Welcome! Networking activity – Speed problem solving 1.Find a partner or small group 2.Share a problem you’re trying to solve in your work ie: “I’m trying to figure out how to get around transportation barriers for volunteers with disabilities”) 3.Your team will brainstorm as many solutions as possible in three minutes 4.Switch partners, repeat!

Convened by National Conference on Volunteering and Service Maximizing Disability Inclusion in Your State

Identify Strengths and Needs Determine Priority Areas Create a Plan Implement Your Plan Check Your Progress Measuring Continuous Improvements Toward Inclusion Partners, Resources and Tools

Overview of the Day – The Morning Identify Strengths and Needs – Using the inclusion indicators to begin to assess your program’s inclusion Determine Priority Areas – Using the inclusion indicators to identify priorities to address Create a Plan – Using a logic model to create a plan that addresses your priority areas

Overview of the Day – The Afternoon Partnering to Work Toward Inclusion – Building mutually beneficial partnerships that help your program become more inclusive Identifying Key Resources – Maximizing resources available to support and assist your inclusion efforts Preparing to Implement Your Plan – Looking at plans for inclusion efforts holistically Checking Your Progress – Creating a plan to work together as you implement your plan to measure and document progress

What are Your Burning Questions about Measuring Inclusion?

“I have an inclusive program, and I can prove it!” What would you look for as “indicators” of an inclusive program? – Write examples of “indicators” you would look for in each of the areas around the room. Have we come to a common idea of what “inclusion” means?

The Larger Context  Evidence-based programming is an imperative in today’s public and private sectors  National service programs must develop performance management systems that allow them to gather data that demonstrate measureable results; and that allow them to tell their stories

CNCS Strategic Plan  Consistent with the ‘evidence- based’ approach to programming  Identifies Strategic Goals and Priorities  Identifies performance measures or indicators that will allow CNCS to gather data, demonstrate results and tell the national service story

CNCS Strategic Plan  Goal 2 –Strengthen national service so participants engaged in CNCS- supported program consistently find satisfaction, meaning and opportunity – Objective 1 - Make CNCS supported national service opportunities accessible and attractive to Americans of ALL backgrounds

Commitment to Inclusion  Goal 2 reiterates the Agency’s mission -- Provide Opportunities for ALL Americans to engage in service to their communities – and reinforces its commitment to inclusion  How will we know that we are making progress toward our goals? – Performance Measurement Indicators – specifically as it relates to the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities

Performance Measurement Indicators for Disability Inclusion  What are your goals/desired outcomes for disability inclusion?  How would you know if/when you are making progress toward your goals?  Can you tell how much progress you are making at any given point in time?  What do you do (i.e. activities, strategies) to make your program inclusive, attractive, accessible?

Introducing a tool, “Indicators of an Inclusive Service and Volunteer Organization” provides a framework to identify and establish elements that are essential to a comprehensively inclusive organization/program can be used by an organization/program to plan, develop, enhance, measure and demonstrate practices that engage and support members and volunteers with disabilities

History of the Inclusion Indicators This tool was developed using: AmeriCorps: New Program Start-Up Guide* NSIP’s Accessibility Checklist* Systems Thinking ~ a Comprehensive Approach to Disability Inclusion in National Service and Volunteerism - Building the Model from NSIP’s 2009 Leadership Institute* Arizona’s inclusion standards USAID’s checklist*

How do you go from wanting to be more inclusive to actually being more inclusive? And how do you quantify your efforts?

Identify Strengths and Needs Determine Priority Areas Create a Plan Implement Your Plan Check Your Progress Measuring Continuous Improvements Toward Inclusion Partners, Resources and Tools

Filling Your Toolbox with the Right Tools for the Job Identify Strengths and Needs and Determine Priority Areas Tool: Inclusion Indicators Create a Plan Tool: Logic Model Implement Your Plan Tool: Implementing Your Plan Template Checking Your Progress Tool: Assessing the Partnership Process Worksheet

Inclusion Indicators Overall structure: – Divided into six sections – Each section has a list of indicators – Legal requirements are in bold – For each indicator, mark to what extent you are currently meeting the indicator – Each section asks you to identify three strengths and three areas where you’d like to improve Identify Strengths and Needs

Quality Indicators Help you identify strengths so you can tell the story of your inclusion efforts Help you identify areas for improvement so you can target your improvement efforts Identify Strengths and Needs

Inclusion Indicators Identify Strengths and Needs These inclusion indicators are still draft. Your feedback and input will help us to develop the final product Today and as we move forward, please let us know what you think! Comments gathered today Feedback from your brainstorm earlier Call or NSIP after the session to share your continuing comments

Please Sign Up for the Area You’re Interested In! Members and Volunteers Leadership and Staff Policies and Procedures Program Monitoring and Evaluation Community Partners Administration and Finance Identify Strengths and Needs

Using the Quality Indicators 1.Individually, use the measures to assess your program. 2.As a small group, discuss the measures with your group – Discuss your findings about your own programs. – What areas for improvement do you have in common? – How might you change/add to the measures in your section? Identify Strengths and Needs

What will you work together to address today? As a small group, please identify a measure or cluster of measures you’d like to work together to address today. You will create a plan for how your programs can address these measures using the partners, resources and tools available to you. Determine Priority Areas

Through Logic! NeedInputsActivitiesOutputs Intermediate Outcomes End Outcomes Program planningIntended results Create a Plan

