Allow me to introduce myself; I am HarrietAnn Litwin, a Management Analyst from Delaware DVR.  I was approached (nay, recruited) by a group of the Summit Navigators to write a semi-regular blog for the Summit Group web site.  In looking for a title, I have decided upon “View from the Summit” which is only slightly ironic as I live in a state where the highest point is just a bit over 400 feet above sea level!

I am not a program evaluation guru.  I arrived at VR with a Masters in Rehab Counseling and a CRC.  Since starting as a Rehab Counselor for the Deaf in 1988, I have performed (and still perform) a large number of roles as is particularly common in small agencies.  In the past few years, my roles have moved increasingly in the direction of program evaluation and quality assurance.  As is the case of many of you who started down the counselor path and moved into the “central office” path, I am finding it necessary to learn while doing.

By attending the VR PEQA Summits, participating in Summit Reading Groups, and connecting with the Rehabilitation Program Evaluation Network (RPEN, a division of the National Rehab Association), I have found that I am not alone out here.

So, I invite you to join me on this trek.  The goal of View from the Summit is to spark discussions and conversations that lead to learning for all of us. This will only work if you, the members, become engaged.  I will come up with some of the topics. I encourage you to use the comment section not only to comment on what I have written, but also to suggest areas that we can explore together.

Other people are out there blogging about program evaluation.  I read the monthly article by Bob Behn, of Harvard, in his Performance Leadership Report.  In his November article, Bob wrote about a subject that is near and dear to many of us, “so I got the data; now what?”  Behn discusses the progression from measurement to management to leadership.  We collect vast amounts of data such as 911, Monitoring Reviews, customer service surveys, quality assurance reviews, statewide needs assessments, etc.  It all tells us something, but the trick is to move through the information and select those pieces that are most important in making quality improvement and that are within our agency’s sphere of control.

Then, decisions need to be made on how to implement necessary change.  Is it a time issue, a resource allocation issue, a training issue, or something else?  Leadership discussion and buy-in, followed by leadership out in front in making the change is important, but ultimately, it is the buy-in of everyone implementing the improvement that is crucial.

Keep an eye on data.  If it is not moving in the desired direction, many things could be happening.  Perhaps more time is needed to see the change occur.  Perhaps a variable has been missed or the root cause was misjudged.  Perhaps, the change, or the rationale behind the change, needs to be revised or re-explained.  The role of the program evaluator is to be a leader to leadership in continuous quality improvement.

Here is a link to Bob Behn’s article:

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/thebehnreport/All%20Issues/BehnReportNovember2013.pdf

The next move is yours! Please share a situation where you have faced the data “head-on” and worked with leadership and your entire VR agency to identify issues, create strategies, and implement successful (or problematic) change.