Part 3: Tools in the Toolbox as We Move Forward
You have many tools in your toolbox, which are the components of our initiative. Think of the 100% New Mexico initiative as a problem-solving machine focused on all the communities within your county’s border, with many moving parts and all working in sync to empower all initiative participants and residents.
Concept 11: Readiness and Capacity Assessment
Each county engaged with the 100% New Mexico initiative will be doing a Readiness and Capacity Assessment, assessing to what degree local leaders and stakeholders are committed to improving the ten services for surviving and thriving.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe signs that your county is ready for change
- Describe signs that your county is not ready for change
- How do you determine if leaders are blocking a project or innovation because of apathy, envy or fear?
- What options exist for those counties where leaders block innovation and problem-solving as it relates to ensuring ten vital services for surviving and thriving?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 3: Consider
A readiness and capacity assessment can tell you where the heroes and hydras are.
STEP 4: Read
100% Community: Chapter 9
Concept 12: Working in Alignment
All our work with the 100% New Mexico initiative is designed to be working in alignment with existing local efforts. These may be groups working within county government, city government, task forces, coalitions or nongovernmental organizations. Action teams working in a particular sector (like food security) should identify all the leaders working on problem-solving in their sector within the county’s borders. This will also include state agencies whose work impacts a county’s services. We seek to be in alignment with other data-driven, result focused entities.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What does it mean for county, city and state service providers to be working in alignment?
- Describe the benefits of working in alignment with an agency and across a county
- When does working in alignment with an organization or entity become challenging
- How can software and technology increase alignment among county service providers and promote transparency in the process?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 3: Consider
Why work in alignment? Because we don’t have the luxury to waste time and resources.
Concept 13: The 100% Community Survey
The 100% Community survey will measure to what degree your county’s residents have access to the ten vital services for surviving and thriving because you will be asking them during the survey process, “Do you need any of the ten vital services, to what degree can you access services and if you face challenges, what are they?” With this data, the 100% Community action teams can analyze the challenges in order to begin making plans to address them.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe the 100% Community survey
- Describe the benefits of the survey
- Describe how action teams use survey results, including why residents can’t access services, to guide projects to fix gaps in services
- Describe what other information, in addition to the 100% Community survey results, the initiative action teams might require to get a clearer picture of all the challenges facing residents in all the communities within a county’s borders
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
How can we possibly know if county residents have access to vital services for surviving and thriving? We ask them.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Chapter 6 and Appendix A
Concept 14: Logic Model
One key planning tool we use to design our projects is called a logic model, a one-page visual representation of a plan to guide a project that includes the project’s goal, purpose, inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe a logic model and why it is used
- Why, in designing a logic model, does a team match the activities up with the outcomes?
- What are the benefits of having measurable activities described on a logic model, with an evaluation process to track progress?
- When choosing activities and outcomes, how do you match them with the needs identified in the 100% Community survey—where challenges to access were identified?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
Why plan and use a logic model for project development? It helps us science the sh-t out of urgently needed solutions.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Chapter 38 and Appendix J
Concept 15: Evidence-informed Strategies
As we seek to improve the quality of family and community services and their accessibility, we will research evidence-informed strategies. We will find that many of our local challenges have already been tested and evaluated in other localities, meaning we don’t need to reinvent wheels.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe what evidence-informed strategy means
- How does one find research to identify evidence-informed policies, programs or practice?
- What is the difference between a commonly used practice with no research behind it and an “evidence-informed”?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
We can design evidence-informed strategies to increase vital services. We just ignore the opinions of the hydras.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Part 4, Chapters 40-50
Concept 16: Technology
Technology has a large role in the 100% New Mexico initiative and projects designed to increase access to the ten vital services for surviving and thriving, as well as improving how governmental and nongovernmental organizations are run. Technology will be a part of each of the 100% Community innovations and projects.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe the role of technology in the 100% New Mexico initiative
- Describe the digital divide in your county and how it impacts residents
- Describe how technology could improve delivery of services in your service sector
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
Drive-thru virus testing along with that latte? How pandemics give technology a chance to transform the public sector (and retire hydras)
STEP 3: Read
