Assignment 1

Objective: Practice what we can learn about KT by “thinking about power.”

Assignment:  In small groups, design a “knowledge to action” activity to contribute to a KT initiative of your choosing, or to the Gen Squeeze KT case study featured in the class. (15% of grade.  Due October 16, 2018). 

Groups will present in class a draft of your responses to the first 14 questions during Week 5, and then revise the assignment in light of feedback during Week 6.  In week 7, groups will present draft answers to questions 15-20, with a chance to revise these in light of feedback before submitting the final assignment on October 16 by 4pm.

To design and plan this activity, please produce a short report that answers all of the following questions.  Answers can be as short as a phrase or sentence as required, or as long as a paragraph or two.

Identify Shared Purpose

1. What problem do we need to solve?
2. How will the world change if we solve it? What does this reveal about our goal?

Develop Theory of Change

3. Who is our constituency (who are our people)?
4. Who are leaders in the constituency? Who are supporters? Who are competition? Who are opposition?
5. Of these, who has the greatest interest in change; greatest interest in achieving our goal?
6. Who has the greatest interest in the status quo?
7. Who is on the sidelines?
8. Who has the resources/power to solve the problem and create the change we want to see? Is it our people?  Is it others?
9. Why have we/they not created the change yet? What do we/they want?
10. Do answers to questions 4-9 require revisions to our initial answers for questions 1-3? If so, change those answers above.  The point of question 10 is to encourage your first nine responses to be developed in an iterative way.

11. If the power rests with others, what do we have that they want?
12. How can we leverage our resources to create the change we want?
13. Reflecting on the above, what is our theory of change? State explicitly “If our people do…., then the result will be…, because…”
14. Given this theory of change, our one sentence organizing statement is: We are organizing Who? to achieve What? through How? by When?

Design a Kickoff Activity that contributes to the Implementation of Our Theory of Change

15. What is the activity? What will the activity look like? When will it take place? Where?
16. Who will be involved? How many?  What will people be doing?  What will you be doing?
17. What measurable outcome will you try to achieve with this kickoff activity?
18. How will the activity be motivational for the constituency?
19. Why did you choose this activity from among the other available tactics?
20. For this specific activity, who are the leaders? Who are supporters?  Who are competition? Who are opposition? Do any of the latter have the resources/power to prevent the activity?  If so, what do they want?  And what do we have that they want?

List the things that need to get done between now and the scheduled date of your activity in order to organize it effectively.

Students will be evaluated according to their ability to articulate:

• the constituency for the KT activity,
• their shared purpose,
• a theory of change that motivates the KT initiative to achieve that shared purpose, one that engages with the power dynamics that will mediate the success of the KT initiative, and
• the selection of tactics by which to launch an activity that is guided by that theory of change.
• see also the general rubric featured in the Approach to Evaluation

This assignment invites students to practice performing the following ASPPH prescribed core MPH competencies: