Assessment and Program Design
Client
Girl Scouts of Northern California
Context
At the beginning of 2019, the Girl Scouts of Northern California (GSNorCal) contracted with RDA to conduct in-depth community needs and internal readiness assessments and facilitate work sessions to develop a pilot delivery strategies plan for Increasing Access Key Project, their redesign of programming to improve their ability to serve girls and families in low-income communities.
Approach
For the community assessment, RDA conducted qualitative data collection activities including focus groups with volunteers, girls, and their families, as well as key informant interviews with volunteers, community leaders, funding partners, and positive youth development program providers to identify program strengths, barriers, and local challenges and resources. RDA also conducted an internal readiness assessment via listening sessions and key informant interviews with GSNorCal staff to gauge the extent to which staff were prepared for the substantial organizational shift that will come with changing program models and to gather information about the successes and challenges of comparable past efforts. We also conducted a literature review of best practices and strategies for engaging families of K-5 girls from low-income communities. During the planning phase, RDA conducted three planning sessions with the Pilot Advisory Group, which consisted of GSNorCal management staff from across the organization. These sessions served to: ground participants in the overall program design process and objectives; review and validate findings from the community assessment; build buy-in and consensus for change required for implementing a new program model; identify goals, activities, and resources required for implementation; and review and vet the pilot delivery strategies plan.
Results
RDA integrated findings from the community assessment with output from these planning sessions, the best practice literature review, and our expertise in positive youth development and pilot design to develop a plan for implementing the pilot delivery strategies. The resulting plan, which is grounded in the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework, is designed to agilely support implementation through data-informed measurement grounded in a positive youth development framework, ultimately resulting in increased access to the benefits of Girl Scouts in historically underserved communities. Review the executive summary here.
