Field Interview with a Program Planner Jonathan West Blog: www.bluesky55.wordpress.

com Virginia Commonwealth University ADLT 602 Summer 2009 Dr. Beth Torres

Background 1. What led you into program planning as part of your job or as a career choice? Ellie majored in womens studies as an undergraduate and she found that while she could intellectualize problems, but did not have client experience. So, she went back to school and got a graduate degree in social work. Afterwards she began to work with clients directly and found that because of her sensitivity, she would take the problems home. Her interest was social justice and so she decided to switch into program planning and policy. She felt through this she could still work on social justice issues but more from a macro level. She said it is a wonderful fit. She helps people that help people. 2. What types of programs do you plan? The programs are for professional development for people in the nonprofit field. Ellie said that often people in the nonprofit world had passion, but not necessarily the tools to do their work. Her organization offers a variety of workshops and trainings for people working in nonprofits from two day workshops to a leadership development program. Strategies 3. What model do you use? What factors do you consider when planning a program? Ellie said she does not use a particular model for program planning. However, she said that when planning programs, they consider what people want and have

Pg 2

major participation from their sponsoring organizations. She said they do extensive evaluation through surveys, of every course to determine what worked well, what could be improved and to tap into ideas for future programs. They also conduct surveys for how the office runs and survey the community once a year or so to get feedback and ideas for future programs. They check to see how relevant their courses and trainings are by asking how they have used what they learned in the courses in their jobs and also what the participants would like to see in the future. They are also in a partnership with three other nonprofit organizations in the area and share data and ideas about the direction of their program planning. 4. How does the structure of the organization influence your program planning? Ellie said that the structure of the organization has a big influence on their program planning. The organization is house at VCU, and is supported by outside sources corporate sponsors as well as United Way and the Community Foundation. They follow VCU policies and procedures and also have the resources of the VCU HR and technology departments. When planning programs the organization considers the interests of all their stakeholders. Ellies organization wants to be responsive to what the community wants and needs, however, they must also work with the structure they have. As an example of how their structure influences their program planning, Ellie said that the community may want a class in Quickbooks but because they have no access to a computer lab, they may not be able to offer such a class. 5. How do you generate support for your program(s)? Initially, Ellie said her organization has not had to do much to generate support for their programs. She said that a lot of support comes from the participants and the organizations served who share their experiences by word of mouth. The programs/classes have developed a reputation for being useful and relevant and are generally very well received.

Pg 3

Another way that support is generated is through the active support of the steering committee (board of advisors). The major corporate sponsors also take an active role in the steering committee as well as sit on sub-committees. 6. What strategies do you employ to increase learning transfer of knowledge before, during, and after the program? One of the major strategies the organization uses is that each class is taught by an expert in the field. All of the instructors are working in the nonprofit arena and are an expert in their focus area. When designing the classes there is significant consideration that the outcomes for the participants are relevant and useful for participants to take back to their work environments and be able to apply. They do not have any specific strategies for the participants after their classes to increase learning transfer. However, Ellie noted that often networking takes place between the participants and they often keep in touch. She said that often informal support groups form this way. 7. What tools do you use to measure the effectiveness of the program? Surveys are the primary means that are used to measure the effectiveness of programs. The surveys are primarily given at the end of each class and also at some other occasions by mail once or twice a year. They ask what in the classes were effective, what could be improved or changed and also if there are any other topics or subjects that would be of interest for the future. 8. What strategies do you employ when you are not the content expert and are planning a program? They have experts or get them to help plan and develop their curriculum. Their curriculum development committee consists of one person from the steering committee and five experts in the field.

Pg 4

Experience 9. Give an example of program failure and success that you have experienced personally as a program planner? What did you do? Regarding success, Ellie said she felt that she sees examples of success everyday. One success she participated in was to change the name of the organization. She was also part of reorganizing the grading system which was a big success. As far as failures, Ellie said that sometimes they have offered classes when they thought there was a need, but there was not enough interest. An example was an intro to computers class for which there was very little response. Although she felt there may be a general need for this, this need is probably met elsewhere and it is better them to focus on services more specifically related to nonprofits. 10. What do you find the most challenging and/or most time consuming part of program planning? The most challenging as well as most rewarding is orchestrating the many components of programs. She has many different stakeholders to answer to: students, sponsors, committee members, as well as VCU.

11. How do you accommodate for people with disabilities, special needs, and diversity when you plan a program? Ellies first response was, that is a very good question! She said that the organization pays close attention to diversity. It is very important for them. Their clients are from all different racial, social, and economic backgrounds. They talk with their instructors regarding the importance of diversity awareness and insure that presentations use images to reflect diverse groups. Also, they pay attention to any physical disabilities clients may have and ensure all of their classes are held in wheelchair accessible venues. The instructors are encouraged to use different styles of learning such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic. In this way, learning differences are addressed. Also, if there are other special needs of clients/participants, they will work with them.

Pg 5

They dont just acknowledge diversity. They use it as a tool to get rich and deep conversations that are meaningful and relevant. The instructors often use the personal experiences of the students to inform other participants.

12. If you could share with me one lesson learned (golden nugget/pearl) about program planning, what would it be? Its important to have someone with similar values to ask questions and get feedback, to bounce ideas off to help get a broader perspective.

Reflection on an interview with a program planner Briefly describe the person you interviewed (you may use a pseudonym, if you wish) and the context of the interview, including the type of program planning this person does. Ellie (pseudonym) is a program planner for a Richmond area nonprofit initiative. She is approximately 35 years old and has been working in her present capacity for 8 years. She is passionate about helping diverse groups of people and seems to love her job as a program planner. The interview was arranged through a classmate of and adult learning class I took in the spring. I had never met her before and only seen her name on a website. For the interview we met in her office which she shared with co-worker who was present during the interview. It seemed like Ellie was busy and that while she was quite willing to spend time with me and answered thoroughly each question, it was also clear she had work to do and did not give too much extra information. Ellies organization conducts education and training for workers and volunteers of Richmond area nonprofits. She helps people that help people.

What surprised you during the interview? I was surprised how willing she was to take the time respond to my questions and how patient she was to allow me to make notes when it seemed like she had other work to do.

Pg 6

Did the interviewees approach to planning differ from models discussed in class? It seemed to contain many of the key elements of the Caffarella model, but not all of them were so explicit. It seemed like most of the planning was done by what Ellie learned by experience. She did say she studied what is called Social Welfare Administration Program, Planning, and Policy (SWAPPP). So, it seemed she had a clear understanding of almost all of the elements of program planning. What is the most important thing you learned during the interview? What struck me most was the strong support network that Ellie had through the steering committee, working committees, corporate sponsors, VCU sponsor and partnership organizations. How does designing a program for this adult population vary from what we have studied? I dont see that the programs Ellies organization sponsors vary too much from what we have studied. Rather, her clientele is a wide cross-section of people who serve in nonprofit organizations. Ellies organization seems to consider and make adaptations for all types of learners because their client base is extremely diverse with people from different backgrounds socially, culturally, and economically. They are very conscious about accommodation for needs of participants with learning or physical disabilities.