2016 GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Awards

Phase I Application Announcement

Deadline: Friday, August 5th, 2016

Thank you for your interest in CADCA’s 2016 GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Award Process! This is your coalition’s opportunity to receive national recognition for the positive community-level outcomes achieved. There are many benefits to participating in this application process. For one, your coalition becomes part of a database used by CADCA to identify coalition success stories. We often refer to the list of former applicants to participate in special projects and initiatives. Also, the application process itself will strengthen your coalition’s ability to make an effective case for its contribution to community-level outcomes. In fact, yourapplication will be a useful resource for grants and community presentations.

This is the first phase of a two-phase process. CADCA reviews and scores Phase I applications and formally recognizes thehighest scoring applicants as GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Award Semifinalists. Semifinalists will be invited to advance to Phase II, which involves providing additional information to enhance their story. Each Semifinalist will receive detailed feedback on their Phase I application to improve their Phase II application. The highest scoring Phase II applicants will receive a prestigious GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Award. Benefits for Semifinalists and Winners are listed below.

Benefits for Semifinalists

  • A formal recognition letter signed by CADCA’s Chairman and CEO, Arthur T. Dean, and CADCA’s National Coalition Institute Director, Kareemah Abdullah.
  • Recognition in CADCA’s Coalitions Online Weekly Newsletter

Benefits for Winners

Winners receive the same benefits as Semifinalists in addition to the following:

  • A custom award with your coalition’s name and successes engraved on the front.
  • Recognition in CADCA’s Annual printed Coalitions newsletter, on CADCA’s GOT OUTCOMES! Program website, and other CADCA communications.
  • Free lodging, travel, and registration for one coalition member to attend CADCA’s 2017 Annual National Leadership Forum at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD on February 6-9, 2017.
  • 50% off registration to CADCA’s 2017 Annual National Leadership Forum for one coalition member that participants in the CADCA Ideas Fair poster session.
  • Participation in the CADCA GOT OUTCOMES! workshop at the 2017 Leadership Forum
  • Participation in a new CADCA Coalitions of Excellence Webinar Series to provide tools and resources to the substance abuse prevention coalition field.
  • 1 Year Membership to the Society for Prevention Research (Includes one year access to the peer-reviewed publication Prevention Science) valued at $145.
  • Opportunity for the coalition leader to be considered for CADCA trainer/consultant status.

Eligibility Requirements for Applicants

This application has a strong focus on evaluation and making the link between your initial assessment data (problem analysis), and your current outcomes. In order to apply, your coalition must have achieved at a minimum, short-term outcomes associated with one substance abuse issue. You must be able to respond “yes” to one of the below scenarios to be eligible for a GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Award. A reference to these terms is available in the “Important Definitions for GOT OUTCOMES! Applicants document.

“My coalition has contributed to positive changes in…”

Short-term outcomes

Short-term and Intermediate outcomes

Short-term, Intermediate, and Long-term outcomes

How to Apply

Visit to download the application materials.

  • STEP 1: Select ONE youth substance use issue that your coalition has successfully addressed and would like to highlight in this application. While your coalition may have achieved success addressing more than one substance use issue, you will need to come to a consensus about which one to highlight.
  • STEP 2: Identify the community-level outcomes your coalition has contributed to in the substance use issue identified in Step 1. Will you be highlighting the achievement of short-term outcomes? Short-term and intermediate outcomes? Short-term, Intermediate, and Long-term outcomes?
  • STEP 3: Create a PowerPoint presentation providing an overview of your coalition’s work and successes in addressing the specific youth substance use issue that you selected in Step 1. Refer to the “GOT OUTCOMES! Presentation Content Requirements” document for details on the required content, length and formatting requirements.

Join Our Upcoming Applicant Webinar

CADCA staff provide assistance to prospective Phase I applicants on our application webinar. During this session we will walk through the application and discuss tips for strengthening your coalition’s case for contribution to community-level outcomes. The applicant webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 8th at 3-4:30 PM EDT. Click on this link to complete the required pre-registration: The webinar will be recorded and posted on

2016 GOT OUTCOMES! Application Process Timeline (subject to change)

CADCA Begins Accepting Phase I Applications / Monday, May 16th
Phase I Applications Due to CADCA / Friday, August 5th
CADCA Selects GOT OUTCOMES! Semifinalists and informs other applicants of their status / Week of August 8th
Phase II Application Deadline for Semifinalists / Friday, October 28th

Think of your application package as your coalition’s success story. You are applying for a CADCA GOT OUTCOMES! award because you are seeing positive community-level substance abuse outcomes in your community. The story you want to tell is the one that makes the case for how your coalition contributed to those outcomes. The story starts with baseline assessment data that informed your coalition about the issues that needed to be addressed. Guided by that data, and with the support of members and volunteers, your coalition developed and implemented a comprehensive plan that resulted in positive changes (confirmed by your data).

Welcome to CADCA’s GOT OUTCOMES! Coalition of Excellence Awards process! You will be using Microsoft PowerPoint to develop your application materials. We have chosen this format for two primary reasons. The first is because we know that coalitions are skilled at making presentations to community members and key stakeholders. Given this, we think that applicants will be able to incorporate some of the things they have already done into this application. The second reason we like this format is because we want your final application materials to be a resource for you in the future. We hope that you can pull information from your application to use in future presentations to support your work.

Text Formatting and SlideNumber Requirements for PowerPoint Presentation: (Presentations must meet these basic formatting requirements in order to be reviewed.)

  • 20 slide limit (This does NOT include your title slide or the required “Big Picture Overview” and “Data/Interventions” template slides described below.)
  • Minimum font is18 point or larger. Graphs and tables used to depict outcomes are exempt from the font requirements but must be easy to read. (Applicants may use 12 point font for the “Big Picture Overview” and Data/Interventions” template slides.)
  • Slide animationsare not permitted but photos, logos, and other images that add value to your coalition story are welcome.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

Your presentation must include, at a minimum, the below information. You may include additional important information within the allowed slide limit. Remember, your goal is to tell an effective story about how your coalition achieved the community-level outcomes you are highlighting. This means that all of the information you include must support that particular story. Review the “Important Definitions” reference on page 5to clarify the terms in blue.

Required Content: Introduction/Background Slides
Onetitle slide including the following applicant information (Not counted in slide limitations.)
  • Coalition Name
  • Coalition Mailing Address
  • Youth Substance Use Issue that Your Coalition Successfully Addressed (identified in Step 1)
  • Outcomes Achieved that You Are Highlighting (identified in Step 2)
  • Respondent Name
  • Respondent Role with the Coalition
  • Respondent Phone Number
  • Respondent Email

A briefintroduction to your coalitionincluding:
  • The year your coalition was formed
  • Any additional supplemental information you wish to provide that will help the reviewers learn more about your coalition, in general.

A brief overview of the community your coalition serves including:
  • Relevant geographic information including whether your coalition serves an urban, suburban, rural, and/or frontier community.
  • Relevant demographic data for the population you are serving (your target community).

List the community sectors that have been the most actively engaged and involved in the work your coalition has done to address the problem selected in Step 1 and sharespecific contributionsthey have made to the positive outcomes you are seeing today.
  • List at least TWO sectors (i.e. agencies, organizations, groups of individuals)
  • For EACHsector, provide at least 1-2 examples of a contribution that sector has made.

Required Content: “Big Picture Overview” and “Data/Interventions” PPT Templates (These slides will not be included as part of your required slide limitations. Font size should be no smaller than 12 point for your templates. Download the starter templates at )
Instructions for completing the “Big Picture Overview” PowerPoint template: All applicants must incorporate one “Big Picture Overview” template into their application package. The “Big Picture Overview” must include easy to understand statements that describe the results of your coalition’s community assessment of the problem. This demonstrates that your coalition conducted a thorough problem analysis prior to selecting and implementing strategies(Example on page 7). Statements must be included to describe each of the following:
  • The identifiedproblem(identified in step 1)
  • The identifiedroot causesof the problem
  • The identified local conditions contributing to each of the root causes
Note: Community problems have multiple root causes and there are multiple local conditions contributing to each of the identified root causes.
Instructions for Completing the “Data/Interventions” PowerPoint template: All applicants must complete one “Data/Interventions” template slide to support their “Big Picture Overview”. Your “Data/Interventions” template slides will include the quantitative and qualitative baselinedata to support your “Big Picture Overview” statements. In addition, you will need to list the “seven strategies to affect community change” defined on page 6, and the associated specific interventions under each category that your coalition has already implemented. One “Data/Interventions” template slide is required for each local condition listed in your “Big Picture Overview” template to demonstrate how in a unique and comprehensive manner.
Each “Data/Interventions” template must include the following: (Example on page 8)
  • Basic statements describing the identified problem, root causes, and the local conditions contributing to each root cause (transferred directly from your “Big Picture Overview”)
  • Baseline assessment data to describe each Problem, Root Cause, and Local condition. For statement, you must include the following information:
  • Community-level data your coalition has collected to describe the problem
  • A data source for each piece of baseline assessment data
  • The baseline year that you collected each piece of assessment data

  • Strategies/Interventions:
  • The “seven strategies to affect community change” that your coalition has used to address each local condition. (Reference on page 6)
  • The specific interventions your coalition implemented to address each local condition (listed under the appropriate “strategy to affect community change”). Assign a basic name to each intervention and provide a brief description for the reviewers.
IMPORTANT:Only list interventions that your coalition has already implemented and that you believe have contributed to the outcomes you are sharing in your application.
Required Content: Outcomes (Please refer to font size requirements on page 2. These requirements don’t apply to graphs and charts but they should be easy to read and understand.
Share the community-level outcomes your coalition has achieved (Step 2). Select the appropriate format to share your successes using tables, graphs, bullets, or other documentation. This information should be easy for anyone to read and understand. Remember that we expect a direct link from your outcomes to the information provided in your “Data/Interventions” template slides. Review the definitions on page 5 to ensure the proper categorization of your outcomes. Share trend data whenever possible (the same collected over multiple time periods). Below are some general guidelines depending on the outcomes you are highlighting.
  • To show outcomes, you will always need to provide at least two data points (baseline and follow-up).
  • If your coalition has achieved short-term AND intermediate outcomes, we suggest that your data points span at least two years. If your coalition has achieved short-term, intermediate, AND long-term outcomes, we suggest that your data points span at least three years.

