The Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity series engages a group of employees in meaningful conversation about issues of race and ethnicity. Over the course of five facilitated Dialogues sessions, trained facilitators lead the group of participants to: learn about key concepts in race and ethnicity; illuminate differences and commonalities in lived experience; and collaboratively develop an action plan to improve inclusion in the workplace. We provided an evaluation plan for the program as well as placed an intern at the program to conduct data analysis.

Culturally Responsive Evaluation Series Project with Greater Boston Evaluation Network (GBEN)

As a community-academic collaborative response to the ongoing social injustices and be in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, the Northeastern University Public Evaluation Lab (NU-PEL)’s Director, Tiana Yom, and the Greater Boston Evaluation Network (GBEN)’s Programming Team, Kelly Washburn and Calpurnynia Roberts, have partnered to create a virtual, year-long professional development and training series, focusing on Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE). The inaugural event took place on November 16, 2020 with guest speaker, Dr. Zinzi Bailey from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders program.

Dr. Bailey presented an introductory webinar on the history of CRE, guided participants through a case study of Team Justice for Native Children to show what and how CRE looks like in practice as well as provided several ways in which evaluators can actively deconstruct racist practices in evaluation and research in order to best identify and meet the needs of the community members. There was a diverse group of participants from various academic and non-academic backgrounds, ranging from university students to senior leadership members at large scale non-profit organizations. The event ended with a Q&A section where there were insightful dialogues on active versus passive antiracist approaches and what CRE can continue to look like present-day and beyond.

NU-PEL and GBEN are committed to engaging in culturally responsive evaluation efforts and high-impact, community-engaged research to promote health equity, racial equity, and social justice. We look forward to continuing this very important CRE series.

The Massachusetts Adult Suicide Prevention Project (MASPP), led by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health in close collaboration with the MA Suicide Prevention Program at the Department of Public Health, is utilizing the National Suicide Prevention Program grant to integrate suicide prevention into the healthcare system on Cape Cod and the Islands, which has experienced a high rate of growth in suicides and now has among the highest rates in the state.

MASPP is also linking Cape Cod and the Islands’ community suicide prevention resources to those of its medical and behavioral health systems to create a Zero Suicide Community System of Care that provides continuity of care after discharge from emergency, psychiatric, and detoxification care, and increases engagement in community behavioral health treatment. Processes, tools, and protocols developed will be used to inform development of Zero Suicide Community Systems of Care across Massachusetts.

Project R.I.G.H.T.’s mission is to create, nurture, establish, strengthen, mobilize and coordinate resident and youth involvement in neighborhood stabilization, economic development and community building efforts with the neighborhoods of North Dorchester and Roxbury (Grove Hall) through the grassroots organizing of neighborhood residents.

NU-PEL is providing evaluation assistance by developing a logic model, conducting focus groups, and preparing an evaluation plan for several of their community programs.

Dimock Community Health Center serves communities in Boston and across the state, providing comprehensive, culturally-competent health and community care, behavioral health services, and child and family service to more than 18,000 people annually.

Dimock was awarded a grant from the Kraft foundation to improve the quality of gynecological care by providing interventions for prevention and secondary screening of cervical and endometrial cancers.  We helped prepare the evaluation section of the proposal and are providing the evaluation services for the grant.

The Office of Prevention and Education at Northeastern University is a network of campus partners focused on providing coordinated response services for survivors of interpersonal violence as well as prevention and education for the Northeastern community.

A team will be conducting the program evaluation of the Office of Prevention and Education’s sexual violence bystander training program.

You’re with Us is an organization that focuses on increasing social inclusion with high school students with disabilities. Their B-SET study explores the transition from high school for youth on IEPs.

We will conduct focus groups for the B-SET project to better understand the needs of students, teachers and parents.

Bethel’s mission is to provide educational and social services to high risk youth and families in Greater Boston in ways that measurably transform their lives and the communities in which they live. The In Your Corner Program is a six-month intervention, focused on helping teen men to build new life-styles once released from incarceration, rather than trying to fit into the old lifestyles they left behind prior to being convicted.

We are conducting an Evaluability Assessment for the In Your Corner Program.

We are working with their Office of Health Equity, to help evaluate the quality improvement initiatives being conducted at the Commission. We conducted a literature review to aid in developing a logic model and evaluation plan of one of their internal systematic processes aimed at improving their effectiveness in achieving health equity goals on the individual and systems level, as well as are conducting interviews to learn about their Health Equity Change Projects.

