Introductory Remarks: Lily Zandniapour, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Manger, and Anthony Nerino, ORE, CNCS
Presenters
Nan Maxwell, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research
Scott Richman, Ph.D., Survey Researcher, Mathematica Policy Research
Abstract
In recent years, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners have expressed a growing interest in using evidence to make investment decisions and grow the impact of community-based solutions that work. CNCS and its grantees have invested significant resources in the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions to improve a range of outcomes for children, families, organizations, and communities. These efforts have helped the agency identify and support effective community-based interventions.
CNCS is interested in promoting the scaling of interventions that use national service programs, such as AmeriCorps members and Senior Corps volunteers, to bring effective solutions to communities in need. As part of that effort, the agency began a multi-year scaling project in 2016 to deepen its understanding of the effective interventions it supports and its knowledge base on scaling them. The process developed by the project contains three critical and interrelated components: (1) identifying effective evidence-based interventions; (2) building a framework based on implementation science research that defines the conditions under which scaling an intervention is likely to be successful; and (3) applying the framework’s conditions for scaling readiness to assess whether organizations are ready to scale effective interventions.
This webinar will provide details on this process and each of the three components. It will also describe the utility of this process for agencies interested in scaling effective innovations, working with programs to build evidence, and develop their readiness for scaling. Finally, it will discuss the role of evidence in funding programs, providing technical assistance, and building the capacity of organizations to benefit from evaluations.
Closing Remarks: Lily Zandniapour and Anthony Nerino