Community Inclusion:

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Community Inclusion From Fancy Drawings to
Lessons on Systems Change
National Partners Meeting Ottawa November 23rd,
2007
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Todays Presentation

• Quick refresher on the purpose of project and
  what we have done so far.
• A summary of the what the CI projects look like
  the main components and expected outcomes.
• Lessons learned (so far) Our theories and
  practice of how to impact systems.
• A summary of ongoing measurement strategies.
• Key questions for small group discussion.

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Main Objectives of the Project

• There are 3 main objectives of this project
• To help projects gather useful local information
  to better understand how to contribute to system
  change, understand impacts, improve practices,
  and plan for future work.
• To help projects organize their information to
  make it easier to respond to reporting
  requirements and communication of learnings and
  findings in general.
• To summarize a selection of this information
  nationally, by sector, to understand effective
  practices in promoting systems change for future
  planning, collaboration, etc.

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What do we mean by systems change?

• In all the sectors that you work in, systems
  change is
• Changing the way things are done, but
  systemically.
• Policies (legislation, organizational policies,
  etc.) are driven by the values of inclusion and
  define inclusive practices.
• Practices in public sectors and public life are
  consistently supportive of inclusion.

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Planning a wedding A metaphor for systems change

• A lot interconnected things have to be in place
  for a wedding to go off as planned (ceremony,
  music, food, guests).
• Requires a lot of resources and strategic
  planning based on common ideas (theories) about
  what makes for a good wedding.
• Last time I asked If you were not at a
  wedding, what information could be collected to
  convince you that it was a good wedding?

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My Wedding Data

• I have the guest list, and I know who didnt
  show and who did. There were definitely more
  than enough people to make it a great party, but
  one or two party leaders were absent.
• I have the music set list. I could have counted
  people on the dance floor at regular intervals.
• I have a copy of the dinner menu.
• I have guestbook and personal testimonials on
  video about the wedding
• I have the bar bill

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Understanding our Theories of Systems Change

• In all the Community Inclusion projects, we are
  operating with a set of assumptions about why we
  think it will work. These assumptions are often
  not made explicit.
• Systematically laying out and reflecting on the
  relationships between what you do and the
  impacts you expect to make is the first step to
  describing your theory of change.
• This is why we created the P/T logic modelsthey
  visually describe these relationships.

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Logic model excerpt
Provincial forum on Inclusive Education
Other activities
Project activities
Who NLACL, parents, educators, boards, DofE,
HRLE ( Min), Health Comm serivces, NLTA, Fac of
Ed., Educ. students, student support specialists,
Itinerants, CLO (tot. 38), When Mar. 28-29,
2007. Actions Present history of current
policy, strategies for IE, presentations. Data
description of attendees, indicators of future
engagement capacity (e.g., request), resources
distributed, forum feedback
Outputs Actions (changes to resources,
practices, relationships)
Increased knowledge / awareness of IE principles
practice among participants
Short Term Outcomes
Sharing of information from forum to others
Greater engagement in IE issues practices
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• Theories of change and logic models
• Promote learning and critical reflection about
  your work.
• Provide ideas about what to measure, how, and
  when.
• Help communicate what you do within your
  organization and to others.
• Can give you ideas of where to go next in
  pursuing systems change.

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Systems Change Changes

• Theories of change are not constant and
  unchanging, especially when doing systems change
  work. If your work changes, your theories about
  why it works will change.
• Systems change work must be flexible and able to
  take advantage of new opportunitiesthis means
  new activities, new outcomes, and new measurement
  strategies.

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The Project to Date

• We visited all the provinces and territories
  (except for Nunavut) and conducted a workshop
  with staff and others to create a systems logic
  model for a selected sector.
• We will be working with People First to do
  similar work regarding their priorities
• Each P/T has a draft model and some measurement
  ideas.
• This Fall we completed a summary report for each
  of the P/Ts. These contain
• A brief synopsis of the project components and
  key outcomes.
• Commentary on the theories of change that
  underlie the work
• Recommendations for evaluation measurement,
  including tracking activities and assessing
  outcomes
• The content of the current presentation is a
  first step at synthesizing the common themes of
  the work across projects and within sectors.

