Evaluation Briefs No. 10 | February 2009 Aligning Workplans and the Indicators for School Health Programs This Brief defines and explains the relationship between workplans and the DASH Indicators for School Health Programs (referred to as Indicators) and the different ways in which Indicators can be linked to parts of workplans is addressed. Definitions A workplan is a concise easy-to-read overview of your goals, strategies, objectives, measures, activities, timeline, and those responsible for making the program happen. It is a detailed road map for running the program for a given one-year budget period. The annual workplan is one of three primary program planning tools that you can develop and use to understand and monitor your program’s implementation. The other planning tools are the five-year strategic plan and the program logic model, both of which inform the content of your annual workplan. For more information on DASH program planning tools, see Brief 5 (see Resources below). Indicators provide DASH funded partners with a common set of measures to document their program activities, development, and implementation. The Indicators serve as the primary process evaluation data source for DASH funded partners focusing on CSHP, HIV prevention programs, and asthma management programs. Process evaluation, through use of Indicators or other performance measures, documents the activities that actually take place in your program, how well they were implemented, and their immediate results. Indicators document annual program progress and the accomplishment of program objectives. To learn about the topic areas of Indicators, see Brief 6 (see Resources below). Aligning Your Workplan and Indicators The workplan and Indicators reflect the work that your program does on a yearly basis. Indicators can be linked to your workplan in a number of different ways. Table 1 shows how the components of a workplan and Indicators are generally associated. Objectives. To identify pertinent Indicators questions, review each objective listed in your workplan. Some objectives may address Indicators topics such as policy, curricula and instruction, assessment of student performance, external collaboration, project planning, and other information and activities. Where possible, match these topics to specific Indicators questions in the appropriate questionnaire. Note that not every objective will have a relevant Indicators question. Also, there may be more than one Indicators question that can measure the progress of one specific objective. Measures for accomplishing the objectives. Workplan measures of accomplishment are quantifiable criteria that describe how you know if you have succeeded in accomplishing an objective. To the extent possible, measures of accomplishment should be aligned with and measured by Indicators. Indicators may not cover all of your activities. Your program staff may think of other performance measures to collect to monitor the progress of your program's development and implementation. Data sources to measure the objectives. You should identify potential data sources to gather the necessary data to measure your objectives and all of the relevant Indicators questions identified in your workplan. Data sources that measures Indicators may include: • Technical assistance (TA) logs to measure the number and type of TA provided and to whom. • Registration forms for professional development (PD) events and trainings to measure the number, topic and type of events, and number and type of attendees at events. • Registration forms for information sessions and presentations to measure number, topic and type of events, and number and type of attendees at events. • Distribution lists to measure number and type of resources or materials distributed and to whom. Activities. Indicators require that information be gathered for certain kinds of activities. Some activities relevant to the Indicators include the following: developing and distributing materials, providing PD, and providing individual TA. Table 1. Workplan Components and Indicators that Reflect Each Other Workplan Components Indicators for School Health Programs 5 year goals No Strategies No School Level Impact Measures (SLIMs) No Objectives Yes Rationale for objectives No Measures for accomplishing objectives Yes Data sources to measure objectives Yes People responsible (for accomplishing objectives and gathering data) No Activities Yes People responsible (for activities) No Activity timeline No Resources The main Indicators for School Health Programs web page is available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/evaluation/indicators/index.htm. Brief 5: Integrating the Strategic Plan, Logic Model, and Workplan. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/evaluation/resources.htm Brief 6: The Indicators for School Health Programs: The Essential Facts. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/evaluation/resources.htm 801 Workplan Template. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/dash/program_mgt/801_resources.htm Strategic Planning Kit and Strategic Planning Example. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/Healthyyouth/evaluation/sp_toolkit.htm For further information or assistance, contact the Evaluation Research Team at ert@cdc.gov. You can also contact us via our Website at: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/index.htm