Healthy Communities 101: Some Survey Results

James N. Barnes

Assistant Professor of Rural Development

Department of Agricultural Economics

Oklahoma State University

Surveys

Expectations district survey: administered same day as HC 101

Program evaluation survey: administered 7 months after HC 101

Structure of Program

Leadership development and Civic Engagement

Economic Diversification

Developing Entrepreneurs

Local Government Works! But How?

The Economics and Management of Community Services

Rural Oklahoma in Transition

Expectations Survey

NW DistrictDid not meet expectations Meets expectations

1 2 3 4 5Leadership 0 0 5 5 5Economic Diversification 0 0 5 5 3Dev. Entrepreneurs 0 0 5 5 3Local Government 0 0 4 6 3Community Services 0 0 4 6 3Rural OK in Transition 0 0 1 7 4

Expectations Survey…

SW DistrictDid not meet expectations Meets expectations

1 2 3 4 5Leadership 0 0 2 5 6Economic Diversification 0 0 2 7 4Dev. Entrepreneurs 0 0 2 5 6Local Government 0 1 2 9 1Community Services 0 0 3 7 3Rural OK in Transition 0 0 3 5 5

Expectations Survey…

NE DistrictDid not meet expectations Meets expectations

1 2 3 4 5Leadership 0 0 2 8 5Economic Diversification 0 1 1 4 7Dev. Entrepreneurs 0 1 3 6 3Local Government 0 0 3 8 2Community Services 0 1 3 6 3Rural OK in Transition 0 0 1 7 5

Expectations Survey…

SE DistrictDid not meet expectations Meets expectations

1 2 3 4 5Leadership 0 0 4 6 6Economic Diversification 0 0 3 8 7Dev. Entrepreneurs 0 0 3 7 9Local Government 0 1 4 8 6Community Services 0 3 1 10 5Rural OK in Transition 0 0 3 5 11

Program Evaluation Survey…

Response rate: 50 percent (n=37)

Participants: 75

Time lag: 7 months

Survey intent: understand program effectiveness, demand for new products, network development, how to improve delivery

Results…

Program Evaluation Results Aware Helpful Request Recommend Short Discuss Depth

Mean 0.62 0.65 0.19 0.70 0.16 0.32 0.22Standard Error 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.08 0.06 0.08 0.07Sum 23 24 7 26 6 12 8Count 37 37 37 37 37 37 37

Effectiveness Demand NetworkDevelopment

Improvementof delivery

Implications for Building Social Capital

Strong ties exist between OSU Institution and County Educators,but can be improved:

Awareness and Helpful (+0.24) &Awareness and Recommend (+0.22)

Weak ties exist between County Educators and Community Partners, but can be improved:

Helpful and Recommend (+0.26)

Lessons Learned

Improve ability to gather feedback from county educators*Listen and learn

Improve network development between county educators and their community partners

*Actively develop more partnerships

BOTTOM LINE: Improved feedback and increased network development are necessary to build trust and social capital

Future Plans for HC 101…

Continue to present HC 101 as in-service training (next fall)

Explore with alternative IT systems to improve feedback from county educators (e.g., survey/database system)

Continue cross-disciplinary work with others on and off campus

Create/Deliver New Healthy Community Programs(e.g., Healthy Boards 101, 201, 301)

Create/Deliver “RD Training Camp” to build social capital in Oklahoma Communities (Need funding!)

QUESTIONS?