The NCCID Outreach Planning Guide focuses on the challenges of planning and managing an outreach program that delivers programs and services to populations vulnerable to HIV and sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBI). The Guide is meant to be a tool to facilitate reflection and decision-making rather than being prescriptive. It does this by:
- Presenting a model to help clarify the decisions that need to be made in planning an outreach program, such as the purpose and role of outreach; and
- Translating the existing body of knowledge through a discussion of themes and promising practices and lessons learned relevant to the Canadian experience.
NCCID organized six one-day workshops across Canada to launch the NCCID Outreach Planning Guide and to obtain feedback from workshop participants regarding how the NCCID could further support organizations with their outreach activities.
Objectives
The objectives of these workshops were to:
- Introduce the Outreach Planning Model and Guide
- Work through tools to facilitate use of the model
- Provide a venue for the exchange of local and national expertise
- Identify gaps and needs that have not yet been addressed
Participants
Ninety four individuals, representing every province and territory, participated in the workshops. The participants included individuals involved in planning and managing outreach programs; managers in local/regional public health units as well as managers from community-based groups and frontline workers.
Content
All workshops were designed to follow the same agenda and format (agenda). This included short presentations highlighting each step of the Outreach Planning Guide and showcasing four separate tools to support implementation. After each presentation, participants were given the opportunity to apply the model by sharing real life experiences by working through table top exercises and guided questions. In the last session of the day, participants were asked to brainstorm and prioritize additional tools to support the implementation of the guide and outreach work in general.
Workshop Feedback
The response to the workshops was overwhelmingly positive: 94% of participants felt the workshop had met their needs (51% strongly agreed), 93% felt the workshop had increased their knowledge and understanding of outreach programming (40% strongly agreed) and 95 % felt there should be more training opportunities related to outreach programming.
Implementation Feedback
During the workshops, participants were asked to individually and collectively brainstorm a list of tools to support implementation of the Guide. They were also asked, at the end of the workshop, to identify those supports that would assist them with their outreach activities. The feedback received was analyzed and themed into the following six categories (listed in no particular order).
- Online Community of Practice/ Resource Centre
- Templates and Tools
- Research & Evaluation Resources
- Companion Documents/Enhancements to the Guide
- Networking Opportunities
- Professional Development/Training
Workshop Reports:
Halifax, September 30, 2010
(Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Labrador and Newfoundland)
Montreal, October 21, 2010
(Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba – French)
Saskatoon, November 2, 2010
(Manitoba and Saskatchewan)
Calgary, November 23, 2010
(Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut)
Edmonton, November 25, 2010
(British Columbia and Alberta)
Toronto, February 16, 2011
(Ontario)