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Sectors by Provinces Territories
Inc/Emp 2 Fam/Dis Supp 4 Inclusive Ed.
3 Deinstit. 2 Comm/Assoc - 1
Community Life Capacity
Family Disability Supports
Family Disability Supports
Inclusive Education
Income Employment
Family Disability Supports
Family Disability Supports
Income Employment
Inclusive Education
Inclusive Education
Deinstitutionalization
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Common Mechanisms

• When we first start building the Community
  Inclusion framework, we suggested there were 5
  major Mechanisms for Systems Change
• Public Awareness Dialogue (e.g., community
  forums, newsletters)
• Community Capacity Building (e.g, partnerships,
  training workshops)
• Research Information (e.g., research projects)
• Knowledge Networking (e.g., conferences)
• Policy Development (e.g., policy papers)

The first lesson from the logic models These
mechanisms almost never appear independent of one
another. The projects have combined and linked
them in innovative ways. In fact, if done in
isolation, the theory of change becomes weak it
breaks down.
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Three quick examples

• When Research is conducted it does not stop there
  it is translated into another form and used for
  Policy Development, Knowledge Networking, or
  Public Awareness
• Policy development (e.g., a policy position)
  carries greater weight when it comes from the
  work of a Partnership.
• Training of service providers (for example) is
  most effective when it is based on research
  findings on best practices and consistent with
  organizational policy

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Common Mechanisms

• Public Awareness Dialogue
• Community info forums, events, celebrations,
  gatherings.
• Newsletters, e-news, posters, DVDs, listservs,
  web-forums.
• Media releases and presentations.
• Stories, voices, experiences, history.
• Research Information
• Ongoing project evaluation research.
• Focused pilot or demonstration projects.
• Community or organizational needs assessments.
• Policy focused research.
• Local, regional, provincial surveys of best
  practices.
• Case studies collecting stories and
  experiences.

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Common Mechanisms

• Community Capacity Building Partnerships
• Families, family networks, community coalitions,
  citizen groups.
• Education system school boards, schools,
  teachers, teacher unions.
• All levels of government, multiple ministries.
• Arts, recreation, and culture organizations
• Other disability community organizations, other
  NGOs.
• Seniors groups.
• Anti-poverty groups, housing groups.
• Employers, businesses, private sector.
• Universities colleges, academic programs,
  community based researchers, consultants.
• Other public sectors health, judicial, early
  childhood education childcare, multicultural
  groups, social work other services.

Partnerships vary in their function -- advisory
committee, working groups, advocacy awareness
coalitions, project development, research
steering committees. The also vary in terms of
how cross-sectoral they are.
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Common Mechanisms

• Community Capacity Building Training, Network
  Building, Leadership
• Vary in terms of participants
• Families/caregivers, service providers, teachers,
  advocates, facilitators/trainers
• Vary in terms of level or scope
• Individuals, organizations, multiple
  organizations, districts.
• From one-off info sessions to standardized,
  formal training programs
• Vary in terms of objective
• Basic skills, knowledge, resource provision.
• Networking, community building, awareness
  raising.
• Professional and/or organizational capacity
  building.
• Train-the-trainer, to build capacity for other
  training or facilitation.

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Common Mechanisms

• Knowledge Networking
• More specific than public awareness
  participating in events, conferences, symposiums,
  meetings where the main purpose is knowledge
  exchange.
• Networking is with other people (leaders,
  citizens, organizational representatives,
  researchers) who work in the sector (or related
  sectors).
• Networking is often action-oriented and solution
  focused regarding a particular set of issues.
• Policy Development (overlaps with other
  mechanisms)
• Background and/or community research
• Creation of policy positions, recommendations,
  and reports (various forms)
• Policy engagement with policy makers via
  meetings, presentations, media releases,
  dissemination, etc.

