Welcoming the Learning Community

Facilitated by Liz Weaver, Vice-President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement  & Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting

•  Access the opening presentation slides here
  

Module #1:  The Dynamic Nature of Community Change

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting 

What is the “it” we are trying to evaluate? What do we mean by communities as complex adaptive systems? What are the dynamics of community change?  What are the various approaches to getting community impact?  We need a strong understanding of the nature of community change before we can and develop effective strategies.

•   Access the presentation slides here

Module #2:  Building Your Community Change Story

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting & Liz Weaver, Vice-President, Tamarack - An Institute for Community Engagement

In this module, we’ll explore four critical pre-conditions for evaluating community change: clarifying your intervention, sorting out the role of evaluation users and evaluators, developing an evaluation scope of work and embracing some guidelines for developing good evaluations.

•   Access the presentation slides here  

Module #3:  Designing Evaluations that are Used 

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting 

In this module, we’ll explore four critical pre-conditions for evaluating community change: clarifying your intervention, sorting out the role of evaluation users and evaluators, developing an evaluation scope of work and embracing some guidelines for developing good evaluations.

•  Access the presentation slides here

•  Access the Developing Evaluations Resource at a Glance here
  

Module #4:  Splash and Ripple Methods Carousel  

In this module, we will explore the limitations of traditional evaluation practices in identifying outcomes and explore practical resources, from the simple to the sophisticated, that you might use in your own work.

•  Access the Module Introduction slides here 
• Access Outcome Harvesting slides here
• Access Outcome Diary slides here
• Access the Ripple Effect Mapping slides here
  

Module #5:  Population Level Change & Shared Measurement

Facilitated by Liz Weaver, Vice-President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement 

This module will explore the different strategies for collecting and using data on ‘population’ level changes as well as the role that individual agencies can contribute to support this process through shared measurement 

•    Access the presentation slides here
  

Module #6: Evaluation and Narratives

Facilitated by Jennifer LaFontaine, Community Story Strategies

This module will explore how we can use personal stories to demonstrate impact, capture unexpected results, and share the values that drive our work.

• Access the presentation video here

Module #7:  Evaluating Systems Change

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting with Sara Earl, YMCA GTA

In order to move the needle on population-level outcomes, social innovators need to re-shape the (in)formal systems that shape those outcomes.  In this module, we will interview Sarah Earl, former Senior Program Officer of the International Development Research Corporation (IDRC), and now Director of Research of Program Development at the YMCA of Toronto, about her extensive experience in evaluating system changes in Canada and abroad, and surface several key tips for workshop participants.

•    Access the presentation slides here

Module #8: Systems Change Methods Carousel

In this module, we will explore three different systems change methods using a carousel method.  Specifically, participants will learn about three methods which are critical to evaluation and learning practices including understanding, influencing and evaluating policy change, building a public awareness profile for communicating evaluation results and building social networks and social capital.   

  Policy Change – with Mark Cabaj

• Access the Policy Change Slides here
• Access the Policy Change Resource at a Glance here
  
  

 Outcome Mapping – with Sara Earl

• Access the presentation here  
• Access the Outcome Mapping Learning Community here
  

Network Mapping for Collective Impact – with Robyn Kalda and Penny Scott

• Access the presentation slides here  
• Access the Network Weaver Checklist here

Module #9:  Contribution Analysis

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting

Data does not speak for itself. People must interpret it, draw conclusions, make judgements and finally recommendations This module will explore the extraordinary role that cognitive biases/mental models play in how the diverse members of a community change effort interpret evaluation findings and a variety of different techniques to strengthen participatory sense-making. 

•   Access the presentation slides here

Module #10:  Evaluating Community Change Groups

Facilitated by Liz Weaver,Vice-President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement

This module will review the typical types of community change models, the types of evaluation questions that are useful to explore, and several models for collaborative self-assessment.

• Access the presentation slides here
   

 Module #11:  Synthesizing our Learning

Facilitated by Liz Weaver, Vice-President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement  & Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting

In this interactive module, learning participants will synthesize the key evaluation themes that have been presented during the last three days.  They will be asked to reflect on each of the modules and determine how these lessons can be applied to their community change context.  Using a synthesis tool, from the book, Gamestorming – A Playbooks for Innovators, Rulebreakers and Changemakers by David Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo, participants will work in learning pods to create a visual representation of our time together. 

•  Cover Story Exercise:  http://www.gogamestorm.com/?p=365.

 Module #12:  Key Themes and Learning Review: What, So What, Now What? 

Facilitated by Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting

Twelve modules in three days is a lot of material.  In this module, we’ll review the highlights of each module, point you to some new resources, provide some time for you to sort through how you will begin to use your learnings once you return to your community.

• Access the presentation slides here

 Closing the Learning Community

Facilitated by Liz Weaver, Vice-President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement  & Mark Cabaj, President, Here to There Consulting