Public Policy Center Research Specialist and manager of the Gambler's Assistance Program Evaluation project,
Dr. Juan Paulo Ramirez, was called upon by a reporter for the Santiago Times as a source of information on gambling and the consequences of a gambling addiction. The Santiago Times has been Chile's most important English language newspaper for the past 20 years. To read the full article view our In The News page or CLICK HERE.
News and Events
United Way Fund Allocation Facilitation and Evaluation
During 2003, the United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County and the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center surveyed agencies and volunteers about the fund distribution process. The goals of the examination were to:
1. Identify the perception of agencies and volunteers about the overall fund distribution process; and,
2. Compare a new process piloted in the Food and Family Violence areas to the traditional fund distribution process.
Specifically, the United Way was interested in better understanding a number of aspects about fund distribution volunteers and agency representatives, including:
* Their knowledge of community needs and services
* The clarity of their role and others’ roles
* Their and others’ influence in the process
* The fairness of the process
* The efficiency of the process
* Relationship-building during the process
Methods
The Public Policy Center created, disseminated and evaluated the process by administering two rounds of questionnaires. The pre-surveywas distributed to 195 individuals at United Way fund distribution meetings in January and February 2003. The presurvey was designed to gauge initial, pre-process perceptions of the fund distribution process. One-hundred thirty-five valid pre-surveys were returned. The post-survey was mailed to those 135 individuals in May 2003. The post-survey shared twelve of the same questions as the pre-survey, in order to provide the researchers with data about the effect of the facilitation process on participants, but also included six additional questions. Ultimately, 105 participants returned both valid pre- and postsurveys. A number of basic and advanced statistical tests were performed upon the quantitative data, including basic correlations and multivariate analyses (MANOVA, MANCOVA).
Results
These tests demonstrated with a high degree of confidence that there were overall differences between volunteers and agency representatives, and between facilitated and non-facilitated participants. The Public Policy Center also recorded and examined the qualitative data from the post-survey, but no complex evaluative tests were performed.The specific results of the evaluation were shared with the United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County.
Key Partners
Domestic violence agencies, Lincoln/Lancaster County; Food distribution agencies, Lincoln/
Funding
United Way of Lincoln/Lancaster County
