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- List of Tools by Step
- Step 1. Engage Partners
- Step 2. Assess Needs
- Step 3. Examine Strengths and Capacity
- Step 4. Select Priorities
- Step 5. Set Performance Objectives
- Step 6. Develop Action Plan
- Step 7. Seek and Allocate Resources
- Step 8. Monitor Progress for Impact on Outcomes
- Step 9. Report Back to Partners
- State and Jurisdiction Links
1. Engage Partners
Introduction
On Your Mark: Start Here with Grounding Concepts and the Evidence BaseEssential in conducting the needs assessment is to engage community partners early on and throughout the process. Title V agencies need strong partnerships and effective coalitions to assist in all remaining eight steps of the process. It is expected that MCH programs will have ongoing communication with partners throughout the needs assessment process and continue to engage with such partners during interim reporting years.
Partners can help to identify the full scope of need, interpret available data or collect new data, sort our priorities, identify and select solutions, build consensus, advocate for needed changes and support overall efforts.
Importance of Engaging Partners
Engaging community partners in the five-year needs assessment is essential to:
- Ensure that the assessment is comprehensive and representative of the community. Partners from different sectors and with different perspectives can provide valuable insights into the community's health needs.
- Build community ownership and support for the assessment and its findings. When partners feel involved in the process, they are more likely to trust and accept the results.
- Identify potential partners and resources for addressing the community's health needs. Partners can help to develop and implement interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of the community.
Barriers to Engaging Partners
There are a number of barriers that can make it difficult to engage partners in the five-year needs assessment. These include:
- Time and resource constraints. Engaging partners takes time and resources, which may be limited for Title V agencies and other organizations.
- Lack of awareness. Some partners may not be aware of the needs assessment process or its importance. Others may be reluctant to participate due to concerns about confidentiality or lack of trust in government or other organizations.
- Language and cultural barriers. Partners may speak different languages or have different cultural backgrounds, which can make it difficult to communicate and engage with them effectively.
- Power dynamics. Partners may have different levels of power and influence, which can create challenges for ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.
The MCH Evidence Center has reviewed the literature to find strategies for engaging community partners. Note that the research literature uses the term "stakeholders" at the current moment, although common usage reflects the more inclusive term "community partners":
- Ekirapa-Kiracho, E., Ghosh, U., Brahmachari, R. et al. Engaging stakeholders: lessons from the use of participatory tools for improving maternal and child care health services. Health Res Policy Sys 15 (Suppl 2), 106 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-017-0271-z
- Morton KL, Atkin AJ, Corder K, et al. Engaging stakeholders and target groups in prioritising a public health intervention: the Creating Active School Environments (CASE) online Delphi study. BMJ Open 2017;7:e013340. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013340. Conclusions: This novel approach to engaging a wide variety of stakeholders in the research process was feasible to conduct and acceptable to participants. It also provided insightful information relating to how stakeholders prioritise interventions. The approach could be extended beyond the specific project to be a useful tool for researchers and practitioners.
- Pellecchia M, Arnold KT, Tomczuk L, Beidas RS. "Engaging Stakeholders" in Practical Implementation Science: Moving Evidence into Action, ed. Weiner BJ, Lewis CC, Sherr K. 2022: Springer Publishing.
Learn What Works
Get Ready: Immerse Yourself in Effective Strategies and Learn MoreThere are a number of strategies that can be used to involve community partners in the five-year needs assessment in an equitable manner. These include:
- Identifying and prioritizing all partners. It is important to identify and prioritize all partners, including those who are most marginalized or underrepresented. This may require outreach to diverse community organizations and groups.
- Creating opportunities for meaningful participation. Partners should have meaningful opportunities to participate in the needs assessment process, from defining the scope of the assessment to developing and implementing recommendations. This may involve using a variety of engagement methods, such as focus groups, surveys, and community meetings.
- Providing accessible information. Partners should have access to clear and concise information about the needs assessment process, its purpose, and how they can participate. This information should be available in multiple languages and formats, as needed.
- Building trust and relationships. It is important to build trust and relationships with partners throughout the needs assessment process. This can be done by being transparent and responsive to partner feedback, and by honoring the time and expertise that partners contribute.
