Products and Services

The Center for Learning Excellence at The Ohio State University offers intense training, coaching and technical assistance services designed to build the capacity needed to identify and prioritize critical issues and manage the investment of resources to address those issues to make a positive difference in the lives of children, youth and families.

The Center works primarily through a locally convened team whose efforts are essential to strengthening capacity within each collaborative. Particular consideration is given to the training and coaching of core team members so they may become local experts, trainers, and technical assistance providers themselves.

To support efforts, the Center provides the following products and services:

  • A Community Planning, Implementation and Evaluation Guide (including tools that detail the how-to of each phase of the process);
  • A coach who provides dedicated assistance and coordination of services;
  • Comprehensive training provided to core team members; and
  • Customized and personalized technical assistance.

The coach provides individualized support to customers as they apply each phase of the process and coordinates customized, technical assistance and training related to collaboratively identified needs.

Training & Technical Assistance

Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

This Institute provides two days of intensive, interactive training on the entire model from planning through implementation and evaluation. The Institute has been designed as a “train the trainer” event so participants will acquire the knowledge and tools needed to mobilize the community and provide training and technical assistance to local community participants.

Technical assistance is also offered on any and all of the components of the model including:

  • Mobilization
  • Infrastructure development
  • Needs assessment
  • Resource assessment
  • Gaps analysis
  • Defining and investing in outcomes
  • Implementation
  • Evaluating progress
  • Managing investments
  • Reporting to the community

Collaboration Survey

The Center has created a comprehensive measure of collaborative capacity. Collaborative capacity refers to several categories of skills, attitudes and procedures. A collaborative must have the ability to develop and implement effective strategies; cultivate appropriate skills among collaboration members; have access to strong and capable leadership; and have a climate that promotes collaborative problem solving. The Collaboration Survey (see the Toolbox) is designed to assess such competencies. Deficiencies discovered in the process of discussing survey results should be addressed in the form of formal strategies to build and/or enhance collaborative capacities.

Technical assistance is offered in support of survey administration and analysis and subsequent efforts to enhance collaborative capacity.

Logic Model/Program Development

A logic model is a graphic representation of a program or intervention that links specific activities to outcomes or results. Logic models are developed through a process of defining need, an action that will be taken to address a particular need, the outcome resulting from taking action and the long term impacts to which the outcome contributes. One of the major benefits of the logic model is that is allows program developers and evaluators to define important results that should be measured. These results can be thought of as accountabilities. The logic model provides a strong basis for collaborative problem solving and evaluation.

Outcome Evaluation and Measurement Planning

It is important to clearly define what constitutes program activities and the results of those activities. There are two aspects of programs that can be evaluated: 1) the extent to which the program has been implemented as designed; and 2) the specific benefits that result from providing a program. This training/technical assistance opportunity will assist in defining measureable outcomes and drafting measurement procedures to support documentation of progress toward achieving priority outcomes.

Community Practice/Managing Toward Results

Making decisions about the array of programming to provide; managing interactions between programs; and measuring progress toward desired community change are all inherent in the community practice role. This training and technical assistance opportunity is customized in support of collaboratives’ consideration and/or implementation of the community practice role.