by Adje Van de Sande, Academic Co-lead, CBO Tools working group
A meeting of the Tools WG was held on February 1, 2017, which included Natasha Pei, Mike Bulthuis, and myself, Adje van de Sande. The purpose of the meeting was to select the possible tools that would become the focus of our work during the coming year. After a brief discussion, we settled on two possible tools. The first involves developing a Needs Assessment Guide that would help community-based organizations (CBOs) conduct a needs assessment and set strategic priorities for their community-campus engagement work. The second is the creation of a Self-Assessment Tool designed to assist CBOs in determining if they are ready for a community engagement project and whether they understand what they can expect from a post-secondary partner.
While we hope to create very practical tools that CBOs can use on their own, in my experience as Chair of our Research Centre and in teaching the Mater of Social Work Research Class, I believe the personal connection is important. I find that CBOs really appreciated having me sit down with them in their offices to help them identify their research needs and develop a basic plan to answer their research questions. The tools we develop would help facilitate this discussion but could also be completed by CBOs on their own without assistance.
Next steps include the development of a literature review of the above-mentioned tools. This will carried out by our Research Assistant, Evan Culic. We have asked him to explore various literature sources including the Environmental Scan prepared by Holly Stack-Cutler. We will also organize a meeting of the Tools WG Advisory Committee in March to get their feedback on the two tools that we have selected and their input on the evaluation of these tools.