Common use of Environmental Scan Clause in Contracts

Environmental Scan. The RP Group believes that research and evaluation work should rest on the foundation of what is already known. As such, our standard operating procedure is to ground our projects in an environmental scan. This step comprises a review of the relevant literature and academic studies as well as interviews and even focus groups with key informants. Furthermore, our experience has shown that projects need to be informed by environmental scans not just as they get started, but also throughout the implementation process. As such, the RP Group paces our background research so that while a foundation of knowledge is collected up front, the environmental scan continues through the duration of each project, generating information about effective practices and more in order to inform and add perspective to each phase of implementation. The RP Group’s environmental scan for the OEI will draw from our work both within the CCC system and on a national level. The RP Group has been a part of a number of national initiatives, such as the Bill and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Foundation’s Completion by Design and the Aspen Institute’s Prize for Community College Excellence. This work has exposed the RP Group to innovative solutions and effective practices in use across the country. We will bring this knowledge to the OEI, introducing project leaders to new ways of thinking old challenges. Moreover, the RP Group will leverage our wealth of experience with the CCC system to help the OEI leadership team identify how these approaches at work outside of California could be adjusted to work within the parameters and complexities of our own system. Finally, identifying and leveraging ideas and approaches from across the country will include our use of “advisors” who can further inform the project and connect a particular area of research to implementation and action. Advisors who participated in a recent RP Group project included nationally known research experts from Teachers College at Columbia University, CEOs of national initiatives in the targeted area, counselors from California community colleges, and student representatives. We met with each advisor two to three times each year over the course of the three-­‐year project, asking them for specific feedback and advice on research questions, project updates, and research briefs. The RP Group’s initial experience using this approach to advising has been so productive that intend to use it again for the benefit of the OEI The RP Group uses an inquiry-­‐based approach to design its research and evaluation projects. At the heart of this effort is the goal of engaging those who will be in a position to use the information produced by the research to support effective decision-­‐making. We have found that the more engaged all team members are in these initial conversations, the more likely it is that the evaluation will be perceived as a resource for the project team. This work has already begun for the OEI, as the RP Group has worked closely with FHDA and Butte College to discuss objectives, identify meaningful outcomes, and explore the wide range of ways that the RP Group can support a successful project design and implementation. Moreover, we have engaged the OEI leadership team in developing a number of research questions that will provide context to and drive the evaluation process. Connecting our assessments of individual project outcomes to these overarching research questions will enable the RP Group to draw meaning from the data we collect and gain insight into the critical statewide issues that are at the core of the project. Our research design for the OEI includes both quantitative and qualitative research, both areas in which the RP Group has decades of experience. With respect to quantitative research, we have conducted research projects that ranged in complexity from simple contingency table analysis to multivariate regression and structural equation modeling. For example, in a recent study of outcomes achieved by students enrolled in San ▇▇▇▇ State University’s collaboration with Silicon Valley MOOC provider Udacity, the RP Group research team integrated and analyzed data from SJSU’s Management Information System (MIS) with MOOC platform data as well as responses from three student surveys, resulting in the generation of a flat file with approximately 100 variables. Additionally, we are presently serving as the external evaluator on a Department of Labor-­‐funded Trade Adjustment Act project that will require comparisons of persistence and completion to degree of thousands of students in treatment and control groups. The RP Group’s deep familiarity with available and relevant databases adds great power to our ability to deliver the most useful findings to clients and other stakeholders. Of particular relevance to this Initiative is our long-­‐standing partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CO) and frequent use of the CO’s Management Information System. In fact, the RP Group has made several important contributions to build the resources that the CO has made available to practitioners around the state. These include the Basic Skills Tracker and the Transfer Cohort Tool, both developed by the RP Group to help practitioners access critically important baseline information that would enable them to measure improvements. The RP Group’s experience with qualitative research is equally extensive; we have designed and implemented innumerable survey, focus group, and interview instruments and protocols. Even more importantly, we have used the results of this research to inform and contextualize findings generated by quantitative research activities. In one recent project, the RP Group surveyed more than 900 students, coded their responses, and integrated them with data retrieved through the Chancellor’s Office Management Information System (COMIS). In another project, we surveyed and conducted focus groups with more than 1,000 students and used the findings to help answer questions that had arisen from a parallel quantitative analysis of the time it takes students to reach transfer. Perhaps most importantly, the RP Group’s experienced teams will work throughout the duration of the project to integrate findings generated from the quantitative and qualitative research with information collected the environmental scan and other sources. The resulting nuanced and contextualized results will continuously connect new information back to project outcomes and goals as well as the overarching research questions. In this way, the RP Group will attach meaning to the data we’ve collected and share it with stakeholders to inform decisions at all levels in the CCC system.

