The value template process: a participatory evaluation method for community health partnerships

Area of Science:

• Community health
• Program evaluation
• Health services research

Background:

• Community health collaboratives require effective planning and evaluation tools.
• Existing methods may not adequately capture meaningful and measurable indicators.
• Facilitating communication and engagement in assessment is crucial for collaborative success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot an evaluation process, the Value Template Process, for community health collaboratives.
• To assess the feasibility and utility of the Value Template Process.
• To validate the process's underlying assumptions regarding social capital.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of the Value Template Process in a pilot community health collaborative.
• Identification of performance and impact indicators using accessible data.
• Assessment of collaborative member communication and engagement during the evaluation process.

Main Results:

• The Value Template Process successfully assisted the collaborative in identifying meaningful and measurable indicators.
• Pilot implementation confirmed the feasibility and usefulness of the process.
• The study validated the underlying assumptions of social capital within the collaborative context.

Conclusions:

• The Value Template Process is a practical and effective tool for community health collaboratives.
• The process enhances the ability of collaboratives to conduct meaningful program planning and evaluation.
• Strengthening social capital is integral to successful collaborative evaluation efforts.