490-10

Identification and Allocation of resources

Key Terms:

  • Resources - include all the people and materials needed to carry out the desired program.
  • Personnel -
  • The key resource of any program is the individuals needed to carry out the program.
  • Flex time - will the employees participate on company time, on their own time before or after work hours, on a combination of company time and employee time, or on their own anytime during the work day as long as they put in their regular number of work hours.
  • Ownership - investment by the participant helps to produce a feeling of belonging to and loyalty to the program ("I have put something into this program, and therefore I am going to support it").
  • Internal resources - uses individuals from within the planning agency/organization or people from within the target population to supply the needed labor.
  • Peer education - individuals who have specific knowledge, skills, or understanding of a concept help to educate their peers. For example, college students may work with other college students to help educate them about the dangers of drinking and driving.
  • External resources - bringing in individuals from outside the planning agency/organization or the target population to conduct part of or all of the program.
  • Vendors - are referred to as companies that offer or sell programs, services, or consulting to groups wanting health promotion programs.
  • Speakers bureaus - most local offices of voluntary health agencies, hospitals, and other health-related organizations maintain speaker's bureaus. The services of these experts are usually available at little or no cost to groups. The speaker's bureau is a win-win concept for both the group offering the service and the one receiving it. Groups that take advantage of the speaker's bureau gain access to expert information, but those delivering the information gain in terms of public relations and recognition. (See table 10.1)
  • Culturally sensitive - having a basic understanding and appreciation of the importance of socio-cultural factors.
  • Culturally competent - is the "process for effectively working within the cultural context of an individual or community from a diverse cultural or ethnic background". When working with multicultural populations, planners should use indigenous health workers and/or those that are well trained and are bilingual and bicultural.

Curricula and Other Institutional Resources

  • Curriculum - is the content of the program. Program planners usually proceed in three ways: (1) developing their own material (in house) or having someone else develop custom materials for them; (2) purchasing or obtaining "canned" programs from outside vendors; or (3) by using a combination of in-house and canned materials.
  • In-house materials - allows the developers to create materials that match very closely the needs of the target population. The more "unique" the target population is, the more important this approach may be--especially if the target population possesses cultural differences. Materials must be relevant and culturally appropriate to the target population.
  • Canned program - is one that has been developed by an outside group and includes the basic components and materials necessary to implement a program.

Most canned programs have five major components:

  1. A participant's manual (printed material that is easy to follow and read and is handy for participants)
  2. An instructor's manual (a much more comprehensive document than the participant's manual, which includes the program content, background information, and lesson and unit plans with ideas for presenting the material)
  3. Audiovisual materials that help present the program content (usually including films, video and audiotapes, overhead transparencies, charts, or posters and power-point presentations)
  4. Training for the instructors (a concentrated experience that prepares individuals to become instructors)
  5. Marketing (the "wrapping" that makes the program attractive to both the participants and the program planners who will purchase it to market to the participants)

Before adopting canned programs for use, planners should consider the following questions:

  1. Is the program based on sound theory and tested models?
  2. Does the program include a long-term behavior modification component? There are no "quick fixes" with regard to health behavior change. If behavior modification is used, it should be based on sound health behavior practice over an appropriate time frame.
  3. Is the program educational? Not only should the program be based on sound psychological and sociological theory but it should also be based on valid educational theory.
  4. Is the program motivational? Health behavior change is not easy to accomplish, and so all programs need to include activities that motivate people to get and stay involved.
  5. Is the program enjoyable? Planned programs should be enjoyable. Some people like hard work, but it is difficult to sustain hard work for a long time without some enjoyment.
  6. Can the program be modified to meet the specific needs and peculiarities of the target population? Not all populations have the same needs, beliefs, traditions, and ways of approaching a problem.

Space:

A place where the program can be held is a major resource needed for most health promotion programs. Depending on the type of program and the intended audience, space may or may not be readily available.

Financial Resources:

Typical financial questions that planners must address are:

  1. Is it better to run an adequately financed program for a few people or to run a poorly financed program for more people?
  2. If funds are limited, where is the first place we should cut?
  3. Should we start a program knowing that we will be short of funds, or should we wait until we have appropriate funding before we begin?
  4. Is it better to have fewer instructors or to make do with fewer supplies?

Participant Fee:

The planners must make certain that the program is desirable to and within the participants ability to use or pay for their participation.

  • Sliding-scale fee - If a fee is necessary, then planners should consider creating a fee structure on "ability to pay", that is the less one's income, the lower the participant fee.