  • SUBMITTING YOUR PHASE I APPLICATION

Your application must be emailed to CADCA no later than 11:59pm (EDT) on Friday, August 5, 2016. Please send your application package to with the subject heading “GOT OUTCOMES! Phase I Application”. Upon submission, CADCA will send you a confirmation that your application was received. Since many email servers set limits on the size of the files you can send, we suggest sending your application through a free service called DropSend. Visit and complete the “form” on the left panel of the page. Another alternative includes converting yourPowerPoint application into PDF document.If you have questions about submitting your application, please contact CADCA.

  • 2016GOT OUTCOMES! APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE(subject to change)

CADCA Begins Accepting Phase I Applications / Monday, May 16th
Phase I Applications Due to CADCA / Friday, August5th
CADCA Selects GOT OUTCOMES! Semifinalists and informs other applicants of their status / Week of August 8th
Phase II Application Deadline for Semifinalists / Friday, October 28th
  • IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS

Problem– This is the statement that describes the substance use issue that your coalition successfully addressed and will highlight in this application. The problem is always a behavior or condition and should name only one single issue.

Root causes – Also called, “But why?” These are the broad factors that surfaced in your coalition’s assessment of the problem to describe why the problem exists. You might be more familiar with the term community risk and protective factors. A few examples are perception of harm, availability, and community laws and norms.

Local conditions – Also called, “But, why here? These are the unique and specific community conditions that your coalition identified as contributors to the root causes. Local conditions provide your coalition with actionable information from which to select strategies. To offer up an example, it is not enough to identify access/availability as a root cause for the problem of underage drinking without understanding how access/availability manifests itself in your community. A local condition for access to alcohol might be the fact that retailers are selling alcohol to minors without checking ID’s. Your coalition may have compliance check failure rates to support this and qualitative data from youth focus groups providing further confirmation. With this information, the coalition can plan a comprehensive set of strategies to change retailer behavior. Still, this example only describes one way that youth may be accessing alcohol.

Short-term outcomes: As a general rule of thumb, short-term outcomes directly measure positive changes in the baseline assessment data used to describe the identified local conditions (But why here?). Typically collected on a monthly or quarterly basis, short-term outcomes are potentially influenced within 6-24 months (e.g. increased retailer compliance, decreased # of underage drinking parties).

Intermediate outcomes: As a general rule of thumb, intermediate outcomes directly measure positive changes in the baseline assessment data used to describe the identified root causes (But why?). Typically collected on an annual basis, intermediate outcomes are potentially influenced within 1-4 years (e.g. perceived availability, perception of harm, etc.).

Long-term outcomes: As a general rule of thumb, long-term outcomes directly measure positive changes in the baseline assessment data used to describe identified problem. Typically collected on an annual basis, long-term outcomes show evidence of population-level behavior changes and are potentially influenced in 3-10 years (e.g. reduction in 30-day use, decrease in alcohol related crashes and fatalities).

Strategies:For this application, strategies are the broad headings by which you can organize your interventions. Refer to the “Seven Strategies to Affect Community Change” on page 6.

Interventions: Interventions are the specific activities that your coalition implemented and listed under each of the broad strategy headings. Effective coalitions develop specific interventions based on actionable community-level data (local conditions) and not the broader root causes, or risk factors in the community.

Baseline Assessment Data:Your baseline data for each measure (data source) and piece of data that you provide serves as the marker by which you can measure success (outcomes). This is the initial data your coalition collected that guided the decisions about the strategies and interventions that your coalition implemented and that contributed to the results you are highlighting in this application.

  • SEVEN STRATEGIES TO AFFECT COMMUNITY CHANGE

INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL PREVENTION STRATEGIES

  1. Provide Information: Educational presentations, workshops or seminars, and data or media presentations (e.g., public service announcements, brochures, town halls, forums, web communication)
  1. Enhance Skills: Workshops, seminars or activities designed to increase the skills of participants, members and staff (e.g. training, and technical assistance, strategic planning retreats, parenting classes, model programs in schools)
  1. Provide Support: Creating opportunities to support people to participate in activities that reduce risk or enhance protection (e.g., providing alternative activities, mentoring, referrals for services, support groups, youth clubs, parenting groups Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous)

ENVIRONMENTAL PREVENTION STRATEGIES