Here are some specific strategies for engaging organizations led by people with lived experience:
- Identify and reach out to organizations led by people with lived experience in the community. This can be done through networking, online searches, and word-of-mouth.
- Build relationships with leaders of organizations led by people with lived experience. This can be done by attending their events, volunteering with their organizations, and meeting with them individually.
- Provide organizations led by people with lived experience with opportunities to participate in the needs assessment process. This can be done by inviting them to join the steering committee, conducting interviews with their members, or hosting focus groups with their clients.
- Support organizations led by people with lived experience in their efforts to address the community's health needs. This can be done by providing them with funding, technical assistance, or other resources.
By taking these steps, Title V agencies can help ensure that all partners have an opportunity to participate in the needs assessment process and that their voices are heard.
These trainings have been collected by the MCH Navigator:
- CFCA Webinar: Needs Assessment: A Tool for Program Planning and Community Building. Developed: 2019. Source: Australian Institute of Family Studies . Presenter(s): Paul Harkin and Jessica Smart. Type: Narrated Slide Presentation. Level: Introductory. Length: 60 minutes.
- Community Partnerships and Perspectives (Intermediate Level). Developed: n.a.. Source: South Central Public Health Partnership. Presenter(s): Linda Usdin, PhD; Anne Witmer, MPH; Theodore Quant. Type: Online Course Video. Level: Intermediate. Length: 225 minutes.
- Hallways to Health Sustainability Planning: Engaging Stakeholders. Developed: 2017. Source: School-Based Health Alliance. Type: Webinar. Level: Introductory. Length: 31 minutes.
- Getting Started and Engaging Your Stakeholders. Source: CDC. Presenter(s): Leslie A. Fierro, MPH; Carlyn Orians, MA. Type: Webinar. Level: Introductory. Length: 50 minutes.
- Community Partnerships and Perspectives-Intermediate Level. Source: South Central Public Health Partnership. Presenter(s): Linda Usdin, Ph.D.; Anne Witmer, M.P.H.; Theodore Quant. Type: Online Course Video. Level: Intermediate. Length: 225 minutes.
- Successful Engagement with People with Lived Experience. Developed: 2023. Source: National MCH Workforce Development Center and MCH Navigator. Presenter(s): Becky Burns. Type: MCHwork Microlearning Program. Level: Intermediate.
Tools to Try
Get Set: Use these Tools to Move from Knowledge to ImplementationThese tools and examples have been developed by the National MCH Workforce Development Center or collected by the MCH Digital Library:
- Appreciative Inquiry. A tool that focuses on how to build on existing strengths and how to engage stakeholders to create change. This tool can also be used in Step 4 (Selecting Priorities) and Step 5 (Setting Performance Objectives).
- Overview and facilitator script
- Tool template: PDF | Word document (editable)
- How to Engage Stakeholders Tool. As part of the Cottage Center for Population Health's evaluation toolkit, this tool is part of their Engage Stakeholders page that provides background, case studies and tools to use.
- Network Mapping and Analysis. A tool to identify what partnerships and collaborations exist within the MCH system. This tool helps identify potential gaps and opportunities to engage stakeholders.
- Successful Engagement with People who have Lived Experience. National MCH Workforce Development Center. The purpose of this workbook is to provide detailed steps for professionals who seek to authentically engage with people who have lived experience to improve policy, services, supports, systems of care, health outcomes, etc. This document provides guidance for setting the stage in order to create trusting relationships and engage individuals with lived experience at the beginning of your work.
- Youth Engagement:
- Example of why and how to partner with youth (AMCHP)
- Examples of youth engagement through youth centered care, focus groups/listening sessions, partnerships, and advisory structures
These resources have been collected by the MCH Digital Library:
- Engage Stakeholders Concept Guide. Middlesex-London Health Unit. This tool provides a five-step process for identifying, prioritizing, planning, standardizing, and applying findings related to stakeholders.
- Engage Stakeholders Learning Module. Boston University. As part of the evaluation section of the MPH Modules, this page provides case studies, outlines major stakeholder groups, and provides a stakeholder checklist.
- Identify and Engage Possible Partners. Rural Health Information Hub. This toolkit focuses on diverse representation of community residents and organizations.
