UWSF Stakeholder Focus Groups

Focus Group Guide: Summer 2008

Objectives: The objectives of the Stakeholder Focus Groups are to:

  1. Facilitate stakeholder buy-in to the United Way Strengthening Families project;
  2. Facilitate joint program planning for the UWSF pilot sites; and
  3. Collect common data from all pilot sites to inform the national evaluation process.

Overview/General Expectations:Each site will hold at least one Stakeholder Focus Group (sites may also choose to hold Parent Focus Groups and/or Internal UW Focus Groups as well). Each focus group should have approximately 6-10 members, representing a variety of UW and community perspectives (more on focus group composition below). Local evaluators will be the primary facilitators of the focus groups and the project directors will serve as co-facilitators (presenting the project overview and taking notes on flip charts, but not being a participant in the focus group). The focus groups will last about 90 minutes (we need to discuss the possibility of cutting questions or expanding the time).

  • Question Flexibility: Each site will select the focus group questions it wishes to address from the core list generated by the group.
  • Possibility of “Internal United Way Focus Groups”: Some sites are considering the possibility of convening focus groups comprised of United Way staff only. This will be useful for building internal buy-in to the project. In these cases, we are proposing the use of the same focus group protocol described here.
  • Recording: We are asking each site to tape the focus groups so we have the best possible data. Sites will be provided with tape recorders and will electronically submit the audio file to the national evaluators. We are also asking you to submit any written notes taken during the session.
  • Transcription: The national evaluators will be responsible for transcribing at least one focus group session for each site. Additional transcription will be negotiated.
  • “Impression Notes”: We are asking the local evaluator and project director to meet after the focus group to identify themes from the session and write up their primary impressions of the focus group. These will be sent
  • Use of the Information: We are proposing that each site utilize the information from the focus groups to inform their local activities. The national evaluators will also analyze the focus group data from the six sites and will create a report to be shared with all partners
  • Time frame: Focus groups will be conducted in the first three months of the project, at a time that makes strategic sense at the local level.

THE FOCUS GROUP PROCESS…

Keys to conducting a successful focus group can be found in the following resources:

  • Susan Carol Losh. Focus group basics.
  • Mary Marczak and Meg Sewll. Using focus groups for evaluation.
  • Webcredible. Focus groups. How to run them.
  • Krueger, Richard A. (1998). The Focus Group Kit (Books 1-5). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [All were useful, but Book 3 Developing Questions for Focus Groups, and Book 5 is Involving Community Members in Focus Groups proved most useful.]

Proposed Focus Group Agenda

  1. Administer Demographics/Community Readiness Survey (this can be done as people arrive or as they prepare to leave); this will include a consent form.
  1. Background/Introductions (10 minutes): The facilitator will…
  • introduce herself and thank participants for coming.
  • share the overall objectives (and any other local goals) with the group
  • ask each person to state his/her name and organization/perspective (this should be extremely brief as time will be precious)
  • establish ground rules: Some suggested ground rules are: everyone’s ideas are important; no side conversations; one person will speak at a time; everyone has an opportunity to speak; don't criticize what others have to say, treat everyone's ideas with respect.Also, let participants know that there are no right or wrong answers and that you are interested in both positive and negative comments. Encourage participants to share their point of view even if it is different from what others have said.
  • let people know that the session will be audio taped, but that responses will be confidential: “We will be audio-taping the discussion because we don’t want to miss any comments. But, we will only be using first names today and there will not be any names attached to the comments on the final report. You may be assured complete confidentiality.”
  1. Provide Overview of UWSF (10 minutes): The project director will provide a brief overview of UWSF so the group understands the basic purpose and approach of the project. National staff have created the core presentation, which may be adapted for each site (e.g., provide local/state project goals).
  • Participants should have an understanding of protective factors before proceeding.
  • Participants should have a clear understanding of the role of United Way on the project
  • Definitions and examples of protective factors need to be provided here or on the Focusing Exercise described below.
  1. Core Questions (60 minutes)

Topic 1: Community Needs and United Way Partnerships

Focusing Exercise: Rank the needs in our community…

Q1.1: Community Needs:“Let’s start by talking about people’s needs in our community.” Ask each participant, “which factor did you rank as the highest need? and why?”

Q1.2: Existing Organizations:What organizations (e.g., agencies, programs, collaborative groups, etc.) are already addressing protective factors in our community?Which of these organizations should be engaged in United Way Strengthening Families? What other organizations should be engaged? How do we get these organizations involved?

Q1.3: Role of Community Partners: What is the best role of community partners in United Way Strengthening Families? Who are the most critical partners and what are their roles?

Q1.4: Parent Leadership: How should parent leaders be involved in the work of United Way Strengthening Families? What programs in our community have strong parent leaders? How have families been involved in other projects or programs?

Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions

Q2.1 Barriers: What are the barriers or roadblocks to infusing protective factors into work with children and families in our community?(Alternative Phrasing: What aspects of the community will work against accomplishing the goals of this project?)At the end of these questions, it may be advantageous to prioritize the most serious barriers)

Q2.2: Solutions: then ask, “What are some solutions to these barriers?”What are the best strategies for getting organizations to embrace and use protective factors?How can the impact of community partners be maximized? (Alternative Phrasing: What aspects of the community will work in your favor to accomplish the goals of this project?)

Topic 3: Success of the United Way Strengthening Families Project

(Here, we are talking very specifically about your individual project, so the group will need to know what you have proposed—at a minimum, they should understand your project goals/objectives and your primary proposed activities).

Q3.1: Project Success (Process): What does the United Way Strengthening Families initiative need to do to be successful? (“to be successful in our community, the United Way Strengthening Families initiative should …”)

Q3.2: Project Success (Outcomes):What would the success with the United Way Strengthening Families initiative in our community look like? (“we will know the project is successful when …”)

Q3.3: Knowledge of Protective Factors:“Now, let’s look at the overview of protective factors and discuss how much people in our community already understand the importance of these factors for positive child development and family functioning. “In our community, what is the current level of knowledge about these protective factors and how they relate to positive child development?” (you may want to discuss parents, providers, and policy makers separately) How can we improve knowledge of protective factors in our community through marketing and other efforts?

(Optional exercise on rating the community’s level of knowledge of the protective factors, especially for those engaging in marketing/efforts to increase knowledge in the community)

Q3.4: Sustainability:What can be doneto make this initiative sustainable over time?

  1. Conclusion

United Way Strengthening Families Protective Factors

Focusing Exercise

I. Community Needs
Rank the 5 protective factors in terms of level of need in your community
from 1 (highest need) to 5 (lowest need).
(Rank)
1. Parental Resilience
2. Social Connections
3. Knowledge of parenting and child development
4. Concrete support in times of need
5. Social and emotional competence of children
  1. What were the primary themes that arose during the focus group?
  1. Please reflect on the quality of the process of conducting the focus group… (What were the primary challenges? Would you do something differently next time? What is your advice to others conducting similar focus groups?)
  1. Other Thoughts (e.g., In what ways do you think the focus group was most helpful in shaping the future direction of your project? Are there questions or issues you did not address at this focus group that you would like to address in the future? Other comments?)

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