Initial Case Study Interview Guide for DP13-1315 Program

Case Study Interview Guide for DP13-1315 Program Directors or Managers

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920-xxxx

Exp. Date xx/xx/20xx

Introduction

Thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. As you know, we are conducting a series of case studies with leadership and staff from programs funded under the National Support to Enhance Implementation of Comprehensive Cancer Control Activities (DP13-1315) cooperative agreement to learn more about programs’ efforts to support and build capacity among CDC’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Programs (NCCCPs) and State-Based Tobacco Control Programs (NSBTs) through training and technical assistance (TTA). The purpose of this interview is to learn more about the management, design, and/or implementation of your organization’s TTA efforts under the DP13-1315 cooperative agreement.

Please note that responses to these questions will not impact you or your program negatively in any way, and will not impact your eligibility for future CDC funding. We are simply interested in learning more about the planning and implementation of TTA offered to NCCCP and NSBT grantees as part of the DP13-1315 cooperative agreement.

Do you have any initial questions before we begin?

[Pause to allow for questions].

Great, I’m going to begin by reviewing the informed consent.

[Read informed consent statement. If respondent gives verbal consent, proceed with the interview. If the respondent declines participation, thank the respondent and end the interview]

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333; ATTN: PRA 0920­17AW.

Interview Questions

1. Implementation of FOA Components

I would like to begin by discussing your role within [name of organization], and your organization’s efforts to implement the components of the Funding Opportunity Agreement (FOA).

1. How would you describe your role within [name of organization]?

   1. How long have you worked at [name of organization]?

   2. How did you originally get involved?

2. Describe your organization’s overall coordination of TTA activities.

   1. What is your organization’s role in coordinating TTA activities under the FOA?

   2. What strategies has your organization used to coordinate TTA activities?

3. Describe your organization’s goals and objectives guiding the implementation of TTA to support NCCCP grantees.

   1. How would you describe the vision of your TTA program and how does this align with what your organization wants to achieve?

4. Describe your organization’s TTA activities that focused on local NCCCP state program implementation.

   1. What topic areas were addressed?

   2. What strategies were promoted?

   3. What resources/tools were shared?

5. Describe your organization’s TTA activities that supported implementation of policy, system, and/or environmental approaches?

   1. What topic areas were addressed?

   2. What strategies were promoted?

   3. What resources/tools were shared?

6. Describe your organization’s TTA activities that supported partnership sustainability?

   1. What topic areas were addressed?

   2. What strategies were promoted?

   3. What resources/tools were shared?

7. Describe your organization’s TTA activities aimed at increasing the reach of evidence-based/promising practices for implementation?

   1. What topic areas were addressed?

   2. What strategies were promoted?

   3. What resources/tools were shared?

8. Describe your organization’s efforts to promote NCCCP state programs’ success stories.

   1. What communication strategies has your organization supported?

9. What factors have affected your organization’s ability to implement the DP13-1315 FOA components?

   1. Are there any contextual factors that have affected your organization’s ability to implement FOA components? If so, which factors and components?

      1. Costs/funding

      2. Staffing/personnel

      3. Amount of time

      4. Program maturity/infrastructure

      5. Staff capacity

      6. Access to those with subject matter expertise

      7. Partnerships

   2. Are there any factors within your organization that have affected your ability to implement FOA components? If so, which factors and components?

      1. History

      2. Maturity

      3. Mission

      4. Leadership

   3. Are there any aspects of the cooperative agreement that have affected your organization’s ability to implement FOA components? If so, which factors and components?

      1. CDC TA received

      2. Tools/resources made available by CDC

2. Implementation of TTA Framework

Now I would like to talk about the TTA model that your organization used to provide TTA to NCCCP grantees and partners. For the purpose of this evaluation, when we talk about TTA, we are referring to any individualized or broad-based education, supportive activities, or resource distribution that assists NCCCP grantees and partners with meeting program objectives, achieving program outcomes, and sustaining program progress and success.

1. Describe your organization’s activities aimed at planning TTA for TTA recipients.

1. How does your organization determine TTA needs among TTA recipients? Describe any specific strategies/methods used (e.g., needs assessment).

2. What types of TTA planning activities has your organization implemented?

3. How many TTA planning activities has your organization implemented since the beginning of the FOA?

1. Describe your organization’s efforts to build and maintain partnerships among TTA recipients.

   1. What strategies does your organization use to facilitate partnership building/engagement (e.g., communication)?

   2. What specific activities has your organization implemented to facilitate partnership building/engagement (e.g., meetings, calls)?

2. Describe any trainings your organization has offered to increase capacity among TTA recipients.

   1. What types of trainings has your organization offered?

   2. How many trainings has your program offered since the beginning of the FOA? How often have they occurred?

   3. What channels were used to deliver these trainings (e.g., webinars, in-person)

   4. What topics were addressed in these trainings?

   5. What evidence-based interventions and/or promising practices were promoted during trainings? Please provide specific examples.

   6. What resources were provided to training attendees (e.g., information, tools)?

3. Describe any technical assistance your organization has offered to increase capacity among TTA recipients.

   1. What types of technical assistance has your organization offered?

   2. How often is technical assistance offered?

   3. What topics are addressed?

   4. What evidence-based interventions and/or promising practices were promoted? Please provide specific examples.

   5. What resources were provided (e.g., information, tools)?

4. Describe your organization’s efforts to evaluate TTA provided to TTA recipients.

   1. Has your organization planned/implemented process evaluation activities to assess TTA? If so, please describe.

   2. Has your organization planned/implemented outcome evaluation activities to assess TTA? If so, please describe.

   3. Describe key findings from your organization’s TTA evaluation activities.

5. What factors have affected your organization’s ability to implement your TTA framework components?

   1. Are there any contextual factors that have affected your organization’s ability to implement FOA components? If so, which factors and components?

