B. Research Objectives and Questions by Data Source _clean_responsetoPRAO

Appendix B. Research Objectives and Questions by Data Source

OMB No. 0584-XXXX

Modernizing Channels of Communication
With SNAP Participants

March 2, 2020

Project Officer: Andrew Burns

Office of Policy Support

Food and Nutrition Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1320 Braddock Place

Alexandria, VA  22314

703.305.1091

[email protected]

Research Objectives and Questions by Data Source

Research Question	State SNAP director interviews	State MCS staff and administrators Interviews	Business Software developers/IT staff interviews	Local office frontline staff	Other stakeholders/ community partners	SNAP participants/ MCS users focus group	Local SNAP office waiting room visitors/ MCS nonusers
What were the primary funding sources for MCS in your State? How were the funds distributed?		
What are the goals and objectives of the selected MCS projects?					
What were some of the successes and challenges experienced during the implementation?				
How did the State address potential data security or privacy issues when developing or implementing these tools?			
What, if any, changes have been made to the project since initial implementation?					
What, if any, functions does the State hope to include in the future? What barriers or challenges does it face from implementing these?					
How do States obtain consent (i.e., opt in) for the use of these technologies?						
How were third-party vendors or other community partners involved?					
Describe the functionality of the technology (what tasks are clients able to complete?).					
What, if any, data does the State or other stakeholders collect on the overall performance of the project?			
What sorts of challenges and successes have stakeholders encountered when using this technology? How have project administrators and/or case workers addressed these challenges?				
What are some similar software or apps that software developers have created for other agencies, and how do they see the market for this type of software changing?			
How, if at all, has implementing these strategies influenced the operations of SNAP, and participants’ experience?						
What share of SNAP households for whom MCS are available elect to use MCS?							
How was the MCS advertised, and how did users learn of the MCS?							
How, if at all, do SNAP participants conduct their case management activities using mobile technology versus personal computers versus in person versus via phone?						
Among those who opt in to MCS, why did they choose to do so? Among those who did not opt in, what were their reasons?							
What are clients’ knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about MCS?							
How often do clients use MCS for SNAP?						
How easy or difficult is it for clients to complete core tasks using MCS?						
Which features of MCS do clients like and dislike?						
Were there additional areas of functionality that clients would like to see in MCS?							
Have clients expressed concerns surrounding data security or privacy issues when using their mobile phone for SNAP related activities?							
Do clients find that available resources (for example, how-to videos demonstrating the app’s functionality) improve their understanding and use of the MCS?						
What, if any, problems have clients encountered using MCS? How did clients and/or caseworkers address these problems?							
What, if any, benefits do clients report from using MCS?						
What changes would clients make to current MCS?							
Based on State, project administrator, and/or case worker experiences implementing MCS, are there best practices for other States that plan to implement similar technologies?					
Based on client experiences with MCS, are there best practices that will improve the client experience?							
What additional support or resources would be helpful from FNS or regional offices?					