Using Innovative Methods and Partnerships

to Enhance Programs Through Evaluation

Melinda Forthofer, Ph.D.
Keynote Speaker and Workshop Presenter

 

SEA is thrilled to welcome Dr. Melinda Forthofer to be the workshop speaker and keynote speaker for SEA’s 2010 annual conference being held at the Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Florida. 

The Ties That Bind:  Incorporating Social Network Approaches in Evaluation Design

Pre-Workshop, Monday, February 22, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

As evidence builds that social ties may serve as a vehicle for the “spread” of behaviors and outcomes, understanding methods for studying social networks has emerged as an important competency for program evaluators.  This workshop will provide an overview of conceptual approaches to studying social networks, and provide specific examples of how social network methodologies can be incorporated into evaluation design for program impact.

Pre-Workshop Objectives:

Participants will be able to describe the conceptual underpinnings of social network theory.

Participants will be able to compare and contrast the relative merits of methodological approaches to studying social networks.

Participants will be able to plan strategies for incorporating social network approaches into their evaluation designs.

Translating Evaluation Results in Effective Policies and Programs:

The Value of Partnerships and Systems Approaches

Keynote Address, Monday, February 22, 12:45 - 1:30 p.m.

The grand scope of major issues challenging modern societies (e.g, poverty, energy shortages, threat of pandemics and chronic disease epidemics) is such that solutions are likely to come only from those who are able to mobilize knowledge and expertise from a diverse array of disciplines and perspectives and to facilitate translation of that knowledge and expertise into effective programs and policies.  Utilizing partnerships to make strategic use of evaluation results is central to such efforts.  Nonetheless, mounting evidence suggests that effective translation extends beyond relationship focused approaches to considering best practices and processes on multiple levels.  This presentation explores the challenges posed by chronic diseases in the United States to illustrate the interdependencies between partnerships, transdisciplinary approaches, and systems science in contemporary knowledge production and translation of such knowledge into practice.

Biography

Dr. Forthofer is the Director of the Institute for Families in Society at the University of South Carolina-Columbia. She received her PhD in Health Behavior/Health Education and Sociology from the University of Michigan (UM).  While at the University of Michigan, Dr. Forthofer was on the staff of the NIMH-funded National Co-Morbidity Study at UM’s Institute for Social Research. 

From 1996-2006, Dr. Forthofer was Associate Professor in the Department of Community and Family Health at the University of South Florida College of Public Health. Dr. Forthofer was a Co-Founder of the CDC-funded Florida Prevention Research Center which developed and tested a prevention intervention and evaluation framework. She served as Director of the Center’s Research Methods and Evaluation Unit from 1998-2005. 

Within the FPRC, Dr. Forthofer led the development of a strategic research agenda aimed at continued investigation of the FPRC prevention intervention and evaluation framework’s feasibility and value. She also examined mechanisms for enhancing the capacity of community organizations, local and state health departments, and academic researchers to collaborate effectively in such efforts. 

Dr. Forthofer was also Principal Investigator of the Florida Health Literacy Study, an evaluation of Pfizer Inc.’s health literacy program for patients with diabetes and/or hypertension in community health clinics in Florida. She also was Director of Evaluation for the CDC-funded four-city demonstration of Friendly Access, a health service delivery model that the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies had developed. In addition, Dr. Forthofer has served as Director of Evaluation for the HRSA-funded Central Hillsborough Healthy Start Initiative.