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Course – Lesson 3: I. Plan With Research

PLAN
PLAN WITH RESEARCH

LESSON 3:I – WHAT ARE THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF THIS LESSON?

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What are we learning?

Welcome to Lesson 3: Plan. We know you’re quite skilled in planning and understand that the more thoughtfully a plan is designed, the better chance for a successful project. In this lesson we explore a variety of topics: evidence-based practice, research and identifying programs and policies that hold promise for your agency and city.

As you move through the lesson, we wish to support you in connecting the dots between your project’s hypothesis, goals, measurable activities and outcomes. Enjoy the learning.

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the planning phase of continuous quality improvement (CQI). You will explore programs and policies on evidence-informed strategies. You’ll engage in analysis of research to strengthen your ability to identify and analyze practice, protocols and policies. This section will also focus on creating a hypothesis and logic model.

Participants completing the classroom, coaching and online lesson will be able to:

  • Describe the second component of CQI: Plan
  • Demonstrate ability to plan
  • Articulate how CQI relates to strategic planning
  • List ways that CQI can affect local office practice
  • Understand the role data plays in planning
  • Create a hypothesis (if we do “A” then “B” will happen) based on research
  • Demonstrate the ability to describe a logic model with hypothesis, activities and outcomes
  • Demonstrate the planning phase for a local project
  • Articulate the difference between evidence-based and evidence-informed practices
  • Articulate difference between best practice and promising practices
  • Identify benefits of evidence-informed practice
  • Identify trusted and well-known sources for behavioral health, child welfare, public health, youth development and education research
  • Identify research to inform solutions
  • Describe how data may inform policy
  • Create a hypothesis
  • Conduct the planning phase for local innovation
  • Communicate the course process with local staff the goals of the second phase of the local project/innovation: planning

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Lesson 2

ASSESS

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Lesson 3:II

CONCEPTS

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Course – Lesson 3: VII. Next Steps

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NEXT ASSIGNMENTS

LESSON 3:VII – What are the lesson assignments and next steps?

The Steps You Take

Your steps may be different depending on your situation. Ideally, you are taking this course as part of a cohort — a group made up of local 100% New Mexico initiative participants. You may be the co-community organizer, action team leader or member. This is ideal, as you can discuss the course and all the information presented with people you’ll be collaborating with. However, you might be taking this course because you wish to start a 100% New Mexico initiative and today, you are a solo champion seeking to recruit stakeholders. Either way, the following steps enrich your learning experience and prepare you for Lesson 4: Act.

Visit the Virtual Innovation Center. We provide you with links to innovations in all ten key family-serving sectors. These innovations include a menu of various projects, from across the state, nation and globe to consider implementing. The projects identified are designed to strengthen family health, safety and learning systems, and support your local 100% Community innovation.

Reviewing your course textbooks. Ideally, you have a good supply of sticky notes and sharpie pens to make comments and questions throughout Anna, Age Eight, 100% Community, and Adaptive Leadership. This makes group discussion more lively and focused as you get answers to questions and challenge assumptions.

Reading Assignment: Course participants should finish reading the chapter on their particular sector from “Part 4: Workbook for Action Teams” in 100% Community before starting Lesson: 4. Act.

Meet with an initiative member (preferably from your sector) or work colleague to discuss the following questions focusing on your sector:

  1. In your sector, how well is the “supply” of services understood and easy to access online in your county (e.g. is there a directory of services)?
  2. In your sector, how well is the “supply” meeting the “demand” in your county (e.g. is there an unmet need)? How do you know?
  3. In the chapter that focuses on your sector, which of the innovations seem most promising to meet the specific needs of your county? What data do you currently have support this?

Convene with fellow initiative participants to discuss this lesson and the planning process. Meet with your fellow action team members to review and develop all potential projects and the logic models guiding them.

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Lesson 3:VI

CQI QUESTIONS

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Lesson 4:I

ACT

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Course – Lesson 3: VI. CQI Questions

CQI QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS FOR PLANNING

LESSON 3:VI – HOW DO CQI QUESTIONS GUIDE OUR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT?

What are the CQI questions for the planning phase?

These are the (unskippable) questions you and your action team members will need to answer as you identify innovations and projects.