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Mechanisms
Research Information
Public Awareness Dialogue
Policy Development Engagement
Knowledge Networking
Training
Partnerships
Greater awareness of engagement in policy issues
Greater participation engagement of members
with CI issues
Greater leadership on CI issues and objectives
Increased knowledge, skills and confidence
regarding training goals
Commitments of govt organizations to change or
develop policies, practices, programs services
Greater consensus, common vision for moving
toward CI
Short Term Outcomes
Positive changes to inclusive practice.
Increased engagement in CI issues, requests for
information, pursuit of resources
Creation revision of policies (government
organizational) that support CI
INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
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Measuring System Change Common Approaches
Future Opportunities
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Measuring Systems Change

• Measuring systems change is challenging. It
  requires strategically collecting information
  about
• Implementation How the project activities were
  delivered, who participated, what was produced,
  etc.
• Outcomes
• Beneficial changes experienced by others (e.g.,
  knowledge, skills, attitudes, commitment,
  participation).
• Other indicators of system change (new policies,
  new partnerships, new programs).

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Measuring Project Activities

• When people are meeting
• of people attending
• Who the people are (e.g. their organization)
• Information that is discussed (minutes, notes,
  etc.)
• Actions that are planned as a result
• When resources are created
• produced and disseminated
• of downloads
• and type of follow up contacts

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Measuring Project Activities

• When people participate in workshops or training
• of sessions/hours
• of participants and who the were
• satisfaction other feedback (simple scales,
  written feedback, etc.)
• what participants hoped to learn.
• what information they found lacking.
• the usefulness or level of relevance of the
  information.
• how comfortable they felt participating in
  discussions.
• recommendations on how to improve the session(s).

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Measuring Project Outcomes

• There are a range of outcomes being measured
  using a range of methods. The methods include
• Surveys and questionnaires.
• Focus groups.
• Interviews.
• Designed to assess changes to
• Awareness, knowledge, and skills.
• Attitudes, values, commitments to inclusion.
• Reports of changes to practice, inclusive
  environments.
• Use of information or resources in life or work.
• Feelings of support or connectedness.
• Sometimes outcomes require tracking of changes to
  practice, such as the launch of a new program or
  a new policy additional information needs to be
  used to help attribute these changes to the work
  of projects.

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Theories of System Change A Selection of
Lessons Learned Promising Practices
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Policy Development Engagement
Conduct local research with those affected by
policy.

• Policy development engagement are strengthened
  when
• Policy research and/or reviews are conducted in a
  way that is informed by local context.
• Policy development proceeds with the meaningful
  input or endorsement of diverse stakeholders.
• Policy recommendations are applicable to multiple
  stakeholder groups and/or organizations.
• Forums for discussion of implications of policy
  (i.e., it informs practice) follow initial
  recommendations.
• Policy documents or positions reach policy makers
  or other key stakeholders that hold positions of
  power.

Having a multi-sector partnership group makes the
recommendations more balanced credible (not
special interest)
Diverse stakeholders can work with the policy
improves it, makes it actionable, raises
awareness, builds broader consensus
Multisector partnerships composed of leaders
increase chances of getting the ear of policy
makers.
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Partnerships

• Partnerships are improved when
• There is relative consensus on values and
  principles guiding the partnership
• Members come from multiple levels of their home
  organizations (staff and management).
• They are composed of strong leaders who have the
  ear of their home organizational leadership.
• Partners are institutionally linked to the goals
  of the partnership. Diverse partners who have
  power over different parts of the system is best.
• Member organizations are linked to other key
  organizations that exist outside the partnership.

