Learning Culture and Outcomes Measurement Practices in Community Agencies

Abstract

The present study is a first step in examining learning culture and outcomes measurement practices as indicators of community agencies’ readiness for the implementation of research-based evaluation. Representatives from Northern California community agencies serving children and youth (n = 25) completed surveys, which included questions about agency demographics, outcomes measurement practices, and learning culture. Results indicate that, although there is an awareness of the importance of outcomes evaluation, most agencies lack the resources for its systematic implementation. They express interest in learning more about outcomes measurement techniques and program evaluation, and they report needing help in building internal capacity for evaluation. The newly developed Assessing Learning Culture Scale revealed that an underlying set of beliefs, norms, and behaviors characterizes the learning culture of community agencies. These attitudes and beliefs are positively related to systematic data collection efforts and external funding, while attitudes and beliefs that indicate absence of a learning culture are correlated with sporadic data collection efforts and less external funding. Findings indicate that learning culture is an important factor for both the implementation of systematic evaluation efforts and the successful procurement of external funding. They also suggest that systematic evaluation efforts can serve as a change agent for creating a culture that values learning within the organization.