TY - JOUR
T1 - Building the evaluation capacity of California's local tobacco control programs.
AU - Treiber, Jeanette
AU - Cassady, Diana
AU - Kipke, Robin
AU - Kwon, Nicole
AU - Satterlund, Travis
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - Successful evaluation capacity building requires a dynamic balance between responding to local agency needs and ensuring that local staff have appropriate skills to conduct rigorous evaluations. In 2004, the California Tobacco Control Program established the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center (TCEC), based at a public research university, to provide evaluation technical assistance to approximately 100 local agencies implementing tobacco control programs. TCEC has been responsive to local needs, for instance, by answering 512 technical assistance requests in the first 5 years of operation and by tailoring training according to needs assessment results. About 50% of the technical assistance requests were for new data collection instruments (n = 255). TCEC has sought proactively to improve local evaluation skills, most recently in a data analysis and report writing skill building campaign that included a webinar, newsletter, and seven regional training meetings. Preliminary analysis suggests a 20% improvement in scores for the local final evaluation reports as a result of this campaign. It is concluded that evaluation technical assistance can be provided effectively by a university as long as the local context is kept in mind, and a balance of responsive and proactive technical assistance is provided.
AB - Successful evaluation capacity building requires a dynamic balance between responding to local agency needs and ensuring that local staff have appropriate skills to conduct rigorous evaluations. In 2004, the California Tobacco Control Program established the Tobacco Control Evaluation Center (TCEC), based at a public research university, to provide evaluation technical assistance to approximately 100 local agencies implementing tobacco control programs. TCEC has been responsive to local needs, for instance, by answering 512 technical assistance requests in the first 5 years of operation and by tailoring training according to needs assessment results. About 50% of the technical assistance requests were for new data collection instruments (n = 255). TCEC has sought proactively to improve local evaluation skills, most recently in a data analysis and report writing skill building campaign that included a webinar, newsletter, and seven regional training meetings. Preliminary analysis suggests a 20% improvement in scores for the local final evaluation reports as a result of this campaign. It is concluded that evaluation technical assistance can be provided effectively by a university as long as the local context is kept in mind, and a balance of responsive and proactive technical assistance is provided.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859404251&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84859404251&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 22068574
AN - SCOPUS:84859404251
VL - 12
JO - Health Promotion Practice
JF - Health Promotion Practice
SN - 1524-8399
IS - 6 Suppl 2
ER -