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- Jewiss, J, et al.
(författare)
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A National Park and Associated “Think Tank” Critically Reflect on Their First Decade : Client and Evaluator Perspectives on Lessons Learned
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Weiss defines the unit of analysis as 'the entity about which data are collected, analyzed, and conclusions drawn.' In contrast to most evaluations that are conducted at the program level, this study examined the work of two affiliated organizations within the U.S. National Park Service (NPS): Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and the Conservation Study Institute co-located in Woodstock, Vermont. The evaluation elicited critical reflections from stakeholders on the successes and challenges of the Park's and Institute's major undertakings. Interviewees also considered strategic directions for the organizations' next decade given the NPS context and broader trends in conservation. The most valuable findings included insights about the evolving context in which these two entities operate and stakeholders' articulation of the role that future Park and Institute programming might play in advancing collaborative conservation. The session will feature client and evaluator perspectives on the organizational learning prompted by a study of this scope.
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- Jewiss, J, et al.
(författare)
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National Heritage Areas : Building a Cyclic Program Theory Model from Qualitative Data and Practitioner Knowledge
- 2008
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- National Heritage Areas (NHAs) represent a recent model for protected areas in the U.S. NHAs operate through partnerships with local communities, government agencies, and other organizations. Since 1984, 37 NHAs have been established by Congress, making this one of the fastest growing programs affiliated with the National Park Service and raising important national policy questions. Qualitative research conducted at three NHAs identified several common themes despite wide variations in their geographic, social, economic, and political contexts. This paper reflects on a project that engaged practitioners and other stakeholders in building a collective understanding of NHAs. The group developed a common program theory model, which represents the cyclic and long-term nature of heritage stewardship and is designed to serve as the foundation for an evaluation strategy applicable to all NHAs. The presentation will consider the approaches used, the challenges encountered, and the high stakes policy and management issues entailed.
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- Laven, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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From Partnerships to Networks : New Approaches for Measuring NHA Effectiveness
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- National heritage areas (NHAs) are a form of protected area management that rely exclusively on partnerships. NHA designations haveincreased rapidly in the last 20 years, generating a substantial need for information about how NHAs work and the outcomes asso-ciated with the NHA process. Several recent qualitative evaluation studies of NHAs have identified the importance of understanding network structure and function in the context of evaluating NHA management effectiveness or performance. This paper extendsprevious evaluation research on NHAs by applying NETDRAW (a popular visual approach to network analysis) as well as a statis-tically more robust approach known as exponential random graph modeling to data collected at three sites. Study findings provideinsight into the “health” of each of these networks in terms of balancing the degree of network openness versus the degree of network closure. More importantly, this study demonstrates the potential of using quantitative network analysis as an indicator of NHAeffectiveness.
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- McCown, R, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond Outreach : Promising Practices for Engaging Diverse Audiences at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- 2009
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A recent National Park Service (NPS) report identified the importance of effectively engaging communities of color in order for nation-al parks to remain relevant in an increasingly diverse American society (CSI 21st Century Rel. Report). This report laid the foun-dation for exploratory evaluation research to identify barriers and opportunities to increasing the visitation and participation of newand diverse audiences in national parks. Results from this phase of research have lead to the development of a theory of changemodel identifying key ingredients for successful engagement of diverse audiences. This study builds on the results from theexploratory phase and uses site level data from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to test and validate the model.Four programs designed to engage communities of color, particularly youth, were studied in order to better understand the connections between program inputs, processes, and outcomes and how they lead to program success.
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