Shooting Touch is an international sport-for-development organization, and uses the power of sport to educate and empower at-risk youth, women and their communities to live healthier lives. We are consulting with their Boston area program that works with 9-17 year old girls and gives them opportunities to participate in supportive and female-friendly programming that provides on and off-court health education, mentor ship, empowerment and academic support.

We developed an evaluation plan for their Boston Shooting Touch program, as well as provide data collection and analysis services while helping Shooting Touch build internal evaluation capacity.

What is the Return on Investment for ESL Programs?

Partnering with The School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and The Dukakis Center we will explore the return on investment of ESL programs in MA by conducting an initial landscape analysis, as well as collecting quantitative data to estimate a dollar return on investment.

The landscape analysis will focus on programs operating in Greater Boston. It includes identifying the key organizations in the region providing ESL services, classifying them by relevant characteristics, and comparing the range and depth of services by provided. In addition, we will provide specific case studies as examples of the type of programs available.

The ROI analysis is exploratory and will be applied at the program level and sector-wide. In addition to focusing on the labor market value of improved English proficiency associated with ESL programs, we will attempt to include ‘civic’ returns such as increased educational attainment, voter turnout and other social benefits.

PROTECT studies exposure to environmental contamination in Puerto Rico and its contribution to preterm birth.  Part of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Superfund Research Program. It is a multi-project, multi-institution collaboration that involved five primary institutions, Northeastern University being one of them:

• Northeastern University
• University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus
• University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
• University of Georgia
• University of Michigan

We are working with the Training Core of PROTECT which has the specific aims to:

1. provide high quality interdisciplinary biomedical and environmental science training, education and mentoring experiences to diverse trainees at the institutions participating in the PROTECT program;
2.  extend applicable PROTECT training experiences to the greater SRP community;
3. serve as the coordination point for training activities with, and trainee participation in, the Community Engagement and Research Translation Cores;

We developed a logic model and evaluation plan for the Training Core to include in their proposal to the Superfund Research Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and, if funded, will implement the evaluation.

They provide savings and financial coaching programs that empower working families with low incomes to build assets, achieve their financial goals, and become financially secure.

Students developed an evaluation plan to assess their financial coaching appointments to determine whether or not they are effective in helping clients reach their financial goals.

Provides limited English speaking and economically disadvantaged people with education, occupational training and social services enabling them to realize lasting economic self-sufficiency.

Students developed an evaluation plan for the New Roots to Employment Program.  New Roots is an innovative ESOL program that blends distance learning, classroom instruction, and job search activities designed to meet the educational and employment needs of immigrants with college degrees and professional backgrounds from their native countries so that they can reclaim their careers.

Arc’s mission is to enhance the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, and their families through advocacy for community supports and services that foster social inclusion, self-determination, and equity across all aspects of society.

Students developed an evaluation plan for the Operation House Call program.  This program teaches young medical professionals essential skills to enhance the health care of persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

826 Boston is a nonprofit youth writing and publishing organization that empowers traditionally undeserved students ages 6-18 to find their voices, tell their stories, and gain communication skills to succeed in school and in life.

NU-PEL, with the Human Services program continued an ongoing collaboration with 826 Boston to evaluate their Writers’ Room programs in the Boston Public Schools.

Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly provides a national network of non-profit volunteer-based organizations committed to relieving isolation and loneliness among the elderly.

NU-PEL is working on developing an evaluation plan for the organization as well as to build internal evaluation capacity.

A non-profit organization committed to providing youth and families with opportunities to fulfill their potential and build a brighter future.

NU-PEL provided YOU, Inc. with an evaluation plan to determine the impact of the pilot model Behavioral Health Triage through an evaluation and formal assessment of the existing Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Model.

NU-PEL will work with EOPSS to help enhance the Commonwealth’s response to child sex trafficking. NU-PEL will develop program evaluation instruments for MyLifeMyChoice, Department of Children and Families, and Roxbury Youthworks.

NU-PEL received a grant to evaluate a NIH funded program, which aims to address need for more environ-mental health researchers from historically underrepresented minorities.

NU-PEL will work with the Massachusetts Coalition Against Trafficking (CAT) Task Force as an Action Research Partner to analyze the program model, review strategies, and conduct interviews with staff and partners to create an overall performance measurement guide for the CAT-Task Force.