The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
Volume VIII, Number 3, Winter 2002
Issue Topic: Public Communications Campaigns and Evaluation
New & Noteworthy
In this section HFRP offers “new and noteworthy” resources on the evaluation of both public communication campaigns and strategic communications in general.
The FrameWorks Institute has two new CD-ROM presentations on effective communication strategies for social issues. Talking Children’s Issues aims to provide communicators with a deeper understanding of the power of framing and its implications for their work. Making Communications Connections: A Review of Communications Campaigns assesses what makes a successful campaign, including such considerations as strategic planning and message development and framing. These narrated presentations use checklists, pictures, videos, and issue/campaign examples. For more information about these presentations, contact Debbie Morgan at the Frameworks Institute by phone at 202-756-1378 or email at dmorgan@frameworksinstitute.org.
Goodman, A. (2002). Why bad ads happen to good causes: And how to ensure they won’t happen to yours. Santa Monica, CA: Cause Communications. This guide for creating more effective public interest advertising is based on the results of a Roper ASW study of public interest advertising. The sample covered a 10-year period (1990–2000) and included ads by dozens of national nonprofits in large circulation publications. www.rwjf.org/files/
publications/other/BadAds.pdf
Kunkel, D., Smith, S., Suding, P., & Biely, E. (2002). Coverage in context: How thoroughly the news media report five key children’s issues. College Park, MD: Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families. This report examines the depth of media coverage on child abuse and neglect, child care, child health insurance, teen childbearing, and youth crime and violence in 12 daily newspapers and four national television networks over a three-month period in 2001. casey.umd.edu
McManus, J., & Dorfman, L. (2002, January). Silent revolution: How U.S. newspapers portray child care. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Media Studies Group. This report examines how care for preschool children was reported in a national sample of 11 newspapers over a two-year period (1999–2000). www.bmsg.org/pub-issues.php#issue11
Robinson, A., & Stark, D. (2002). Advocates in action: Making a difference for young children. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. This is a practical guide for advocates working to influence policy and practice on issues that affect young children. It includes chapters on non-legislative policy opportunities and using the media effectively. www.naeyc.org/resources/catalog/new-books.asp
New Resources From HFRPCoffman, J. (2002). Public communication campaign evaluation: An environmental scan of challenges, criticisms, practice, and opportunities. This report, commissioned by the Communications Consortium Media Center, presents the results of an environmental scan of what has been happening in the field of public communication campaign evaluation in recent years and what choices evaluators have been making in terms of their evaluation designs and methods. Drawing on pertinent research and evaluation studies, literature, and expert evaluator and practitioner opinions, it examines evaluation challenges, criticisms, and practice. Included are sections on relevant theory, outcomes, and methods useful for designing evaluations. The report ends with opportunities in communications evaluation for the road ahead. The FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) website features a new FINE Research Digest that offers condensed versions of research papers about family involvement and their implications for teacher education and professional development. The digest includes evaluation summaries of an early childhood program and an after school literacy program. |
US General Accounting Office. (2002). Program evaluation: Strategies for assessing how information dissemination contributes to agency goals. Washington, DC: Author. (GAO-02-923) This report analyzes five federal agencies’ strategies for assessing the effectiveness of media campaigns and other information dissemination programs designed to persuade others to behave in ways that produce desired social or environmental benefits. www.gao.gov
Valente, T. (2002). Evaluating health promotion programs. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. This is a comprehensive resource for evaluators of health communication programs. Topics covered include health promotion frameworks and theories, study design, sampling techniques, methods, data management, and statistical analysis. www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-514176-8
Initiatives & Campaigns
Members of the Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce (GIST) have been sponsoring an initiative that links strategic communications experts with state and local advocates, researchers, and policy analysts working to inform TANF Reauthorization. Connect for Kids, a project of the Benton Foundation, coordinates the project. www.financeprojectinfo.org/GIST/default.asp
The Trust for Early Education (TEE) and the National Institute for Early Education Research were created to build support for universal voluntary access to effective early education programs as part of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ new initiative, Starting Early, Starting Strong: Investing in Early Education. TEE, a Washington, D.C. based advocacy center, informs the federal debate on early education and supports the work of state-level organizations. The National Institute for Early Education Research, a research center at Rutgers University, collects and disseminates research and information on early education federal and state policies. nieer.org
Focus Five for Kids, a Pennsylvania coalition of leading child advocates, began a major media campaign in September 2002 to promote five kid-focused policy priorities during the state’s gubernatorial election. Television and newspaper ads throughout the state focused on the group’s five priority areas: quality public education, school readiness, health care, after school and youth development activities, and parenting programs.
Erin Harris, Research Assistant, HFRP