Site visits as an evaluation tool measuring transfer and diffusion

Background: The Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership (“Institute”) is a capacity- building program for HIV prevention program managers working in minority-based community-based organizations (CBOs) across the U.S. The Institute is funded by CDC through a cooperative agreement with the Association of Schools of Public Health. Institute participants transfer knowledge and skills in HIV prevention and strategic planning and management to their work in their CBOs and diffuse them to CBO staff and peers in other organizations.

Methods: Institute staff conduct site visits at CBOs of program participants. Individual and group interviews are conducted at multiple levels with coworkers, supervisors, and community members and other stakeholders to assess both the transfer and diffusion of knowledge and skills acquired at the Institute. Interviews are audio-taped and transcribed verbatim for analysis using NVivo 7.0.

Results: Results indicate increased capacity at the individual (personal and professional), institutional, and community levels. At the individual level, participants reported becoming better leaders, managers, and evaluators who took on greater responsibilities, reached out to more target populations, and transferred knowledge and skills to their CBOs. At the institutional level, results showed expanded community collaboration, increased funding, new or enhanced intervention programs, improved organizational structure, growth in number of staff, and improved staff morale. At the community level, HIV prevention officials and collaborators outside the CBO reported benefiting from the Institute participants' diffusion of knowledge and skills learned.

Conclusions: Site visits were an effective tool for triangulating assessment of Institute impact at multiple levels across physical and social borders.