Recommendations from the Healthy Kids in Healthy Places Community Action Forum

These recommendations are intended to be used by the planning committee based on the findings of the outcome evaluation of participants from the Healthy Kids in Healthy Places Community Action Forum.

Funding

Need: Participants indicated that they envision a major continuing need to be funding. Based on responses, they not only need to know about sources of funding for grants, but skills on grant writing.
Recommendation: My recommendation is to provide a one-day grant writing seminar focused specifically for non-profit institutions that are targeting childhood obesity. Another recommendation for next year's Forum is to either organize a plenary session about grant writing or include it as a "breakout session" as part of The Forum. It would be helpful for someone who is experienced in grant writing for small organizations to present to the group, and if possible, invite a representative from a funding institution to answer questions and give tips to potential grantees.

Need: Respondents would also like the information on how to access other programs that have proven to be successful in schools to promote a healthy nutrition
Recommendation: One way to make this information available is to provide it on Allina's website, and/or provide links to relevant information. One respondent mentioned that they were expecting information from The Forum to be on Allina's website, so participants are already knowledgeable that that is one place to potentially access information.

Need: More educational opportunities for fellow co-workers of respondents would also be valued, so their co-workers could be more involved as well.
Recommendation: My recommendation is instead of providing separate educational opportunities for participants' co-workers, inform participants on how to relay the information to their co-workers, as well as other community partners. This will save time, money, and energy, and empower the participants. One idea is to make this an action plan for participants, for the next Forum.

Need: The need for knowledge about evaluation methods was also mentioned.
Recommendation: Evaluation of a program is essential, but can be expensive, and time-consuming. One idea for the next Forum is to provide a session or a separate one-day seminar on evaluation to give participants an overview of the types of evaluation and their uses & importance. They should also be notified about alternate sources of evaluation.
- For example, graduate students are often willing to complete evaluations as part of a "master's project" or graduate thesis. Universities in the area should be identified as well as sources.
- For example, a one-semester evaluation class may be willing to complete an evaluation for a community program as part of a semester-long class project. The need for evaluation for potential grant seekers is imperative to prove the success of a program to seek additional funding or funding for a separate program.