The Ministry of Community and Social Services (now the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services) contracted with a third-party evaluator, Power Analysis Inc. for an evaluation of the two-year Independent Facilitation Demonstration Project (IFDP). Conducting the evaluation in the start-up phase of the IFDP was indeed premature and did not look at Return on Investment over time.
The process used throughout the evaluation, as well as the final report, contains some serious flaws in its data collection, analysis, comparisons, and conclusions. OIFN and the IFDP Collaborative submitted this detailed response and analysis to the Ministry regarding the limitations of this evaluation report.
OIFN and the Collaborative partners are committed to data collection and the documentation of outcome measures. OIFN and the initial 7 Independent Facilitation Organizations that were part of the IFDP have engaged in rigorous, ongoing data collection of Collective Impact measures that reflect the impact and contribution of Independent Facilitation over the 4 years of implementation, including:
- People planning for individualized housing solutions
- People working on school to adult transitions
- People in paid employment
- Formal planning events held
- Personal support networks established and/or sustained
- Valued social roles attained, enhanced, and/or sustained
