EVALUATION
Charles Bruner of the Child and Family Policy Center (CFPC) coordinates the national evaluation of the Build Initiative. CFPC, in conjunction with each of the grantee states, has hired a state evaluation partner to provide technical assistance in evaluation and to chronicle lessons learned and progress through an annual case study.
The evaluators assist each of the original BUILD state teams with gathering baseline information and developing benchmarks related to their strategic plan. The state evaluation partners complete case studies every year of participation in the initiative. Charles Bruner compiles the case studies annually and writes a national evaluation overview essay on BUILD's progress.
BUILD organized an Evaluation Symposium in April 2007, with the support and advice of The Heinz Endowments, the Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change, and the Child and Family Policy Center. A diverse group of participants including funders, evaluators, state leaders and national experts focused on two overarching goals: to advance the field's thinking about evaluation of system building and system reform efforts (as opposed to program evaluation) and to gather new insights as BUILD develops a new phase of evaluation. The meeting led to the creation of a thought piece, written by Julia Coffman that lays out a framework for evaluating early childhood systems initiatives.
For more information about the evaluation of the Build Initiative, contact:
Charles Bruner
E-mail
Phone: 515-280-9027
Director of Research and Evaluation
The Build Initiative
and
Child and Family Policy Center
1021 Fleming Building
218 6th Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309
Evaluation Sections:
