2 Strengthening Communities Studies Protocol

Attachment A. Strengthening Communities Qualitative Instrument
(Privacy Statements and assurances will be included in the pre-interview/focus
group consent and introductory script – (See above Consent))

NCCC Focus Groups and Interviews Questions Strengthening
Communities by Target Group
Corps Members and Team Leader
1. Could you describe some of the [NCCC / FEMA Corps] project accomplishments that are readily
visible to people? How about those not readily visible? What was the overall impact of this
project on the community you served? What was its greatest impact on you as a member?
2. What does it mean to strengthen a community? Do you think [NCCC / FEMA Corps] team's
efforts strengthen the communities in which the team served? If so, how? Do you have any stories
that may show an example of how [NCCC / FEMA Corps] strengthened a community?
3. What are some of the lessons learned from your experiences with this project? If a team was to
take over the project tomorrow, what is the major community impact you would want them to
focus on? Is there anything that [NCCC / FEMA Corps] can do to better support the ability of
[NCCC / FEMA Corps] teams to strengthen communities?
4. How will your work on projects affect [Organization Name / FEMA]? Do you believe this work
is important? If so, why? If not, why not?
5. Thinking about the future, how do you think your experiences in [NCCC / FEMA Corps] will
affect your activities in the community in which you live / work?
6. What have you heard people in the community say about [the NCCC program/FEMA Corps]?
How about its Corps Members?
7. What did you find meaningful or rewarding about your [NCCC/FEMA Corps] work and time in
the [NCCC/FEMA Corps] program?
8. [Team Leaders only] Thinking about your most recent project, what was your understanding of
the sponsor’s organization’s primary goal for the project? Do you believe that your team was
successful in reaching this goal? If so, how? If not, why do you think this is so? What
characteristics of the community or of [Organization Name / FEMA] made it easier or more
difficult to reach the goal?
9. [Team Leaders only] How do you define a successful project? How would you measure a
successful project? Are there any measures that you currently collect (e.g., outputs) that reflect
the real impact of your team’s work? What are the impacts of your work that can’t be measured?
10. Is there something that you thought I was going to ask, that I didn’t? Is there anything else you
want to share?

Site Sponsors and Site Supervisors – NCCC Traditional
1. Could you describe some of the NCCC project accomplishments that are readily visible to
people? How about those not readily visible?
2. What does it mean to strengthen a community? Do you think NCCC teams’ efforts strengthens
the communities in which the team served? If so, how? Do you have any stories that may show an
example of how NCCC strengthened a community?
3. How many projects has your organization sponsored or co-sponsored? Can you describe your
[current / most recent] NCCC project? Do you see this project as a standalone effort or as one
project that is part of a larger ongoing effort?

4. What [is/was] your primary goal for this project? Do you believe that the NCCC team [will be /
was] successful in reaching this goal?
a. [At T1 only] What organizational or community characteristics may make it easier or
more difficult to reach this goal?
b. [At T2 only] Follow up:
i. If so, how? What did NCCC do to contribute to the success of your project?
What organizational or community characteristics contributed to success?
ii. If not, why do you think it wasn’t successful? What were the barriers to success?
What did you learn from this experience?
c. How successful do you think similar efforts would be in other settings?
d. What characteristics of NCCC teams or members make it easier for them to succeed in
reaching project goals? What characteristics make it easier for them to engage
community members or strengthen communities?
e. [For organizations that have sponsored multiple projects only] In general, how often are
NCCC teams successful in achieving project goals? What would make them more
successful?
f. [For organizations that have sponsored multiple projects only] Have you had any projects
that were less successful? If so, what do you think made them less successful? What did
you learn from this experience? What do you think NCCC, sponsors, or teams can do to
increase success in similar projects?
5. What long-term effects do you think this project [will have / has had] on the community?
a. [For organizations that have sponsored multiple projects only] What are some of the
long-term or indirect effects you’ve seen from past NCCC projects in your community, if
any?
6. What impact has NCCC had on your organization? How does NCCC’s presence affect your
organization’s capacity to strengthen communities? How will this change when NCCC members
are no longer here? Do you anticipate any long-term effects to your processes or ability to engage
community members due to NCCC’s work with your organization?
a. [For organizations that have sponsored multiple projects only] How has NCCC’s past
work affected your organization’s processes? Has it affected your ability to engage
community members? If so, how?
7. What have you heard people in the community say about the NCCC program? How about its
Corps Members?
8. How do you define a successful project? How would you measure a successful project? Are there
any measures that you currently collect that reflect the real impact of NCCC’s work? If so, what
are they? If not, what isn’t being measured that should be?
9. What has NCCC helped you understand about strengthening communities? What advice would
you give to a new NCCC sponsor?
10. Is there something that you thought I was going to ask, that I didn’t? Is there anything else you
want to share?

