Become an Evaluation Expert at the CADCA Forum

A strong evaluation skill set is a critical component of evidence-based coalition work, allowing organizations to analyze data and outcomes and identify key areas of improvement in their operations. In order to help coalitions become more effective community change agents, CADCA's National Coalition Institute will present three workshops on coalition evaluation and research at CADCA's 21st annual National Leadership Forum, held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. from Feb. 7-10.

The three workshops, offered on Tuesday, Feb. 8, will focus on CADCA’s Got Outcomes! awards, CADCA’s Annual Survey of Coalitions and the Institute’s new research publication on comprehensive community interventions and environmental strategies. Each workshop will highlight different aspects of the Institute’s evaluation and research work to help coalitions properly assess and evaluate their efforts and translate research into practice.

“Our goal is to help coalitions learn how to examine data about their community and current research concerning community coalitions and substance abuse prevention to effectively produce and present population-level outcomes,” Dr. Evelyn Yang, Deputy Director of Evaluation and Research for the Institute, said.

“The Evidence for Comprehensive Strategies to Address Substance Use and Abuse,” held Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon, will be the first to kick off the series of workshops presented by the Institute’s Evaluation and Research staff. Dr. Yang and Andrea de la Flor, Manager of Evaluation and Research for the Institute, will provide participants with an overview of their research on the effectiveness of a variety of environmentally-focused strategies to reduce underage drinking, tobacco use and drug use. Additionally, participants will learn how a comprehensive response to substance use and abuse includes both environmental/policy efforts and individually-focused prevention efforts to reduce substance abuse population-wide.

Dr. Yang will continue with “CADCA’s Annual Survey of Coalitions: A Wealth of Data to serve the Coalition Field,” held Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:40 p.m. This session will explain how the Annual Survey, the only survey of its kind on the national level, collects comprehensive data from 800 coalitions on average each year to evaluate the Institute’s training and support services. The survey’s valuable data not only helps the Institute gain a better understanding of the local efforts made by community coalitions, but also provides coalitions access to useful information on networking opportunities and current trends in the field of substance abuse.

In the third workshop, “A Conversation with CADCA’s 2010 Got Outcomes! Award Winners,” Andrea De la Flor will host a discussion session for those interested in learning about the noteworthy community strategies and outcomes implemented by the 2010 Got Outcomes! winners. The participant-driven conversation not only helps coalitions learn how to write a winning application, but also how to improve their efforts based on the successes and outcomes of the award winners.

“Those that apply for these awards follow a thorough process to examine how their coalition’s strategies fit and relate to broader community-level outcomes,” De la Flor said. “Even if participants decide not to apply for the awards, the session is the perfect chance for them to hear new ideas, network and learn how to move forward with work in their communities.”

“The workshops will help equip coalitions with knowledge about the science behind the work they do,” Dr. Yang said. “We get the opportunity to talk about what we know in order to help coalitions use current research to improve their efforts and make their case for key stakeholders.”

For more information on the evaluation and research workshops offered by the Institute, contact Dr. Yang at eyang@cadca.org or Andrea de la Flor at adelaflor@cadca.org.