Third-Party Support: someone other than the participants (first party) or program planners (second party) is paying for the program. Third party payers that may cover the cost of health promotion programs are:

  1. Employers that pick up the cost for employees, as is often the case in worksite health promotion programs.
  2. Agencies other than the groups sponsoring the program--for example, when local services or civic groups "adopt" a pet program.
  3. A professional association or union that financially supports a program.

Cost Sharing: a combination of participant fee and third-party support, an employer may pay 50%-80% of a program's cost and let the employee pay the remaining 50%-20%. Such an arrangement has the advantages of both ownership and a fringe benefit.

Organizational Sponsorship: the sponsoring organization (health department, hospital, cancer society, voluntary agency etc. bears the cost of the program as a part of its programming or operating budget.

Gifts and Grants: revenues from agencies, foundations, groups, and or individuals.

  • Grant money - external money
  • Soft money - grants are usually given for a specific period of time and at some point will be taken away.
  • Hard money - is an ongoing source of funds that is part of the operating budget of an organization from year to year.
  • Grantsmanship skills include:
  1. Discovering where the grant money is located
  2. Finding out how to get (apply for) the money
  3. Writing a proposal requesting the money

Locating Grant Money - there are a variety of grant makers:

  1. Foundations
  2. Corporations
  3. Voluntary agencies
  4. Government
  5. Local organizations (i.e.), Lion's Club, Jaycees, United Way etc.
  • Seed dollars - (start-up dollars) monies supplied by local or state branches of a national organization.
  • In-kind support - (free materials or other resources) provided by local branches of national organizations.
  • Requests for Proposals (RFP) - often funding agencies will provide money for a project they feel will be beneficial to them and the specified target group.

Submitting Grant Proposals - most funding agencies have specific guidelines outlining who is qualified to submit a proposal. (i.e., nonprofit groups, or only practitioners who hold specific certifications)

  • Proposal - a written document that represents a request for money. A good proposal is one that is well written and explains how the needs of the funding agency can be met by the group wishing to receive the money.

A well written proposal will answer the following questions:

  1. What do you want to do, how much will it cost and how much time will it take?
  2. How does the proposed project relate to the sponsor's interests?
  3. What will be gained if this project is carried out?
  4. What has already been done in the area of the project?
  5. How do you plan to do it?
  6. How will the results be evaluated?
  7. Why should you, rather than someone else, conduct this project?

(Refer to figure 10.1)

FIGURE 10.1 The Components of a Grant Proposal

  1. Title (or cover) page. When writing the title, be concise and explicit; avoid words that add nothing.
  2. Abstract or executive summary. May be the most important part of the proposal. Should be written last and be about 200 words in length.
  3. Table of contents. May or may not be needed, depending on the length of the proposal. It is a convenience for the reader.
  4. Introduction. Should begin with a capsule statement, be comprehensible to the informed layperson, and include the statement of the problem, significance of the program, and purpose of the program.
  5. Background. Should include the proposer's previous related work and the related literature.
  6. Description of proposed program. Should include objectives, description of intervention, evaluation plan, and time frame.
  7. Description of relevant institutional/agency resources.
  8. List of references. Should include references cited in the proposal.
  9. Personnel section. Should include the resumes of those who are to work with the program.
  10. Budget. Should include budget needs for personnel (salaries and wages), equipment, materials and supplies, travel, services, other needed items, and indirect costs.

------

Preparing a Budget - in financial terms, the budget compares the expected income to the expected expenses in order to estimate the financial results of the program.

A budget is a plan that is presented in financial terms using quantitative units such as dollars, pounds, hours, and work force hours.

A budget represents the decision makers' intentions and expectations by allocating funds to achieve desired outcomes (program goals and objectives).

  • Profit margin - if a program is to make money, the income will have to be greater than the expenses, and the intended profit will need to be included in the budgeting process.

The purpose of a program has a lot to say about the type of budget created. From a financial standpoint, programs can make money (profit), lose money, or break even.

(See figure 10.2 on Pg. 8)

Figure 10.2 Sample Budget Sheet

Income Amount
Contribution from sponsors ______
Gifts ______
Grants ______
Participant fee ______
Sale of curriculum materials ______
Total income ______
Expenses
Curriculum materials ______
Equipment ______
Marketing ______
Print advertising ______
Other media ______
Personnel ______
For planning ______
Program facilitators ______
Clerical ______
Evaluator(s) ______
Participants ______
Postage ______
Space ______
Supplies ______
Travel ______
Total expenses ______
Balance ______