Form 1 VISTA PSO Feedback Survey

VISTA PSO Evaluation: Supervisor & VISTA Leader Survey

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

VISTA PSO Evaluation

VISTA Supervisor & VISTA Leader Survey

Project Overview

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) engages more than five million Americans as community volunteers through core programs such as Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA). Before VISTA members can begin service, they must complete the Pre-Service Orientation (PSO), currently a 3.5 day, in-person, instructor-led training event. In 2016, CNCS has introduced a pilot blended approach for the PSO, which is comprised of self-directed and facilitator-led e-learning modules, action-learning tasks in the field, and interactive webinars. In order for CNCS VISTA to better understand members’ PSO experience and outcomes, we have contracted with ICF International (ICF) to assess the efficiency and impact of participation in the in-person and blended PSO approaches.

Survey Overview

As part of this research, ICF seeks information from VISTA members’ supervisors and VISTA leaders via a Web survey approximately 4 months after the member has completed the PSO. Your insights will provide meaningful insights we can use to help measure the effectiveness of the PSO. We hope that you choose to participate in this survey, which is expected to take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Your responses to this survey should reflect the behaviors and performance of [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME].

Confidentiality

This survey guarantees respondent confidentiality. Confidentiality means that only the research team knows who responded to the survey and all data collected from you will be aggregated with data from other respondents. Therefore, data will only be used in a way that will make it impossible to determine the identity of individual respondents. The data will not be analyzed or reported in any way that compromises participant confidentiality. Raw data will only be accessible by ICF International employees directly involved in data analysis, will be stored in a secure folder, and any identifying information will be removed before data analysis begins.

Voluntary Participation

We know your time is valuable and greatly appreciate your taking this survey today. While we appreciate your participation, your participation and responses to any of these questions is voluntary and not required by CNCS. You are free to withdraw your participation from this study at any time. If you do not want to continue, you can simply leave this website. You may choose to skip any questions that you do not wish to answer.

If you have concerns or questions about this study, please contact the survey hotline at 1-855-777-CNCS or [email protected].

1. Please indicate your role with VISTA:

• I supervise one or more VISTA members at a sponsor organization

• I am a VISTA leader

Please indicate the extent to which [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibits each of the following VISTA Academic and Workplace Competencies:

	Not at All	A Little	Somewhat	A Lot	To a Great Extent	No Opportunity to Observe
Networking (i.e., establishing collaborative relationships and partnerships)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Workplace Fundamentals (i.e., applying knowledge of basic organizational principles, such as business ethics and organizational knowledge, to your work)	○	○	○	○	○	○

Please indicate the extent to which [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibits each of the following VISTA Technical Competencies:

	Not at All	A Little	Somewhat	A Lot	To a Great Extent	No Opportunity to Observe
Planning and Collaboration (i.e., taking appropriate action to develop and implement a plan of action in the community)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Organizational and Program Development (i.e., capacity building and creating programs, services, and systems to support community change)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Volunteer Management (i.e., recruiting and/or managing community volunteers or supporting volunteer systems)	○	○	○	○	○	○

Please indicate the extent to which [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibits each of the following VISTA Knowledge Competencies:

	Not at All	A Little	Somewhat	A Lot	To a Great Extent	No Opportunity to Observe
VISTA knowledge (i.e., understanding of the history, mission, and focus of the CNCS and VISTA)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Life as a VISTA (i.e., critically assess one's own skill set and seek information, advice, and assistance as needed to complete assigned tasks and build own ability in one's job)	○	○	○	○	○	○
VISTA placement and VISTA assignment description (VAD) (i.e., demonstrate an understanding of the assignment and the activities for carrying out the assignment)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Community Outreach and Marketing (i.e., promote the value of the project to decision makers within and beyond the organization to garner support for the project)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Resource Mobilization (i.e., work with colleagues and stakeholders to mobilize resources and raise funds)	○	○	○	○	○	○
Community Capacity Building for Sustainability (i.e., building infrastructure in nonprofit organizations to help them sustain the VISTA effort)	○	○	○	○	○	○

12. Please describe one example of when [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] has successfully demonstrated one of the competencies just rated above during their VISTA service. What was the scenario and what was the result? _____________________________________________________

Please answer each of the following questions using the response scale provided.

	Not at All	A Little	Somewhat		A Lot	To a Great Extent
To what extent is [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] meeting the goals of his/her VAD, as would be expected at this point in his/her service tenure?	○	○		○	○	○
To what extent is [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] engaged in his/her work (i.e., absorbed by, energetic about, and dedicated to their work)?	○	○		○	○	○
To what extent are you satisfied with the performance of [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME]?	○	○		○	○	○
To what extent does [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibit esprit de corps (i.e., feeling of pride, fellowship, and loyalty) with coworkers?	○	○		○	○	○
To what extent does [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibit esprit de corps (i.e., feeling of pride, fellowship, and loyalty) with your organization’s mission?	○	○		○	○	○
To what extent does [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] exhibit esprit de corps (i.e., feeling of pride, fellowship, and loyalty) with CNCS and the VISTA program?	○	○		○	○	○
How effective is the PSO in preparing VISTA members for service?	○	○		○	○	○

20. What do you think are the strengths of the PSO? __________________________________________

21. What are specific areas of improvement that you suggest for the PSO? __________________________________________________________________________________

[If select VISTA leader on Q1, submit survey]

	Much Less than Average	Less than Average	Average	More than Average	Much More than Average
How much of your time is required to supervise (e.g., provide direction, adjust work tasks) [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] compared to others in a similar position?	○	○	○	○	○
How much of your energy is required to supervise (e.g., provide direction, adjust work tasks) [VISTA FIRST NAME LAST NAME] compared to others in a similar position?	○	○	○	○	○

December 2015 ICF International 4 | Page