Abstract Information: The National Learning Community (NLC) is a capacity-building program for HIV community-based organizational (CBO) managers using human-centered design (HCD) principles. During the NLC “Intensive” HIV CBO managers (learners) identify specific challenges related to management of staff, programs, and organizations. With a cohort of peers, some from their own organization, learners develop tailored solutions. The NLC evaluation team has conducted in-depth interviews with 80% of the learners who have completed the intensive, inquiring about the HCD process as well as successes and challenges in implementing planned solutions to management challenges. Our evaluation created space for learners to share their individual and collective experiences, as some learners from the same organization participated in the intensive together. We have a detailed story about the intensive experience, learners’ solutions, and their gaining buy-in for those solutions at their organizations, and recommendations on how HIV CBO managers can capitalize on this opportunity, maximize success and innovation to achieve more effective and responsive staff, programs, and organizations addressing HIV prevention and care needs of their communities.
Relevance Statement: The proposal National Learning Community’s (NLC) reflects the current trends in evaluation theory and practice by adopting a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. The use of in-depth interviews with learners who have completed the NLC Intensive Problem-Solving Course provides a rich source of data that can be used to understand the human-centered design (HCD) process and the effectiveness of tailored solutions to management challenges. The proposal's potential to contribute to knowledge in the evaluation field is significant. By providing insights into the effectiveness of capacity-building programs for community-based organizations managing HIV prevention and care, the proposal can inform the development of similar programs in other contexts. The proposal's use of HCD principles and the cohort approach can also contribute to the development of best practices in evaluation methods for capacity building programs for community-based organizations (CBO), which can be applied to other contexts. The NLC’s proposal’s potential to provide insights into the effectiveness of capacity-building programs for CBOs managing HIV prevention and care make it an important and relevant contribution to the field of evaluation. The proposal reflects current trends in evaluation theory and practice, and its approach aligns with relevant standards of quality in evaluation. Additionally, the proposal's potential to contribute to knowledge in the evaluation field is significant, as it can inform the development of similar programs and contribute to the development of best practices in capacity building for CBOs.