- Identifying and Determining Involvement of Stakeholders. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This two-page factsheet provides a simple process for engagement of stakeholders.
Title V Tools and Examples
Go: Learn from Your Peers Across the CountryTools
These tools have been collected by AMCHP and the MCH Evidence Center:
- California: Introduction to Needs Assessment and Engaging Stakeholders. California Title V partnered with the University of California, San Francisco's Family Health Outcomes Project to develop this webinar and introductory resources.
- Colorado: Needs Assessment Design Overview Visual. Colorado has used a visual such as this one in multiple assessments to organize and communicate about the design of the MCH Needs Assessment. It helps partners understand all of the elements of the assessment as well as the general timeline.
- Oregon: Partner Voices Key Questions. These are the key questions that were used in a survey of partners in Oregon, to both gather information and to engage partners in the work. The modes of data collection included an online survey of partners, listening sessions with key stakeholders, discussions with core partners including local health departments and tribes, and regional listening sessions with community organizations and agencies.
- Oregon: Youth Engagement on Surveillance and Assessment Tools. As part of Oregon’s effort to design better assessment and surveillance tools, Title V engaged youth in focus groups, surveys, and informational interviews to find out what health topics are most important to them, whether or not the survey speaks to those topics, and how the state can better design assessment to speak to their needs and strengths.
- New Mexico’s Title V CYSHCN Program: Using the National Standards as a Framework for Educating Stakeholders. For an increased understanding of how Title V programs are implementing the National Standards for Systems of Care for CYSHCN, this case study offer strategies and best practices for replication.
Stories and Strategies for Peer-to-Peer Learning
These stories and strategies have been collected by AMCHP and the MCH Evidence Center related to Step 1:
- Oregon Key Stakeholder Panel Discussion for Needs Assessment Specific to Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs. OCCYSHN invited professionals representing a wide range of organizations and institutions that serve CYSHCN (e.g., Coordinated Care Organizations, pediatric provider member organizations, county Developmental Disability, providers that serve CYSHCN) and representatives of families of CYSHCN to participate in a facilitated discussion on December 10, 2014. The discussion focused on the needs of CYSHCN and the capacity of Oregon’s system of services to address those needs. Participants also recommended priority areas of focus for OCCYSHN for the next 5 years. We included these recommendations in our priority area data tools used for our state prioritization process. Contact Alison Martin at [email protected], 503-494-5435 for information.
- Oregon: Contracts for Culturally Responsive Data Collection
The mission of the Oregon Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (OCCYSHN) is to improve the health, development, and well-being of all Oregon’s CYSHCN. Understanding the experiences and needs of all CYSHCN and their families, including those of non-dominant race/ethnicities, is essential to achieving this mission. Limited data exist that describe the Oregon CYSHCN population generally; data are even more limited if a child is a member of community of color. For example, generalizable data for the percentage of Oregon CYSHCN who identify as Black do not exist. Family members who responded to OCCYSHN’s 2015 needs assessment surveys were overwhelmingly Caucasian (77%) and relatively well-educated (46% reported a Bachelor’s degree or higher). In an effort to learn more about subgroups of CYSHCN about which less is known, OCCYSHN is contracting with culturally-specific organizations to conduct culturally responsive data collections with families of CYSHCN in the communities they serve. They will share information gleaned, and work with OCCYSHN on effective strategies to better serve those communities. These example Request for Proposals (RFPs) can serve as examples of how to seek organizations to co-develop culturally-appropriate surveys:- Request for Proposals Partnership to Explore the Care and Service Needs of Latinx Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) and Their Families
- Request for Proposals Partnership to Explore the Care and Service Needs of African American/Black Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) and Their Families
- Ohio: As a partner, I am seeing how we need to help be more of a go-between for Ohio's MCH. We are a step closer to some partners. As we were tasked with the need assessment, we then only administered surveys via email to our schools and optometrist partners, and would like to see more engagement in the future.
Share Your Stories and Strategies
Please take a moment to share your stories and strategies related to Step 1 of your needs assessment that you would like highlighted on this page. By sharing your stories, you help to document the needs assessment process for use by other Title V agencies during this cycle and will help preserve this knowledge for needs assessment processes in the future.