Project Overview
The PACE Program is currently seeking agencies to partner with MSW students enrolled in the Research Dissemination course. The Research Dissemination course provides organizations with an opportunity to launch a public awareness campaign using published research, public information, and evidence provided by the organization (client stories, data, annual report information) to increase awareness and create change around a social issue important to the partnering agency.
Over the course of one academic quarter, and under the guidance of GSSW faculty, students will create a packet of public awareness campaign products that support the advocacy efforts of the agency. Deliverables will include a Policy Impact Plan and two products for public dissemination (e.g., social media posts, infographics, testimony, letter to editor, presentation, etc.).
While preference will be given to agencies with limited funding and/or capacity to manage outreach and dissemination efforts, neither are requirements for selection. Agencies will be expected to provide a liaison to support the students, join an orientation via conference call and respond to student questions and requests for information.
Agencies will be selected by March 1, with deliverables provided in June 2021. All application materials and questions should be directed to Trish Becker, Director of Community Engagement.
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Eligibility
- Colorado-based 501(c)3 organization
- Ability to dedicate one staff member to support project coordination at an average of two hours per week for March - June 2021.
- Agency mission in alignment with values of the Graduate School of Social Work
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Timeline
- Project proposals are due by February 15, 2021
- Selected agencies will be notified by March 1, 2021
- Students will begin work on applied project in late March, providing a deliverable in early June 2021
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Agency requirements
The pilot program prioritizes student learning and requires active engagement on the part of selected agencies. Agencies must commit to the following:
- Participation in a conference call to learn about course objectives, timelines, and agency requirements
- Supporting student learning and advancing the objectives of MSW coursework
- Providing constructive feedback throughout the pilot project, in order to assess feasibility and desirability of the program as an ongoing element of MSW curriculum
- Identifying a staff member who will serve as the program liaison for March – June 2021 and gather information including client stories, evidence collected by agency, financial information, etc
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Research Dissemination Course Learning Objectives
- Partner with community agency to identify change goal (education, awareness, policy shift, reduce stigma)
- Identify audience with power to affect change in that area/target audience- – external audiences, board of directors, policy makers, public
- Identify a public impact tool or mechanism for reaching that audience (op-ed, infographic, presentation to board of directors, advertise new program, public awareness campaign, testimony)
- Identify main points and craft a message that translates your evidence for impact (deep engagement, relationship building, understanding audience motivation, finding common ground, quant/qual evidence)
- Discuss the ethical tensions and social justice values inherent in doing public impact work (marketing, selling, incomplete/selective storytelling, sharing voice and story without exploiting them, when numbers don’t represent full people behind the experience)
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Deliverables
- Policy Impact Plan: This template walks students through the steps necessary to translate evidence for impact, including setting an impact goal, identifying an audience and desired action, stating key messages, and choosing mechanisms to reach audience.
- Products for public dissemination: Student groups will create two products publicly translating the evidence they have gathered. This assignment asks students to practice translation into various formats chosen by the student teams based on the audiences they aim to reach. Student groups will choose one simpler product (e.g., social media posts, infographic) and one more involved product (e.g., testimony, letter to editor, presentation) which they should link together if possible.