What Tools Can You Use to Prove Intended Results? Measurement tools: Survey Focus Group Logs Attendance sheets/evaluations Activity forms Direct observation And many more…

Example: I want to be healthier so I can play with my kids NeedInputsActivitiesOutputs Intermediate Outcomes End Outcomes Create a Plan Program planningIntended results After 5 months, my cholesterol is down and my doctor has taken me off medication. By the end of the third week, I can jog around the track in 2 minutes. Decrease my weight on a weekly basis by 2lbs. -Walk around the track every day after work -Eat healthier meals. -Gym membership -an “App” on my phone that helps me count calories. I cannot play with my kids, so I need to lose 40lbs. 1st 2nd3rd 4th5th6th W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Logic model development guide. Accessed from:

When Developing a Plan… 1.Involve partners in the process. 2.Start the plan where it makes sense. 3.Keep it simple. Keep it brief. 4.Look at what will actually occur. 5.Be ready to modify. Create a Plan

Your Indicator Strengths NeedInputsActivitiesOutputs Intermediate Outcomes End Outcomes Create a Plan Program planningIntended results How would you use this model help you demonstrate your strengths in inclusion?

Apply this Model to “Areas for Improvement” As a group, take the indicator(s) you identified for improvement and create a plan that outlines: 1.What inclusive efforts you would like to improve on, and 2.How you will measure that improvement in inclusion.

What is a team; what is collaboration; what is a partnership…. “Unnatural act between unconsenting adults” Minkle, M., Community organizing and community building for health

1. The best team I ever served on was/is… 2. It was/is great because… 1. My worse team experience was/is… 1. It was/is “not so hot” because…

Partnerships ~ a sample … because of team partnerships, we have successfully enrolled two members with ID in a health-related AmeriCorps program … we work together to establish this particular program as a model of successful inclusion practices … bring national service and disability orgs together, have concrete conversations to talk about how to make it possible for pwds to volunteer around the state … connections made between programs & community organizations serving those with disabilities … products have been developed over the last year … Creation of the Better Communities Include Everyone Recognition Program

more…. … development of Fall Service Day grant competition to ensure service projects are inclusive and increased ability to promote and recruit reasonable accommodations …creating our strategic plan and some of the in- roads with voc rehab services … regional trainings between disability opry's and AmeriCorps …. Partner with 15 disability organizations to share outreach events

Partnering – a recipe for success 1. Identifying the right partners What are we trying to accomplish? What types of partners/organizations can help us to achieve our goal? What do we want in a partner? What do we NOT want in a partner? What resources do we need? What resources can we provide? Do we need a partner or a short term collaborator?

Partnering – a recipe for success 2.Be clear on the what’s and the how’s of partnering break down the silos, and do it again create a strategic plan identify a common vision, goal(s), objectives and action workplan (who, what, how, where) implement a communication guidelines and a plan; be consistent discuss (frequently) benefits to all partners celebrate and recognize

Partnering – a recipe for success 3. Assess the partnering process 1.Do all the partners understand and agree with the goals, roles, responsibilities and benefits? 2.Are there champions at the senior levels? Are they committed, proud and vocal? 3.Are communications open, timely, user friendly and effective? 4.Is there a clear decision-making process? 5.Do partners participate consistently? Do they participate equally in sharing, contributing ideas and decision-making? 6.Are activities implemented according to plan? 7.Do partners reassess, renew and revitalize? 8.Are outcomes being measured?

Strategic Partnering: Putting it all together How can you strategically include partners in your plan? Partners are more than “inputs”! – How can partners help you identify needs? – How can you leverage resources to get the inputs you need? – How can you collaborate with partners on activities? – What outputs would be helpful to both you and your partners? – What shared outcomes can you work toward? Create a Plan

Addressing the Gaps: Identifying and Leveraging Resources What do you need to implement your plan? – Products and Information Please see the resource list in the workbook for national resources where you can find helpful products and information. – Additional resources What are some creative ways you can locate and secure additional sources of funding, services, intellectual capital and other resources? Create a Plan

Implement Your Plan As you and your partners work to implement your plan, it’s important to: Clearly define each task Establish “due dates” or “target dates” Clarify who is responsible to complete the task Share progress Coordinating Efforts and Maximizing Impact

Ensuring You’re Headed for Measurable Outcomes As you work with your partners to implement your plan, it’s essential to stop and check your progress. Revisit the outcomes in your plan – Are you meeting them or progressing toward them? If yes, document examples of the outcome(s) If no, Identify and address any barriers Check Your Progress

Identify Strengths and Needs Determine Priority Areas Create a Plan Implement Your Plan Check Your Progress Partners, Resources and Tools

Remaining Questions? What do you still need to know? What additional resources do you need? What are your concerns?

We’ve Only Just Begun… How do you plan to use what you’ve learned when you return home? How can NSIP support you in those efforts? How can this group work together in the future to support each other?

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Click to edit Master title style Contact Information: National Service Inclusion Project [V/TTY]

1. AmeriCorps: Building a High Quality AmeriCorps Program - From Blueprint to Implementation - New Program Start-Up Guide americorps-program-blueprint-implementation-new-program-start-guide 2. BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY: A Manual on Including People with Disabilities in International Development Programs Organizational Self Assessment: Checklist for Inclusion pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACY408.pdf 3. Systems Thinking ~ a Comprehensive Approach to Disability Inclusion in National Service and Volunteerism - Building the Model NSIP’s 2009 Leadership Institute