Webinar Notes: Evaluating FASD Prevention & Support Programs

This webinar caught my eye as it is the at the intersection of my former academic world – Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) ¹My PhD dissertation was on FASD. and my current world – evaluation. Combine that with the fact that one of the presenters is colleague with whom I previously worked (and who I know *always* gives great presentations from which I learn a lot!) and I knew this webinar was one that I didn’t want to miss!

Evaluating FASD Prevention & Support Programs: Tools to Support Planning & Evaluation

• Presenters: Nancy Poole, Deborah Rutman, Marilyn Van Bibber, Carol Hubberstey, Sharon Hume
• Date: 24 February 2014
• Hosted by: BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Website containing resources from the project: www.fasd-evaluation.ca

• supports capacity of community-based organizations to conduct evaluation
• evaluation is about:
  • learning how a model works
  • learning how to improve a program
  • learning new outcomes can be identified
  • learning what measures are appropriate for those outcomes
  • learning what difference the program is making
  • informing evidence-based decision making
• they mapped FASD prevention programs
  • levels in a cirlce (from inside to outside): program’s philosophy/theoretical framework, program activities/approaches, program outcomes, participant outcomes, community outcomes
  • not suggesting that any given program needs to have *all* the things at the map – these are a collective list of all the things they saw in the programs they looked at

Image from: http://www.fasd-evaluation.ca/overview/

Resource guides:

• an intro to visual maps
• using program philosophy as a foundation to FASD Evaluation

• using the program philosophy as a foundation for evaluation is key (not just for FASD programs, but other programs working with children, women, and families)
  • why are we doing things in a particular way?
  • are we doing the right things?
• program activities – important to uncover the hidden activities
• link between activities to outcomes
• participant outcomes – short, intermediate and long-term outcomes, along with indicators of those outcomes and measurement tools are provided on the website

Here’s a link to the recording of the webinar.