Criteria for Selecting Strategies: Tool for Policymakers
Result Area:
A result is a broad outcome you want to achieve, such as family economic success or children healthy and prepared to succeed in life.
Policy Goal:
Within a result area, a policy goal defines the direction you want to move a results indicator, e.g., increase employment rates, reduce the rate of births to teens, reduce child abuse and neglect rates.
Strategy
:
A strategy is a set of actions that has a reasoned likelihood of advancing a policy goal. An effective strategy contributes to achievement of one or more policy goals and one or more desired result for your state’s children and families. Strategies that impact population-level results involve a range of actions and partners.
Selecting Strategies:
Our goal is to identify 4 or 5 strategies that are likely to improve each result indicator. This tool is intended to help analyze potential strategy and select those most likely to contribute to desired results for children and families.
The key questions for selecting strategies are:
-
What do research and experience tell you will likely improve results?
-
How powerful is the strategy’s impact likely to be?
-
Is the strategy practical?
-
Is the strategy affordable?
-
Is the strategy politically feasible?
-
Is the strategy likely to contribute to equitable outcomes for children of color?
More detailed questions below encourage in-depth consideration of potential strategies. Scoring will help compare and select potential strategies. The questions also will help identify areas of particular concern or where information is not known or available.
A. What do research and experience tell you will likely improve results?
____ 1. Does scientifically rigorous research (such as control group studies) indicate that the strategy contributes to desired results? 3 points
____ 2. Does research such as state studies, policy analysis, or program evaluations indicate that the strategy is likely to contribute to desired results? 2 points
____ 3. Do experience and lessons learned from frontline practice, experience, and experts in the field indicate that the strategy is likely to contribute to desired results? 1 point
____ 4. Scope of research: Does the research and/or evidence from the field draw from multiple studies, experiences and jurisdictions? 3 points
____ 5. Timeliness: Is the research and/or field experience current:
Within 5 years? 3 points
Within 10 years? 2 points
Within 15 years? 1 point
____ 6. Are research findings and/or field experiences relevant or transferable to any state or jurisdiction? 3 points
____ Total Points for A
B. How powerful is the strategy’s impact likely to be?
____ 1. Will this strategy impact the targeted indicator that is being used to measure results for children and families? 5 points
____ 2. Is the strategy likely to impact more than one indicator within a result area (e.g., Building Strong and Stable Families)? 3 points
____ 3. Is the strategy likely to impact more than one result (e.g., Building Strong and Stable Families and Improving Family Economic Success)? 3 points
____ 4. Are one or more groups of children and families most likely to benefit? If so, are there valid reasons for targeting this group or groups? 3 points
____ 5. Does the strategy improve results for one group while failing to improve results for others? -3 points (subtract 3 points)
____ 6. Will the impact be measurable:
Within 3 years? 3 points
Within 5 years? 2 point,
Within 10 years? 1 point
____ Total Points for B
C. Is this strategy practical?
____ 1. Is there an example of a state or local jurisdiction that has used this strategy? 3 points
____ 2. Are partners
involved in achieving the desired outcomes?
(If 4-6 partners, 3 points.
If 2-3 partners, 2 points.
If 1 partner, 1 point)
Partners may include:
·
Multiple branches of government (executive, judicial, and/or legislative)
·
Multiple state agencies
·
Multiple service systems
·
Private sector
·
Community-level organizations, leaders, and/or representatives
·
Children, youth, and/or families
____
Total Points for C
D. Is this strategy affordable?
____ 1. Is it possible to estimate the immediate costs of this strategy? 3 points
____ 2. Is it possible to estimate the long term costs of this strategy? 3 points
____ 3. Is the strategy low-cost or no-cost? 3 points
____ 4. Can existing resources be used, redeployed, and/or reinvested to pay for this strategy?
3 points
____ 5. Will the strategy contain costs, avoid costs or achieve other financial benefits: (Choose
one or more).
Within a year? 3 points
Within 3 years? 3 points
Within 5 years? 2 points
Within 10 years or more? 1 point
____ Total Points for D
E. Is the strategy politically feasible?
____ 1. Is the strategy likely to have broad-based political support? 3 points
____ 2. Does the strategy have or is it likely to generate the support of the public and key
constituencies? 3 points
____
Total Points for E
F. Is the strategy likely to contribute to equitable outcomes for children of color?
____ 1. Does the research and/or field experience examine outcomes for children of diverse
racial and cultural groups? 3 points
____ 2. Is measurable benefit likely for children and/or families of color? 3 points
____
Total Points for F
List 4 to 5 strategies selected for the targeted indicator:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Among the strategies:
1. Is at least one a low-cost or no-cost strategy?
2. Is at least one strategy likely to contribute to measurably better results within 3 years? (Is at least one strategy likely to move the indicator in a positive direction within 3 years?)