Question 1: Which component of the challenge will you address with a local innovation?

Question 2: Describe your review of research focused on your challenge?

Question 3: What potential evidence-based solutions exist in the research?

Question 4: What is the hypothesis that illustrates how your actions might solve the challenge? (As in: “If you do A, then B will happen.”)

Question 5: What are your key steps, timelines, roles and responsibilities related to your innovation?

Question 6: What unintended consequences might you encounter?

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Lesson 3:V

HYPOTHESIS

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Lesson 3:VII

NEXT STEPS

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Course – Lesson 3: V. A Hypothesis Guides US

HYPOTHESIS
A HYPOTHESIS GUIDES US

LESSON 3:V – Q+A WITH AUTHORS KATHERINE ORTEGA COURTNEY, PHD AND DOMINIC CAPPELLO

What do the hypothesis and assumption mean?

What do the hypothesis and assumption mean?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

A hypothesis is a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Assumptions are accepted cause and effect relationships, or estimates of the existence of a fact from the known existence of other fact(s). Although useful in providing basis for action and in creating “what if” scenarios to simulate different realities or possible situations, assumptions are dangerous when accepted as reality without thorough examination.

What is an experiment?

What is an experiment?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

An experiment is a scientific procedure a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact.

What is the term theory?

What is the term theory?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method, and repeatedly confirmed through observation and experimentation. As with most forms of scientific knowledge, scientific theories are inductive; that is, they seek to supply strong evidence for but not absolute proof of the truth of the conclusion and they aim for predictive and explanatory force.

If a substantial amount of evidence is gathered that consistently suggests the validity of a hypothesis, the hypothesis can be converted into a theory.

How do data inform innovations?

How do data inform innovations?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Data are the information needed to disprove or prove hypotheses; show progress or regress toward measurement goals; and display results.

What are local experiments and innovations and what can they achieve?

What are local experiments and innovations and what can they achieve?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Local innovations and projects (often these terms are interchangeable) are designed to address a health or safety challenge informed by the assessment phase. They are researched, created and developed by local 100% New Mexico initiative action teams. The projects are implemented and tracked on the agency, city, community and/or county level.

How does one structure an innovation?

How does one structure an innovation?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

To make sure all participants have a shared understanding of an experiment, it is best to create a plan with details about the objective, goals, and activities involved in the experiment. All should understand what changes are involved, the timeline, who plays what role, what data are to be collected, who is to collect the data, how often the data is to be reviewed and what the measurements are that will show progress or regress toward the goals.

How does one get buy-in for an experiment or innovation?

How does one get buy-in for an experiment or innovation?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Buy-in for an experiment, like any team project, requires communication. The need for an innovation should be based on the results of the assessment phase. Ideally, the action team will agree on a needed innovation based on the assessment, as well as the planning phase. Time constraints are always a concern so a description of how the experiment will be managed needs to be addressed, along with a timeline, how the experiment will be implemented and evaluated.

How can technology help manage an innovation?

How can technology help manage an innovation?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Technology affords us the means to research current experiments and evidence-based practices through the Internet. It also affords us the means to collect and store data to be analyzed for an experiment.

How does one create and test a hypothesis?

How does one create and test a hypothesis?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Before creating one’s own hypothesis, it is important to do research to find out if anyone else has tested the same hypothesis and, if so, what the results were.

Creating a hypothesis involves developing a clear statement of what the results will look like if the assumptions about the changes are implemented as described. For example, I predict that I will gain 10 pounds of weight after 3 months if I stop exercising and eat lots of fat. Then, I have to put that statement to the test and find out if I am correct once the 3 months have passed.

How does one evaluate an innovation?

How does one evaluate an innovation?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Evaluation of the experiment outlines details about where the experiment stands at a particular time regarding activities and what the measurements look like at this time. It gives us some ideas about how the experiment is going. In order to evaluate my experiment above, I will need to track my activities and diet over the three months as well as my weight. At the end of the three months, the data will show whether or not I have gained the 10 pounds as expected. I could also describe challenges that occurred during the three months.

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Lesson 3:IV

EVIDENCE

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Lesson 3:VI

CQI QUESTIONS

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