Harvard Case - New York City's Teen ACTION Program: an Evaluation Gone Awry
"New York City's Teen ACTION Program: an Evaluation Gone Awry" Harvard business case study is written by Anjani Datla, Dan Levy. It deals with the challenges in the field of Business & Government Relations. The case study is 5 page(s) long and it was first published on : Aug 26, 2014
At Fern Fort University, we recommend a comprehensive overhaul of the Teen ACTION program, focusing on a multi-pronged approach that prioritizes data-driven decision making, stakeholder engagement, and program effectiveness. This involves a thorough review of the program's objectives, implementation strategies, and evaluation methods, incorporating best practices in public-private partnerships, government contracts, and program evaluation. We propose a collaborative effort between the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) and external stakeholders, including community organizations, academic institutions, and private sector partners, to ensure the program's success and its ability to effectively address the needs of NYC's youth.
2. Background
The Teen ACTION program, launched in 2002, aimed to reduce youth violence and improve educational outcomes for at-risk teenagers in New York City. The program, funded by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), involved partnerships with various community organizations and employed a combination of mentoring, job training, and educational support services. However, the program's evaluation, conducted by an independent research firm, revealed significant shortcomings, including a lack of clear program objectives, inconsistent implementation across participating organizations, and inadequate data collection and analysis. This led to concerns regarding the program's effectiveness and its ability to achieve its intended goals.
The case study focuses on the challenges faced by the DYCD in addressing the program's shortcomings and the need for a more robust evaluation framework. The main protagonists are the DYCD officials responsible for overseeing the program and the independent research firm tasked with evaluating its effectiveness.
3. Analysis of the Case Study
The case study highlights several key issues:
- Lack of Clear Program Objectives: The program lacked a clear and measurable set of objectives, making it difficult to assess its effectiveness. This ambiguity hindered the development of a comprehensive evaluation framework and led to inconsistent implementation across participating organizations.
- Inadequate Data Collection and Analysis: The program's evaluation relied on limited data, collected through self-reported surveys and anecdotal evidence. This approach failed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the program's impact on youth outcomes and its effectiveness in achieving its goals.
- Limited Stakeholder Engagement: The evaluation process lacked meaningful engagement with key stakeholders, including participating organizations, youth beneficiaries, and community leaders. This limited the ability to gather diverse perspectives and ensure the evaluation's relevance and credibility.
- Insufficient Program Management: The program lacked a robust management structure, leading to inconsistencies in implementation and a lack of accountability among participating organizations. This contributed to the program's overall ineffectiveness.
Framework for Analysis: This case study can be analyzed through the lens of public policy analysis, specifically focusing on the effectiveness of government-funded programs, stakeholder management in public-private contexts, and the use of data-driven decision making in program evaluation.
4. Recommendations
To address the challenges identified in the case study, we recommend the following:
1. Redefine Program Objectives and Develop a Comprehensive Evaluation Framework:
- Establish clear and measurable objectives: The program should clearly define its goals, including specific targets for reducing youth violence, improving educational outcomes, and promoting positive youth development.
- Develop a robust evaluation framework: The evaluation framework should be based on a rigorous methodology, incorporating quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. This framework should include pre- and post-program assessments, tracking participant progress, and measuring program impact on key outcomes.
2. Enhance Data Collection and Analysis:
- Implement a standardized data collection system: The program should utilize a standardized data collection system across all participating organizations, ensuring consistency and comparability of data.
- Employ data analytics techniques: The program should leverage data analytics techniques to identify trends, patterns, and program effectiveness. This will enable the program to make data-driven decisions and improve its overall impact.
3. Foster Stakeholder Engagement:
- Establish a stakeholder advisory board: The program should establish a stakeholder advisory board, including representatives from participating organizations, youth beneficiaries, community leaders, and academic institutions. This board will provide valuable input on program development, implementation, and evaluation.
- Conduct regular stakeholder meetings: The program should hold regular meetings with stakeholders to gather feedback, address concerns, and ensure alignment on program goals and objectives.
