|
- Home
- LWVWA Strategic Plan Goal Research
Research Plan for Assessing LWVWA Effectiveness
(as outlined in our Strategic Plan)
View Visual Layout of Research Plan
Research Goal: To Assess the Effectiveness of LWVWA Work in:
- Increasing LWVWA Impact in public policies and civic involvement,
- Facilitating Local League Work, and
- Strengthening Organizational Capacity.
Research Data Required and Collection Techniques:
- Qualitative Data based on interviews (with Appreciative Inquiry* interview protocol) by trained interviewers, relying on recordings or notes. Interviews will be conducted with League members and with external stakeholders.
- Quantitative Data based on self-report and public/target survey or questionnaire, possibly using WSU Research data bases (voters, legislators, etc.). Data will be collected from both the full league membership and external stakeholders. The external focus will primarily be on individuals and groups that could help with League goals, especially those concerning Diversity, Engagement, and Inclusion (DEI). However, some data will be collected from the general voting public.
Data Analysis
Themes (+/- 6) from qualitative data (i.e., interviews) from league members will be identified by the Research Committee, working with WSU Research. These themes will form the basis of quantitative data collection (i.e., surveys) from the full League membership. Data analysis will be conducted primarily by WSU Research, in consultation with the Research Committee.
Quantitative and qualitative data on the impact/effectiveness of League activities will be collected from the public and analyzed by WSU Research, in consultation with the Committee.Research Conclusion
LWVWA should know 1) what contributes to the effectiveness of the organization in making a positive impact based on mission, 2) whether LWVWA is facilitating local League work and keeping relationships with and between local Leagues healthy and based on organization purpose, and 3) if the capacity-building efforts are providing an infrastructure that supports success.
Research Benefits
The outcome of this study will give:
- An honest appraisal of how members and external stakeholders feel the League is doing;
- Provide an opportunity for all members to give suggestions for improvement;
- Direct and or realign state resources toward activities that members feel are critical;
- Display accountability to members, donors and the public that the League believes in self-evaluation and readjustment;
- Increase the dialogue and strengthen the relationship between state/local leagues and membership;
- Suggest new connections with external partners and strengthen existing relationships to increase our impact;
- Identify new ways to engage younger citizens in civic engagement;
- Increase membership and participation, especially with diverse groups; and
- Identify new approaches to improve our effectiveness, internally and externally.
Project Implementation
The project will be conducted in six phases:
INTERNAL: Working with WSU
Phase I: Develop common terminology, protocols for interviews and interviewer capability.
Phase II: Collect and analyze qualitative data on League members’ perception of success for different portfolios and strategic goals.
Phase III: Develop protocols, collect and analyze quantitative data from League membership on how effectively state League is implementing its strategic plan.
EXTERNAL: Working with WSU
Phase IV: Develop and test protocols, train interviewers, collect both quantitative and qualitative data from external communities on the impact of the League’s activities.
Phase V: Conduct data analyses and provide recommendations to the Committee/Board.
Phase VI: Develop final report and recommendations for League membership.
Method for Acquiring Research Data
Qualitative Data Collection-Internal: (Phases I and II.). The data will be collected using trained interviewers from the League. The first set of interviews will be with League members to define what they consider to be the “best future” in different topical areas. (e.g., portfolios) as well as the “best future” of the League from the perspective of different age brackets. Additionally, interviewees will be asked about what it would take to get to that state and how they would determine if they have met that goal. All interviews are anonymous.
About a dozen interviewers will be trained in a two-hour period to conduct interviews based upon a set of questions that were aimed to determine what success would look like in each topic area and what is required to get to that point. The advantage of using volunteer members to interview is that it would increase their listening skills, engage them in the work of the League, reduce research cost, and potentially have a positive effect on League relationships. Their interviews will provide the themes to be used in analyzing the success of the strategic plan in terms of the three goals and provide guidance for future work. Optimally, interviews will include a notetaker and an interviewer.
The committee will decide what groups to interview, how interviewees will be selected and how many interviews to conduct in each category. Some interviewees may represent more than one category.
