Memo
To: Participating States, National Core Indicators
From: Valerie J. Bradley, HSRI NCI Project Director
Date: 2/9/2001 (updated 03/27/07)
Re: Basic Project Responsibilities
Background
The National Core Indicators now numbers 23 States (and counting). Given both the success of the project as well as the increasing complexity of project management, we felt that it was a good time to clarify the role of HSRI staff in support of state data collection and dissemination. We therefore propose the following “Basic Agreement” between the Institute, the participating states, and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services.
Basic Agreement
The Human Services Research Institute has the following responsibilities to states participating in National Core Indicators:
o Technical Assistance
§ Meet with new states via teleconference to provide an orientation to the project
§ Assist new states to develop work plans
§ Provide "train the trainer" sessions as needed in person or via telephone re: consumer survey interviews
§ Prepare and distribute interviewer training materials as needed
§ Prepare standard data entry formats and codebooks for survey data
§ Prepare other data collection protocols as necessary
§ Where necessary, test protocols for validity and reliability
§ Work with states to ensure consistency of definitions regarding data elements
§ Advise states on data collection "best practices"
§ Provide basic guidelines for cleaning & verifying data
o Project Management
§ Maintain the NCI pages of the HSRI website
§ Maintain a data archive for all project data
§ Furnish project data files as requested
§ Develop report/presentation templates for states’ use and guidelines for interpretation
§ Prepare quarterly newsletters and bi-weekly e-bulletins
§ Develop project guidelines as needed for state participants
§ Conduct periodic check-ins with states on status of data collection
§ Develop and monitor project timelines
o Data Management and Analysis
§ Track and review state data for completeness
§ Merge individual state data files into aggregate files
§ Clean aggregate data files
§ Manage and format files on ongoing basis
§ Run basic descriptive statistics
§ Run analyses (including outcome adjustment and tests for significant differences)
§ Compute scales/indicators
§ Create tables and graphs of descriptive data (including state-by-state results on survey items)
§ Create tables and graphs of indicator data
o Data Reporting
§ Distribute draft reports to states for comment
§ Incorporate states' feedback on draft reports
§ Prepare reports of aggregate and state-by-state results annually.
§ Post results to HSRI website
§ Prepare summary reports
§ Work with interested representatives of participating states to discuss implications of published data
o Project Governance Support
§ Prepare decision memos, agendas, and other necessary supplementary materials for NCI Steering deliberations
§ Continually revise the Core Indicators based on recommendations of the NCI Steering Committee
The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services has the following responsibilities to participating states in the National Core Indicators:
o Project Direction and Management
§ Provide general oversight of NCI activities, including recruitment of new states
§ Organize project meetings as necessary
§ Review all products and reports prepared by NCI staff
§ Prepare decision memos, agendas, and other necessary supplementary materials for NCI Steering Committee deliberations
o Technical Assistance
§ Meet with new states via teleconference to provide an orientation to the project
§ Assist new states to develop work plans
§ Advise states on data collection "best practices"
o Data Analysis and Reporting
§ Work with NASDDDS Research Committee to share results and ideas
§ Prepare yearly project summary
§ Work with interested representatives of participating states to discuss implications of published data
Participating NCI states have the following responsibilities:
o Participation on NCI steering committee
§ Nominate one "coordinator" who can serve as the point person for your state.
§ The state coordinator will be expected to attend occasional meetings, review materials distributed by NCI staff, and provide feedback to the project.
o Communication with NCI staff
§ Keep NCI staff informed of any changes in state contact information (e.g. state staff currently working on NCI and updated e-mail addresses)
§ Keep NCI staff informed of any changes/revisions to work plan and/or timelines
§ Review draft reports for accuracy and provide comments/feedback to NCI staff as requested
o Submitting data that is "NCI-compliant"
§ States are responsible for entering raw data and submitting complete data files to HSRI. Raw data should be kept at the state level at least until the final data reports are released. States may need to refer to the raw data if NCI request verification.
§ Most states will choose to use the standard data entry formats and instructions provided by NCI staff for the survey data. These formats by definition are "NCI-compliant."
§ If states (or their subcontractors) use non-NCI survey tools or data entry formats, it is their responsibility to make sure the data is formatted according to NCI standard protocol. Variable names and formats should match those provided in the NCI codebooks. For the consumer survey, all survey items in the background information section (except for those listed as "optional") must be collected -- they are the basis for the risk adjustment analysis.
Other Support
Each participating state in NCI pays a flat fee to NASDDDS, which contracts with HSRI to provide the support described above under "Basic Agreement." However, from time to time, states may be asked to pay an additional surcharge for a special service or addition (i.e. – technical improvements).
Some states may be interested in finer analyses of their data including sub-state comparisons, correlations, and so forth. In past years, HSRI has complied with such requests. We will continue to do so to the extent that (a) the requests do not interfere with or delay completion of the tasks described under the "Basic Agreement" and (b) there are enough resources available in the project budget to cover NCI staff time. Depending on the timing of the request and the amount of effort required, HSRI may ask the state to "buy" extra NCI staff time for work that is over and above what is covered in the Basic Agreement.
As NCI has expanded, accomplishing the basic tasks and staying on target with budget and timelines has become more challenging. We are committed to keeping the costs of the project down. We are also determined to establish efficient processes for managing and reporting out NCI data. The purpose of this agreement is to clarify the tasks that we feel are essential and doable within the scope of the project and to re-state the responsibilities of participating states and NCI staff.
l Page 3