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Educators' Resource Center for Youth Sexual Risk Behavior Prevention
PROGRAM PLANNING
 Program planning includes a wide range of activities that collectively help get a program ready to "open its doors" to its target population. Some key program planning activities include:
- Involving key stakeholders (constituents) in the process, such as staff of one or more service organizations (e.g., schools, community-based organizations, government agencies, etc.), Board members, parents, youth, funders, policy-makers, and others.
- Identifying appropriate goals/objectives--desired changes in the target population's knowledge, attitudes, intentions, behaviors, health status, etc.-based on the problem statement; they should be specific, realistic, and measurable.
- Deciding whether to replicate an existing program or develop a new one. Replication involves moving a program that has been effective in at least one site to a new site, in a way that maintains fidelity to the core program while permitting adaptation to the new context.
Where can I find credible lists of effective programs?
- Developing or adapting appropriate activities, services, and materials for the target population. This process should include
program modeling (logic modeling), in which goals/objectives and program activities/services-and the relationships among them-are mapped out. It should also focus on incorporation of scientifically established best practices into the program design.
Where can I find information on how to tailor programs for specific populations?
- Assuring that needed human and material resources are in place--by recruiting and training staff, obtaining sufficient copies of materials, etc.
- Recruiting members of the target population to participate in the program.
- Starting to think about how you will evaluate the program--that is, how you will assess whether you have delivered the activities or services you planned to deliver, reached the population you intended to reach, and achieved the desired effects (i.e., objectives and goals) with respect to the target population.
Why is planning important to prevention programming?
Careful program planning is essential to achieving the desired program effects. Many programs fail to achieve their goals or objectives (or fail to demonstrate that they have achieved the desired effects) because:
- Key stakeholders are not "on board" with the program and therefore prevent it from being implemented (or implemented fully), or do not allow youth to attend.
- Program activities/services are not linked to specific goals/objectives and thus do not achieve them.
- Program content and delivery methods do not incorporate scientifically established best practices.
- Program activities/services are not culturally competent or do not address potential barriers to participation (e.g., inaccessible times and locations, fear that parents will be told about youth's sexual behaviors). As a result, the target population does not join the program or drops out.
- Appropriate staff and materials are not available when needed, and therefore the program is not delivered as intended.
- Evaluation planning does not take place until it is too late to collect pre-program (baseline) data from participants and comparison group members.
 Program Planning Case Study
 Program Planning Links to Resources
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For questions about this information, contact Emily S. Holder (608) 267-9170
Last updated on 2/22/2008 8:00:31 AM
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