Suggested categories for the qualitative phase include members who are or have been involved in: Advocacy, Voter Service, Civic Education, Fundraising, Facilitating MELD discussions, DEI, Communications, Administration/Technology, Observer Corps and Program of Work. Members will also be selected to be interviewed at random. It is anticipated that half of the interviewees will be selected at random and half will be selected from specific categories.
Interviewees will also be sought that represent the following groups: local leagues of different sizes and geographic location, different ages, and holding present or past leadership positions within the league. One hundred members will be interviewed.
Quantitative Data Collection-Internal. (Phase III) Based upon the themes identified in the interviews, quantitative data will be collected from the full membership on the effectiveness of the League’s activities in meeting the goals of the strategic plan. Data will be collected on respondent’s involvement and general perception of the League, their opinion of League activities over time, the effectiveness of League activities in accomplishing its strategic goals, and the priority of specific activities in accomplishing these goals.
Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection-External. (Phase IV and V). The next phases will focus on external stakeholders’ perceptions of the League’s impact. The emphasis will be on survey data collection, although some focused interviews will also be conducted.
Data will be collected from external stakeholders and representatives of the voting public. Groups will include legislators and/or staff; representatives from state, local and tribal governments; educational groups; members of the media; coalitions and other groups that the League routinely works with; “like-minded” groups with whom the League shares common interests but has not worked with, and political candidates. Although both qualitative and quantitative data will be collected, no entity will be both surveyed and interviewed.
Quantitative data will also be collected from the voting public, both active and occasional voters. Potential respondents will be selected at random. Surveys will be sent to voters where there are active local leagues and to voters in the five most populous counties where there are no local leagues. These surveys will be sent either on-line or by mail.
The research design anticipates that these data could be used as a basis for future reviews of the effectiveness of the League’s activities.
Estimated Timeline
Internal Data Collection (Phases I, II, III):
May 2021 Confirm research design, train interviewers, complete interviews, compile notes, identify themes, check research direction, prepare for next phase.
June 2021. Report to Convention on project status.
November 2021. Develop protocol and issue survey to full membership.
December - March 2022. Analyze and integrate quantitative and qualitative data from league membership.
External Data Collection (Phases IV, V, VI):
November-January, 2021. Define external stakeholders, train interviewers, draft and test protocols for surveys and interviews of external stakeholders.
February- March, 2022. Conduct data collection from external stakeholders.
April-May, 2022. Conduct data analyses and draft report.
May-June, 2022. Report to Board.
June, 2022. Present findings at Council.
July-August, 2022. Finalize report and recommendations.
* Appreciative Inquiry discussed in more detail in attached appendix.
Appendix: What is “Appreciative Inquiry (AI)”?
Appreciative Inquiry methodology (https://www.davidcooperrider.com/ai-process/) is based on four points:
- AI focuses on leveraging an organization's core strengths, rather than seeking to overcome or minimize its weaknesses.
- Organizations move in the direction of what they study.
- AI makes a conscious choice to study the best of an organization, its positive core.
- AI is not a “top down” or “bottom up” change process, but rather a “whole system” approach.
The Positive Core of an organization is the “center” of the inquiry, and threads through the four steps of inquiry
- Discovery: participants explore “the best of what is,” identifying the organization’s strengths, best practices, and sources of excellence, vitality, and peak performance.
- Dream: participants envision a future they really want – a future where the organization is fully engaged and successful around its core purpose and strategic objectives.
- Design: participants leverage the best of what is and their visions for the future to design high-impact strategies that move the organization creatively and decisively in the right direction.
- Destiny (sometimes also called Deploy): participants put the strategies into action, revising as necessary.
The research committee will identify and confirm clarity around the target topics and can use the following questions in the interviews.
- What brought you to the League?
- What was the high point of the past?
- What do you value?
- What is changing?
- What’s the best future you can imagine?
- What will it take to get there?
- How will I know if we’re there? (Are we there?)
(10/18/2021)