Consensus building stage must come first
High profile management are often too busy to
commit other effective leaders may exist in the
organization.
Multi-sector partners can impact different parts
of the system.
Multiple linkages create new opportunities.
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Partnerships

• Partnerships are improved when
• They have mutually beneficial goals.
• The activities of the partnership are arranged
  around an action-oriented, capacity building
  agenda.
• The actions of the partnership are (primarily)
  evidence-based.

Forming partnerships based on values alone is
not sufficient. The work of the partnership
should have practical benefit to all.
For there to be system change, the partnership
must be functional its activities should lead
to changes in the capacities and practices of
others.
The credibility and effectiveness of the
partnership activities relies on evidence
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Workshops, Information Sessions, Family
Networking When do they support systems change?

• Family networking leadership create a local
  and provincial base to draw information from.
• In communities that have undeveloped networks,
  information sharing is a good place to make
  initial connections with community.
• When workshops or info sessions are linked to
  provincial policies and practices, it forces the
  policy/practice into action.
• When workshops, sessions, skill development, and
  other forms of support are part of larger
  partnerships, expanded projects.
• Sometimes it doesnt, but its nonetheless
  helpful to families.

A source of needs, experiences, stories, data for
policy work creates a political constituency
Part of system change involves working from the
bottom up system change has to start somewhere.
Policy and leglistation are useless if people
dont use them in practice.
If enough organizations start doing it, practice
can precede policy
The mandate of community inclusion is not
exclusively systems change.
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Organizational Training Inclusive Education as
an example
If teacher training is disconnected to the
school, change organizational culture is
difficult.

• Teacher training and development appears to work
  best when
• Training of teachers works best when closely
  linked to the context of the school.
• Dialogue and consensus-building precedes and
  sets the stage for organizational training.
• Diversity is used as the lens, not disability
• There is institutional, high level buy-in to the
  project
• There is translation of values to practice
  practical resources strategies.

New knowledge and skills are not used if they are
inconsistent with individual organizational
values.
Projects that are seen as special interest are
seen as narrow. Diversity projects are broadly
applicable.
High level support increases reach,
accountability and is policy directed.
Moving from you should do this to this is how
you do it.
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Supporting Research What are some best
practices?

• Research is effective it gets attention, sparks
  dialogue, moves an agenda when it is
• Participatory and guided by the questions and
  needs of the communities.
• Endorsed and guided by multiple sectors and
  organizations.
• Based on data and information from multiple
  sources and perspectives.
• Able to combine personal experiences with other
  data (e.g. broader survey data, community or
  population statistics).
• Linked to pilot or demonstration projects.

If research is grounded in the stated needs
experiences of community members it is more
relevant to policy.
Multiple stakeholders in research (co-ownership)
means more opportunities for action.
Multiple sources (or indicators) gives a clearer
picture of the issue.
Experiences add a human face to general data
Supporting data helps generalize the experiences.
Policy makers organizations want best practices
and a solution focus in research
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Other Lessons in Pursuing Systems Change

• Building from the past - many accomplishments
  of the past year are based on previous
  partnerships, networking, research, etc.
• Systems change work relies on flexibility of
  planning and taking advantage of opportunities.
  Some of the most important work cannot be planned
  in advance.
• Systems change gains and sustains momentum when
  leadership is passed on and/or shared with other
  organizations.
• Train the trainer approaches with other
  organizations is a common way to build capacity
  and expand reach.

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A representative from each P/T should provide an
example of success, where you believe there was a
really strong conribution to system change.
Briefly describe this example of success and
then answer and then discuss the following
questions with the group1) What are two or
three key reasons you were successful? Why do
you think it worked?2) With the group, try to
come up with two or three pieces of evidence that
you could provide that would demonstrate this
success (you may actually have this data or
information already or you may want to be
collecting in the future). Think of it this way
You think you were successful prove it!
Convince a skeptic!3) Thinking about this
success and the evidence you have about the
impact you made, what should happen next? How
will you build upon this success? Discuss the
rationale for the next steps toward change.
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