate respectfully and effectively

cultural competence, and tolerance of ambiguity,

with clients from different ethnic, cultural, and

constitute one of the core leadership skills for

linguistic backgrounds; this might include knowing

successful leadership (Rank & Hutchison, 2000).

the client’s language. The use of language trans-

Social workers should come forth to assume

lation should be done by trained professional

leadership in empowering diverse client populations,

interpreters (for example, certified or registered

to share information about diverse populations to

sign language interpreters). Interpreters generally

the general public, and to advocate for their

need proficiency in both English and the other

clients’ concerns at interpersonal and institutional

language, as well as orientation and training.

levels, locally, nationally, and internationally.

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29

With the establishment of standards for cultural

References

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Davis, P., & Donald, B. (1997). Multicultural

provide ongoing training in cultural competence

counseling competencies: Assessment, evaluation, edu-

and to establish mechanisms for the evaluation of

cation and training, and supervision. Thousand

competence-based practice. As the social work

Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

profession develops cultural competencies, then the profession must have the ability to measure

Gallegos, J. S. (1982). The ethnic competence

those competencies. The development of outcome

model for social work education. In B. W.

measures needs to go hand in hand with the

White (Ed.), Color in a white society (pp. 1–9).

development of these standards.

Silver Spring, MD: National Association of Social Workers.

Note: These standards build on and adhere to other standards of social work practice

Gibelman, M., & Schervish, P. H. (1997). Who we

established by NASW, including, but not limited

are: A second look. Washington, DC: NASW Press.

to, NASW Standards for the Classification of Social Work Practice, Standards for the Practice

Gutiérrez, L. M. (1990). Working with women

of Clinical Social Work, Standards for Social

of color: An empowerment perspective. Social

Work Case Management, Standards for Social

Work, 35,149–153.

Work Practice in Child Protection, Standards for School Social Work Services, Standards for

Gutiérrez, L. M., & Lewis, E. A. (1999).

Social Work in Health Care Settings, Standards

Empowering women of color. New York: Columbia

for Social Work Personnel Practices, and

University Press.

Standards for Social Work Services in LongTerm Care Facilities.

Jackson, V., & López, L. (Eds.). (1999). Cultural competency in managed behavioral healthcare.

Free information on the Standards is located on

Dover, NH: Odyssey Press.

the NASW Web site: www.socialworkers.org.

National Association of Social Workers. (2000a).

Purchase full document from NASW Press at

NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC: NASW.

1.800.227.3590.

National Association of Social Workers. (2000b).

Cultural competence in the social work profession.

In Social work speaks: NASW policy statements (pp.

59–62). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Norton, D. G. (1978). The dual perspective. New York: Council on Social Work Education.

30

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Perry, M. J., & Mackum, P. J. (2001). Population change and distribution: 1990-2000. United States 2000 Brief Series, April 2, 2001. Retrieved June 28, 2001, http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr0 1-2.pdf Rank, M. G., & Hutchison, W. S. (2000). An analysis of leadership within the social work profession. Journal of Social Work Education, 36, 487–503.

Reamer, F. G. (1998). Ethical standards in social work: A critical review of the NASW code of ethics.

Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Simon, B. (1994). The empowerment tradition in American social work. New York: Columbia University Press.

Solomon, B. (1976). Black empowerment.

New York: Columbia University Press.

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