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.
Electronic Mailbox
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Community-Based Initiatives.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Community-Based Initiatives by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Evaluating CBIs: Facing the Challenges and Improving Practice
Karen Horsch from Harvard Family Research Project reveals the practices that nine evaluators of community-based initiatives have used and lessons they have learned addressing challenges.
Interview With Mercer Sullivan
Mercer Sullivan, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University and Senior Research Fellow at the Vera Institute of Justice, talks about using ethnography to study community-based initiatives.
Community-Based Initiatives
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange, Harvard Family Research Project's quarterly evaluation periodical, investigates community-based initiatives (CBIs). It offer a variety of viewpoints, perspectives, and practices on how to document and examine CBIs in a way that enables us to learn all we can about them.
Implementing a Theories of Change Evaluation in the Cleveland Community-Building Initiative
Sharon Milligan, Claudia Coulton, and Peter York of the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change and Ronald Register, Executive Director of the Cleveland Community-Building Initiative, explain how a theories of change approach can be used to address the constraints of traditional evaluation techniques.
The Guide to Results-Based Accountability: Annotated Bibliography of Publications, Websites, and Other Resources
In addition to summarizing noteworthy articles, research papers, unpublished reports, and books on results-based accountability (RBA), this guide includes a section on RBA sites on the Internet. It includes perspectives from both private and public sectors on how to develop and implement results-based accountability systems, academic literature on RBA theories, and information on how states and localities are developing and implementing RBA systems.
$4.00 . 56 Pages.
Teaching Teachers to Work With Families
Family Research Project researchers reviewed teacher-certification requirements for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Recommendations for strengthening parent involvement programs in preservice teacher education are presented.
Free. Available online only.
Evaluating School-Linked Services: Considerations and Best Practices
Karen Horsch of Harvard Family Research Project discusses forthcoming research on the evaluation of school-linked services based on the insights of nine evaluators.
Interview With Cheryl Mitchell
Cheryl Mitchell, Deputy Secretary for Vermont's Agency of Human Service, talks about efforts to integrate education and social services in Vermont at the state and local levels.
Using Evaluation Results: The Program Staff Perspective
Alfredo Tijerina of School of the Future explains the program staff perspective of using evaluation results.
Bringing It Home: Supporting the Local Use of Data
Mary Wagner and Shari Golan of SRI International share information from their evaluation of California's Healthy Start School-Linked Services Initiative and the use of evaluation information at local sites.
Beyond Basic Training
Information on Communities in School Training and the Preparing Effective Community Leaders Conference.
Evaluating New Jersey’s School-Based Youth Services Program
Anita Baker and Constancia Warren of the Academy for Educational Development describe their evaluation of New Jersey's School-Based Youth Services Program.
Evaluation of an Extended Services School in Boston
Mary Walsh and George Madaus, Professors at the Graduate School of Education at Boston College, talk about the development of a model extended services school in Boston.
Evaluating Communications Strategies: Learning From the Communications for Child Protection Project
Richard Brandon and Andrew Gordon from the University of Washington describe how they are evaluating the effectiveness of communications strategies aimed at strengthening the linkage between public opinion and public policy.
Reaching Results in Different Ways
Diane Schilder of Harvard Family Research Project identifies key issues in the successful design of RBA systems.
HFRP's Research Results: Teacher Preparation in Family Involvement
Karen Horsch of Harvard Family Research Project lists recommendations for teacher development from an HFRP study.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of School-Linked Services.
Electronic Mailbox
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
School-Linked Services
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange investigates evaluating the school-linked services that attempt to address and find preventive solutions for the array of problems facing children and families.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on School-Linked Services by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Overview of Results-Based Accountability: Components of RBA
This brief defines results-based accountability (RBA) as a management tool that can facilitate collaboration among human service agencies, as a method of decentralizing services, and as an innovative regulatory process and explores the components of RBA systems. The brief also shows how RBA can be developed and used at different levels: state, community, agency, or program.
Free. Available online only.
Strategic Planning Process: Steps in Developing Strategic Plans
This brief provides an overview of the strategic planning process, an essential first step in the development of a results-based accountability system.
Free. Available online only.