4. Strengthen Program Management:
- Develop a comprehensive program management plan: The program should develop a comprehensive management plan outlining roles and responsibilities, reporting mechanisms, and performance monitoring procedures.
- Implement a quality assurance system: The program should implement a quality assurance system to ensure consistency in program implementation and adherence to program standards.
5. Leverage Public-Private Partnerships:
- Explore partnerships with private sector organizations: The program should explore partnerships with private sector organizations, including corporations, foundations, and non-profit organizations. These partnerships can provide valuable resources, expertise, and funding for program development and implementation.
- Develop a clear framework for collaboration: The program should develop a clear framework for collaboration with private sector partners, outlining roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations.
5. Basis of Recommendations
These recommendations are based on the following considerations:
- Core competencies and consistency with mission: The recommendations align with the DYCD's mission to promote positive youth development and address the needs of at-risk youth.
- External customers and internal clients: The recommendations consider the needs of external stakeholders, including youth beneficiaries, community organizations, and private sector partners, as well as internal stakeholders, such as DYCD staff and program managers.
- Competitors: The recommendations consider best practices in youth development programs and program evaluation, drawing on lessons learned from successful initiatives across the country.
- Attractiveness ' quantitative measures if applicable: The recommendations emphasize the use of data-driven decision making, which will enable the program to measure its impact and demonstrate its effectiveness.
- Assumptions: The recommendations assume that the DYCD is committed to improving the Teen ACTION program and is willing to invest in the necessary resources and expertise to implement the proposed changes.
6. Conclusion
By implementing these recommendations, the Teen ACTION program can become a more effective and impactful initiative, better serving the needs of New York City's youth. The program's success will depend on a commitment to data-driven decision making, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement.
7. Discussion
Other alternatives not selected include:
- Discontinuation of the program: This option would be a drastic measure and would fail to address the needs of at-risk youth in NYC.
- Minimal changes to the program: This option would likely result in continued ineffectiveness and a waste of resources.
The key risks associated with the recommended approach include:
- Resistance to change from participating organizations: Some organizations may be resistant to adopting new program standards or implementing a more rigorous evaluation framework.
- Insufficient funding: The program may face challenges in securing the necessary funding to implement the proposed changes.
- Lack of political will: The DYCD may not have the political will to implement the necessary reforms.
8. Next Steps
The following steps should be taken to implement the recommendations:
- Form a task force: The DYCD should form a task force composed of representatives from the DYCD, participating organizations, academic institutions, and private sector partners to oversee the program's overhaul.
- Conduct a comprehensive review: The task force should conduct a comprehensive review of the program, including its objectives, implementation strategies, and evaluation methods.
- Develop a revised program plan: The task force should develop a revised program plan incorporating the recommendations outlined in this case study.
- Pilot test the revised program: The revised program should be piloted in a small number of participating organizations before being rolled out to all participating organizations.
- Monitor and evaluate program effectiveness: The program's effectiveness should be continuously monitored and evaluated, using the robust evaluation framework developed as part of the program overhaul.
This comprehensive approach will ensure that the Teen ACTION program becomes a valuable resource for NYC's youth and a model for effective public-private partnerships in the field of youth development.
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Case Description
This video-based case explores how an impact evaluation for a promising after-school program in New York City went awry. In 2006, New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg created the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO). Designed as an innovation fund, CEO tested anti-poverty programs by applying an evidence-based approach. One of CEO's programs, Teen ACTION, was developed to provide after-school service-learning opportunities to at-risk youth. Teen ACTION's model was based on a rigorously evaluated program which had proven to significantly reduce rates of teen pregnancy and course failure among participants when compared to a control group. But when it came time to evaluate Teen ACTION's impacts, CEO ran into significant hurdles. With rare candor, CEO officials, Kristin Morse and Carson Hicks discuss on video how flaws in the program's evaluation strategy, coupled with random unforeseen events like the Swine Flu, rendered the evaluation results unusable. HKS Case Number 2027.0.
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