Wake County SmartStart Logic Model Training

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Wake County SmartStartLogic Model Training

May 2013

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

What we will do today:• Background-why use logic models

• Elements of WCSS logic model

• Practical examples

• Opportunity to ask specific individual questions for your application

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

What is a logic model?“… (logic) model provides a roadmap of

your program, highlighting how it is expected to work, what activities need to come before others, and how desired outcomes are achieved.”

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbookwww.wkkf.org

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Why use logic models?

• Theory of Change

• Helps keep the end in mind

• Logic model format we use based on NCPC version

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Benefits of using Logic Models

• Identify gaps in your theory, think through your program, how the parts work together

• Connections between actions & results

• Evaluation built in, what to measure & how

• Useful with other funders

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

How WCSS uses logic model

• Staff and Allocation Committee use to understand your program– Why it is needed– How much service you will provide– What you will accomplish

• Forms basis for evaluation plan if funded

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

6 Sections of the logic model• Need Statement• Target Population• Program or Activity Elements• Outputs• Outcomes• How does the outcome Impact a Board

identified or other community indicator?

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

The Logic Model “Statement”• If this condition exists for this population

and we implement these strategies this many times for these individuals we expect this short-term change and we expect this outcome to impact the overall county.

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Need Statement: Include• Local need program would address• Numbers and percents• Underlying causes of problem• Why current resources do not meet the

need• Target population with most critical need for services

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Target Population

• Consistent with model / best practice• Specifically who will be eligible for

services• Characteristics of eligible participants• Can have more than 1 target population• Greatest Need

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Target population continued

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Program or Activity Elements • Most significant strategies / activity

components of model / best practice

• Intensity of services, how much service required to make a change

• Figuring out which elements are most important to include

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

How many elements should I include?

• Depends on the model / best practice

• Most critical to impacting selected Indicator

• Core to the service you will provide and what you hope to achieve

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Program Elements

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Outputs• Based on model / best practice

• Related to caseload size

• Consistent with intensity & budget

• Population counts

• Service counts (elements)

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Outputs Continued

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Outcomes

• Links to / affects selected Indicator

• Model / research shows what is likely impact if certain activities are performed

• Each target population should have at least one related outcome

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Outcomes continued• Fewer strong outcomes are better than

a whole lot of so-so or weak ones

• Changes in behavior/knowledge/status by end of fiscal year (June 30, 2012)

• Measurement tools / data sources

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Outcomes Continued

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

How many outputs and outcomes should I include?

• Good, manageable rule of thumb: 3-5 outputs and 3-5 outcomes

• At least 1 population output

• At least 1 service output

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

How does the outcome impact a Board identified or other community

indicator?• Ultimate purpose for the activity

– Should include anticipated impact on indicators identified on top of Application

• Logical connection between program outcome and indicator impact

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

How does the outcome impact a Board identified or other community

indicator? …continued

• General change identified (e.g. “increase”);no numbers necessary

• No time frame necessary

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Practical Examples

• Goal Areas:– Children are Safe, Healthy and Live in

Supportive Environments– Quality Child Care is Accessible and

Available• These are examples and do not use

real numbers in estimates

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Questions and Advice

• Feel free to contact us with questions

“Working to ensure children, birth to 5, are prepared for success in school and life.”

Who to contact with questions

• Anna Troutman: atroutman@wakesmartstart.org