A key component of community-based participatory research is the documentation and evaluation of community change efforts through collaboration with community partners.
The ThrYve program is evaluated by the University of Kansas Center for Child Health and Development. Our aim is to collect and share data with and among partners concerning community-level indicators, local activities, best practices, and evidence-based strategies. We also keep partners up to date with the project’s progress in preventing youth violence. All of this is done collaboratively to provide the information necessary for them to share useful feedback for the improvement of programs, practices, and policies.
In evaluating community-level violence prevention efforts, it is critical to understand how the community environment is changing. Through the Community Check Box Evaluation System we systematically document contributions of ThrYve and partners in changing and improving conditions and outcomes for our youth and families. There is a comprehensive logic model and evaluation plan that assesses and measures change at the individual, family, peer, school, community, and systems level.
Other documentation practices include noting where the environmental change took place and the geographic area where the potential and actual beneficiaries of the change reside. Systematic documentation helps us better understand the extent of contamination for each environmental change.