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Practice, Practice, Practice: Preliminary Findings From An Evidence-Based Practice Funding Initiative At The Peter And Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, Nicholas G. Randell

The Foundation Review

· The Tower Foundation supported a five-year initiative to support the implementation of evidencebased practices (EBP). The average award was a three-year award of $84,050.

· The underlying grantmaking theory of change was that behavioral health providers could bring empirically tested protocols to their communities and sustain them over time if supported by long-term funding to support the real costs of implementation (e.g., training, technical assistance, adherence to program protocols, and cultural change).

· Grantees cited the high cost of training, certification, and recertification – especially in the face of high staff turnover – as a primary challenge to implementing …

Evaluation For Models And Adaptive Initiatives, Heather Britt, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

· Although there has been a growing emphasis on use of experimental designs in evaluation, there is also increasing agreement that evaluation designs should be situation specific.

· The nature of the program is one of the key factors to consider in evaluation design.

· Two types of programs – models, which provide replicable or semi-standardized solutions, adaptive initiatives, which are flexible programming strategies used to address problems that require unique, context-based solutions – require different evaluation designs.

· Evaluation of models requires understanding the stage of development of the model program, with summative evaluation done only when the model …

Dimensions Of Change: A Model For Community Change Efforts, Jara Dean-Coffey, Nicole Farkouh, Amy Reisch

The Foundation Review

· The Dimension of Change Model (DOCM), developed by the authors, is offered as a potentially useful tool for foundations, government, bodies, consultants, coalitions, and even individual organizations that are initiating or engaged in substantive efforts to bring about community change.

· The dimensions contained in the model - structure, parameters, intention, approach, and people - offer a frame for addressing key aspects that emerge from the literature as fundamental to all change efforts. The model is offered as a way to design, implement, adapt, and evaluate change initiatives.

· The work of First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission …