Improving Program Improving Program Management Using the PREP: Management Using the PREP:

National Program Leader National Program Leader PerspectivePerspective

Presented by Suzanne Le Menestrel, Ph.D.

National 4-H HeadquartersFamilies, 4-H, and Nutrition

AEA Evaluation 2006Portland, OregonNovember 2, 2006

OverviewOverview

• What is Portfolio 2.2?

• How did we do?

• What were our challenges?

• What are some opportunities?

• How has the PREP process impacted the management of our programs?

Portfolio 2.2 Informed Decisions Portfolio 2.2 Informed Decisions Affecting Quality of Life in Rural Affecting Quality of Life in Rural

AreasAreas

Emphasizes the science-based products and information used by individuals, and the professionals who support them in decisions to achieve goals for their individual and family development in the near environment.

Portfolio 2.2 Knowledge Portfolio 2.2 Knowledge AreasAreas

802 Human Development and Family Well-Being

607/801 Consumer Economics/Individual & Family Resources

806 4-H Youth Development 805 Community Institutions, Health, and

Social Services 803 Sociological and Technical Change

Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities

813 (Proposed) Adult Development and Aging

Portfolio 2.2 Knowledge Portfolio 2.2 Knowledge AreasAreas

804 Human Environmental Issues Concerning Apparel, Textiles, Residential and Commercial Structures

723 Hazards to Human Health and Safety721/722 Pests and Diseases Affecting Humans724 Healthy Lifestyles

Portfolio 2.2: ThemesPortfolio 2.2: Themes

• Human Development and Societal Change

• Individual and Family Resources

• Health and the Environment

Oregon 4-H Web & Tech Wizards Lead Oregon 4-H Web & Tech Wizards Lead Latino Youth Into Information AgeLatino Youth Into Information Age

Issue: Low Latino high school completion rates

• High school graduation rate:•  Latino youth in Oregon 43 %•  4-H Tech Wizards in Oregon 90 %

• 4-H Web Wizards in high school:• Increased their GPA 97 %• Planned to go beyond HS 100 %

• 500 at risk youth

Humans

Wild and domesticated animals

Arthropods (insects, ticks and mites) affecting humans KAs 721, 722, 723

Arthropods affecting wild and domesticated animals KAs 311,312, 313, 314

Virus

Bacteria

Fungus

Protozoa

Other taxonomic groups

How did we do?How did we do?

Effective

Challenges of the PREP Challenges of the PREP ProcessProcess

• Extremely diverse portfolio—from Tech Wizards to Termites!

• Decentralized nature of Extension programs

• Difficulty of connecting federal investments to outcomes

Challenges of the PREP Challenges of the PREP Process, continued Process, continued

• Retrospective logic model

• Can easily capture “outputs” but no national system for measuring “outcomes”

• Reliant on external partners to document effectiveness

Challenges of the PREP Challenges of the PREP Process, continuedProcess, continued

• Current Research Information System does not include Extension programs

• Major areas of work not captured in reporting systems, e.g., 4-H, adult development and aging

• Difficulty in organizing work by Knowledge Areas

OpportunitiesOpportunities

• Structured process to reflect on the intentionality of programs

• Creation of new Knowledge Areas—Youth Development

• Identification of major gaps in research/knowledge base

Opportunities, cont.Opportunities, cont.

• Build the case for new reporting systems

• Celebrate and recognize accomplishments

• National efforts helped states to formulate their Plans of Work and logic models

Impact on our ProgramsImpact on our Programs

• Working with state partners to identify ways to measure outcomes

• Syntheses of the research literature

• Using logic model as foundation for “the mother of all logic models”

• Strengthening our partnership with the land-grant universities