Collective Leadership Works Evaluation Plan

The evaluation of Collective Leadership Works examines how community-based youth agencies catalyze and sustain collective leadership practices.  Innovation Center evaluators are gathering information to determine how – and to what extent – service-learning fosters civic engagement in participants and improves overall community wellness.  The study assesses the implementation of the Collective Leadership Works initiative at its three project sites; it identifies any early outcomes for youth and communities.  

Innovation Center evaluators are using data from interviews, surveys, focus groups, records, and project activities throughout the study.  

The study is grounded in the initiative’s logic model.  At each point in the process, evaluators address specific questions:

Q. 1: What role(s) did lead agencies play as catalysts for service learning?
IC evaluators examine how the three different types of lead agencies promote the service-learning standards of quality practice.

Q. 2: Did service-learning foster youth civic engagement?
IC evaluators measure short-term changes in youth civic engagement, assist sites as they build systems to measure participation, and identify strategies for tracking whether youth participants develop the habits of active, informed civic involvement over time.

Q. 3: Did service-learning activities enhance community wellness?
IC evaluators assess short-term progress toward community-level goals, evaluate the impact of collective leadership, and identify strategies for tracking long-term community change.