Evaluation of the Growing Up Healthy: Kids and Communities
Initiative
Client:
Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation
2007–present
Contact: Barry Cohen
This initiative grows out of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation’s focus on the social, economic and environmental determinants of health and is a multi-year (for ten years, beginning August, 2006), multi-site effort with an overall goal to strengthen the capacity of communities to work across sectors to create an environment that nurtures the healthy growth and development of children. The Foundation is supporting culturally grounded, broad-based community partnerships that bring together the health, early childhood, affordable housing and/or the environmental communities around a common vision and action plan for their community’s children.
Rainbow Research and its partner—Group Health Community Foundation in Seattle—are working closely with Foundation staff to develop and conduct a high level evaluation of the Initiative, beginning with the development of a comprehensive logic model that will guide evaluation activities and program development. A key component of Rainbow’s work will be to provide technical assistance and capacity building services to Initiative grantees, particularly assistance to each cohort of grantees in developing a common outcome evaluation plan with appropriate tools and methods.