Evaluating The Introduction Of Asset Development In A Rural Community

Evaluating the introduction of asset development in a rural community

Asset development is an approach towards positive youth development. It considers all spheres of the community playing a role in building relationships with youth and fostering development of their assets. Research on Developmental Assets supports their powerful role in strengthening the capacity of youth to grow into healthy individuals and contributing members of the community. This evaluation was initiated by Provincial Partners including the RCMP, the Northern Alberta Development Council and Alberta Health Services. Two years earlier, the Provincial Partners initiated training in rural communities of Alberta on positive youth development and asset building. This was a social development/preventive strategy to empower local people in rural communities to take on the leadership role in positive youth development. The People Of Whitecourt Encouraging Resiliency (POWER) Group, the local leader of asset development in Whitecourt, agreed to participate in an evaluation of the introduction of asset development in their community. This evaluation was commissioned to determine the effects of the initial training, evaluate their asset development outcomes, and produce an evaluation model for others to adopt and adapt.

Evaluating the Introduction of Asset Development in a Rural Community

Evaluation in Rural Communities

Does a program work? What is the value? How do we know? These are questions that keep evaluators up at night. Continued rural community funding, employment, health, and justice depend on our answers to these questions. For evaluators working in rural communities, the task is great, but the return is even greater. Now more than ever before, evaluators have an opportunity to impact social change in rural America. Beginning with an introduction of rural community evaluation, Evaluation in Rural Communities highlights the differences in approaches to evaluation in rural areas, supported by case studies that illustrate key themes and objectives. It explores a number of issues, including • sustainability • policy • cost–benefit analysis • rural community evaluation as a platform to support social change. In particular, readers will also learn how to overcome rural community challenges, such as limited resources, the digital divide, limited funding, lower employment and educational attainment, limited opportunities for social interactions, and the distrust of outsiders. Blending aspects of community-based participatory research, empowerment evaluation, and program evaluation methods, this book is an accessible yet nuanced guide that integrates critical thinking, problem solving, social and political contexts, and outcomes related to evidence-based evaluation.