      1. Characteristics of the NCCCP programs?

      2. Characteristics of the organizations of participating state coalition members?

      3. Characteristics of affiliated partner organizations?

      4. Demographic or behavioral characteristics of the specific populations?

      5. Characteristics of the population-specific evidence-based interventions?

      6. Characteristics of your organization and the strategies you are using?

3. Achievement of Short-Term Outcomes

Thank you for your responses thus far. These next few questions focus on your perceptions related to the impact of your organization’s TTA efforts on short-term outcomes.

1. Describe how your organization measures the implementation of the TTA model supported under the DP13-1315 FOA?

   1. What data do you collect?

1. Who is responsible for measuring/monitoring implementation?

2. Are other staff members involved in data collection? How so?

3. Are there plans to expand or change how your organization monitors implementation of TTA? If so, please explain?

1. Describe how your organization measures the extent to which the TTA your program has implemented under DP13-1315 has achieved short-term outcomes?

   1. What data do you collect?

   2. Who is responsible for measuring/monitoring implementation?

   3. Are other staff members involved in data collection? How so?

   4. Are there plans to expand or change how your organization monitors implementation of TTA? If so, please explain?

2. Has your organization established a system to assure priority issues are addressed among TTA recipients? If so, please describe.

   1. What infrastructure helps to support this system?

   2. How does the system operate?

   3. Who are the key staff within this organization that support this system? What are their roles?

3. To what extent has your organization been successful in developing partnerships to facilitate the implementation and support of TTA activities?

   1. How do partners help to implement specific elements of your program related to TTA?

4. Describe the types of organizations that comprise you work in partnership with to implement TTA.To what extent has your organization worked directly with NCCCP state programs to improve local implementation?

   1. Has your organization conducted any needs assessments with NCCCP state programs? If so, please describe.

   2. Has your organization disseminated promising practices among NCCCP state programs? If so, please describe.

   3. Has your organization provided NCCCP state programs with new resources/tools for local implementation? If so, please describe.

5. From your perspective, to what extent have NCCCP state programs increased capacity for implementing NCCCP activities?

   1. Have NCCCP state programs improved development and/or implementation of policies? If so, please provide examples.

   2. Have NCCCP state programs improved development and/or implementation of program systems? If so, please provide examples.

   3. Have NCCCP state programs improved implementation of environmental change strategies? If so, please provide examples.

   4. In what other ways have NCCCP state programs increased capacity? Please provide any evidence.

4. NCCCP Priorities and Goals

Now I would like to learn more about your perspective on the effectiveness of your organization’s TTA on NCCCP implementation and the achievement of goals, as well as any aspects of the TTA framework that could be improved.

1. From your perspective, do stakeholders perceive your organization’s TTA as effective in contributing to NCCCP implementation and achievement of goals? Please explain.

1. Do NCCCP state program staff see your TTA as effective? How do you know this? Please provide any evidence.

2. Do NCCCP state coalition members see your TTA as effective? How do you know this? Please provide any evidence.

3. Do other organizations see your TTA as effective? How do you know this? Please provide any evidence

4. What aspects of your TTA do you think stakeholders see as most effective?

5. What aspects of your TTA do you think stakeholders see as least effective?

1. What suggestions, if any, have stakeholders provided for improving the effectiveness of your organization’s TTA? Please provide specific examples.

5. Essential Elements of TTA Model

Great! For these last few questions, I would like to hear your perspective on the TTA on NCCCP grantees’ capacity and programmatic outcomes, as well as factors that may have impacted the effectiveness of your organization’s TTA.

1. From your perspective, how has the TTA model you have used improved NCCCP programmatic capacity?Which strategy, if any, resulted in increased capacity? How?

2. From your perspective, which strategies would TTA recipients deem most essential for increasing capacity? Please explain.

3. Which activities, if any, resulted in increased capacity? How?

4. From your perspective, which activities would TTA recipients deem most essential for increasing capacity? Please explain. .

1. Overall, which aspects of the TTA model do you see as most essential for improving NCCCP capacity?

   1. Which strategies are most essential? Why?

   2. Which activities are most essential? Why?

2. From your perspective, how has the TTA model improved programmatic outcomes?

   1. Which strategies, if any, resulted in improved outcomes? How?

   2. From your perspective, which strategies would TTA recipients deem most essential for improving outcomes? Please explain.

   3. Which activities, if any, resulted in improved outcomes? How?

   4. From your perspective, which activities would TTA recipients deem most essential for improving outcomes? Please explain.

3. Describe any lessons learned from implementing the TTA under the DP13-1315 FOA.

   1. What recommendations do you have for improving the TTA model used?

4. Describe any contextual factors that have impacted the effectiveness of the TTA model under DP13-1315??

   1. Have any external factors increased or decreased the effectiveness of the TTA model used?

      1. Characteristics of the NCCCP state programs

      2. Characteristics of the organizations of participating coalition members and partners

      3. Demographic or behavioral characteristics of the specific populations

      4. Characteristics of the population-specific evidence-based interventions

      5. Characteristics of the systems and environmental strategies

Conclusion

That is all of the questions I have for you at this time. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me! This has been very informative and will be important in understanding DP13-1315 grantees’ TTA efforts. Do you have any questions for me at this time? [Pause for participant questions]

Again, if any questions do arise after today, please feel free to contact the ICF Project Manager, Sarah O’Dell at 404-321-3211.

Page 1 of 7