On April 12 and 13, 2010, CAPTURE held its inaugural International Advisory Board (IAB) meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. The meeting was attended by 10 members of the 15 member advisory board. The objectives of the meeting were to familiarize the IAB with The CAPTURE Project and its progress to date; share CAPTURE’s plans for the next two years; obtain strategic advice on partnering, marketing, creating demand, fostering system change in evaluation capacity building, and sustainability; and generate discussion on the role of IAB members in being CAPTURE ambassadors.
Click here for the full report.
WHAT WE HEARD
The main advice provided by IAB members is summarized below:
Expand the focus of communications to clients
The questions and comments of some IAB members indicated that The CAPTURE Project has not yet succeeded in obtaining an adequate understanding of its products and services and the needs it is seeking to address. Advisory board members encouraged The CAPTURE Project to find the “sizzle” of CAPTURE: a compelling and exciting story to “sell” the platform to different audiences. CAPTURE was advised to develop a communications plan that addresses the needs of two target audiences: the users of the platform (health promotion practitioners and program managers) and clients (decision-makers, senior managers, and funders) who are responsible for setting the overall direction for evaluation and evidence-informed practices within their organizations or initiatives.
Pursue a “local needs” based development approach
IAB members urged CAPTURE to find other early adopters like the CLASP initiative of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer for whom CAPTURE can build platform features in service of pressing organizational needs. This will enable CAPTURE to build the platform and demonstrate its immediate value-add.
Provide “high touch” supports
IAB members advised CAPTURE to focus on high touch supports just as much as, or even more than, high tech features. In order for CAPTURE to be more than “just another website” it will need to develop features and services that will facilitate relationship building. CAPTURE was also urged to provide a range of supports for different levels of evaluation capacity.
CAPTURE Milestones
IAB members were asked to identify the indicators for CAPTURE success at 2, 5 and 10 years. Regardless of the time frame, success for CAPTURE was seen to involve sustained funding, an increasing client base, and increased awareness and recognition. At the end of two years, the establishment of the platform with a handful of successful pilot clients was the indicator of success.
WHAT WE WILL DO
In response to the IAB’s discussions and suggestions we will undertake the following:
- Continue to refine its messaging and communication materials to include a client-centered focus that highlights CAPTURE as a solution to unmet needs and clearly shows the value-add of CAPTURE.
- Clearly define the CAPTURE platform’s users and clients.
- Work towards obtaining other clients so CAPTURE can develop features that meet existing needs.
- Continue to conduct market research on client needs and evaluation activities, supports and expenditures within Canada.
- Identify high touch supports to be developed in partnership with other organizations.
- Develop features that address a range of evaluation needs from organizations that have existing planning and evaluation processes and policies to those with little internal capacity for evaluation and/or data system creation.
- Develop a process to better inform IAB members about the progress of CAPTURE and the thinking behind it so more of the meeting time can be devoted to discussion.
- Review its performance monitoring and evaluation framework with reference to IAB indicators of success.
The next IAB meeting will be held in the fall of 2010.