FEMA POCs and staff
1. Could you describe some of the FEMA Corps accomplishments that are readily visible to people?
How about those not readily visible?
2. What does it mean to strengthen a community? Do you think FEMA Corps teams’ efforts
strengthen the communities in which the team served? If so, how? Do you have any stories that
may show an example of how FEMA Corps strengthened a community?
3. What impact has FEMA Corps had on FEMA? How does FEMA Corps’ presence affect FEMA’s
capacity to strengthen communities? Has it affected your ability to engage community members?
If so, how?

4. How has FEMA Corps’ past work affected the processes of your office? How has it affected the
processes of FEMA? What are some of the long-term or indirect effects on FEMA that you’ve
seen from FEMA Corps? What do you think will be FEMA Corps role in FEMA in the future?
What do you think would change if FEMA Corps were no longer active in FEMA?
5. What have you heard people in the office or in FEMA say about FEMA Corps? How about its
Corps Members? Do people in the community distinguish between FEMA and FEMA Corps? If
so, what have you heard people in the community say about FEMA Corps? What have they said
about FEMA Corps members?
6. How many FEMA Corps teams have you worked with as the FEMA Corps POC? Were any of
these deployments in which you were the POC for multiple teams at once? Can you describe your
[current / most recent] FEMA Corps [round/deployment]?
7. What [is/was] your primary goal for this [round/deployment]? Do you believe that the team [will
be / was] successful in reaching this goal?
a. [At T1 only] What organizational or community characteristics may make it easier or
more difficult to reach this goal?
b. [At T2 only] Follow up:
i. If so, how? What did NCCC and FEMA Corps do to contribute to the success of
your project? What organizational or community characteristics contributed to
success?
ii. If not, why do you think it wasn’t successful? What were the barriers to success?
What did you learn from this experience?
c. How successful do you think similar efforts would be in other settings?
d. What characteristics of FEMA Corps teams or members make it easier for them to
succeed in reaching project goals? What characteristics make it easier for them to engage
community members or strengthen communities?
e. In general, based on your experience, how often are FEMA Corps teams successful in
achieving project goals? What would make them more successful?
f. Have you had any experiences with FEMA Corps that were less successful? If so, what
do you think made them less successful? What did you learn from this experience? What
do you think NCCC, FEMA Corps, FEMA or teams can do to increase success in similar
effort?
8. What long-term effects do you think this [round/deployment] [will have / has had] on the
community?
a. What are some of the long-term or indirect effects on communities you’ve seen from past
FEMA Corps [rounds/deployments]?
9. How do you define a successful [round/deployment]? How would you measure a successful
[round/deployment]? Are there any measures that you currently collect that reflect the real impact
of FEMA Corps’ work? If so, what are they? If not, what isn’t being measured that should be?
10. What has FEMA Corps helped you understand about strengthening communities? What advice
would you give to a new FEMA Corps POC?
11. Is there something that you thought I was going to ask, that I didn’t? Is there anything else you
want to share?

Community Members / Stakeholders
1. We’re going to ask some questions about [community name] which we are defining as [describe
community]. Do you identify as a member of this community?
a. How do you define community?
2. Are you familiar with [NCCC / FEMA Corps]
a. If so, how did you encounter [NCCC / FEMA Corps] members in your community? If
not, how did you encounter [name specific members]?

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b. What impressions do you have of the [NCCC / FEMA Corps] program and its members?
How was your experience with [NCCC / FEMA Corps] members?
[For people who were served directly by NCCC / FEMA Corps members only] What was the
benefit of your experience with [NCCC / FEMA Corps]? How will this affect you in the future?
What would you have done if you hadn’t had the services you received from [NCCC / FEMA
Corps]?
How do you define a strong community? According to this definition, how would you make the
community stronger? Do you have any stories that may show an example of how [NCCC / FEMA
Corps] strengthened this community?
What is the best thing about living in [this community]? What are the biggest problems faced by
[this community]?
Could you describe some of the [NCCC FEMA Corps] project accomplishments that are easy to
see? How about those that are not easy to see?
What have you heard other people say about [NCCC / FEMA Corps] members or projects?
What long-term effects do you think [NCCC’s / FEMA Corps’] work will have on [your
community] if any?
a. [For community members who are familiar with NCCC / FEMA Corps and where NCCC
has been active for an extended time only] What are some of the long-term or indirect
effects you’ve seen from past [NCCC / FEMA Corps] projects in your community, if
any?
If [your community] were to be faced with a crisis tomorrow, what are the strengths and
resources you could draw on? Would you feel like you're able to face this collective challenge?
What advice would you give to a new [NCCC / FEMA Corps] team that was trying to help make
[your community] stronger?
Is there something that you thought I was going to ask, that I didn’t? Is there anything else you
want to share?