Utilizing an evaluation of a community initiative to inform lessons for collaborative partnership and service delivery: All In for Youth Case Study

This project aims to provide much needed evidence to community organizations who want to use evaluation findings to better understand how to work with and support vulnerable children and their families in schools. The All in for Youth initiative and its collaborative partners offer integrated, wraparound supports to improve academic outcomes and resiliency of vulnerable children, support family health and stability, get communities involved, and inform policy and systems change. Individual non-profit organizations do not always have the resources, expertise, time, or capacity to intentionally gather evidence to support critical reflection of their services. Balancing the needs of all organizational representatives into one evaluation will be challenging. As will efforts to mobilize evaluation evidence so diverse audiences can learn about the AIFY initiative and its work. This case study will allow the Evaluation Capacity Network research team to more closely examine how community partners, collaboratively delivering services to children and families, develop and use evidence to inform and improve organizational practices, programs, and policies, navigate systems change, and establish common outcomes.

Faculty Supervisor:

Rebecca Gokiert

Student:

Nicholas Lesyk

Partner:

United Way of Alberta Capital Region

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

Health care and social assistance

University:

University of Alberta