Environmental Scan. The RP Group believes that research and evaluation work should rest on the foundation of what is already known. As such, our standard operating procedure is to ground our projects in an environmental scan. This step comprises a review of the relevant literature and academic studies as well as interviews and even focus groups with key informants. Furthermore, our experience has shown that projects need to be informed by environmental scans not just as they get started, but also throughout the implementation process. As such, the RP Group paces our background research so that while a foundation of knowledge is collected up front, the environmental scan continues through the duration of each project, generating information about effective practices and more in order to inform and add perspective to each phase of implementation. The RP Group’s environmental scan for the OEI will draw from our work both within the CCC system and on a national level. The RP Group has been a part of a number of national initiatives, such as the Bill and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Foundation’s Completion by Design and the Aspen Institute’s Prize for Community College Excellence. This work has exposed the RP Group to innovative solutions and effective practices in use across the country. We will bring this knowledge to the OEI, introducing project leaders to new ways of thinking old challenges. Moreover, the RP Group will leverage our wealth of experience with the CCC system to help the OEI leadership team identify how these approaches at work outside of California could be adjusted to work within the parameters and complexities of our own system. Finally, identifying and leveraging ideas and approaches from across the country will include our use of “advisors” who can further inform the project and connect a particular area of research to implementation and action. Advisors who participated in a recent RP Group project included nationally known research experts from Teachers College at Columbia University, CEOs of national initiatives in the targeted area, counselors from California community colleges, and student representatives. We met with each advisor two to three times each year over the course of the three-­‐year three8year project, asking them for specific feedback and advice on research questions, project updates, and research briefs. The RP Group’s initial experience using this approach to advising has been so productive that intend to use it again for the benefit of the OEI The RP Group uses an inquiry-­‐based inquiry8based approach to design its research and evaluation projects. At the heart of this effort is the goal of engaging those who will be in a position to use the information produced by the research to support effective decision-­‐makingdecision8making. We have found that the more engaged all team members are in these initial conversations, the more likely it is that the evaluation will be perceived as a resource for the project team. This work has already begun for the OEI, as the RP Group has worked closely with FHDA and Butte College to discuss objectives, identify meaningful outcomes, and explore the wide range of ways that the RP Group can support a successful project design and implementation. Moreover, we have engaged the OEI leadership team in developing a number of research questions that will provide context to and drive the evaluation process. Connecting our assessments of individual project outcomes to these overarching research questions will enable the RP Group to draw meaning from the data we collect and gain insight into the critical statewide issues that are at the core of the project. Our research design for the OEI includes both quantitative and qualitative research, both areas in which the RP Group has decades of experience. With respect to quantitative research, we have conducted research projects that ranged in complexity from simple contingency table analysis to multivariate regression and structural equation modeling. For example, in a recent study of outcomes achieved by students enrolled in San ▇▇▇▇ State University’s collaboration with Silicon Valley MOOC provider Udacity, the RP Group research team integrated and analyzed data from SJSU’s Management Information System (MIS) with MOOC platform data as well as responses from three student surveys, resulting in the generation of a flat file with approximately 100 variables. Additionally, we are presently serving as the external evaluator on a Department of Labor-­‐funded Labor8funded Trade Adjustment Act project that will require comparisons of persistence and completion to degree of thousands of students in treatment and control groups. The RP Group’s deep familiarity with available and relevant databases adds great power to our ability to deliver the most useful findings to clients and other stakeholders. Of particular relevance to this Initiative initiative is our long-­‐standing long8standing partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CO) and frequent use of the CO’s Management Information System. In fact, the RP Group has made several important contributions to build the resources that the CO has made available to practitioners around the state. These include the Basic Skills Tracker and the Transfer Cohort Tool, both developed by the RP Group to help practitioners access critically important baseline information that would enable them to measure improvements. The RP Group’s experience with qualitative research is equally extensive; we have designed and implemented innumerable survey, focus group, and interview instruments and protocols. Even more importantly, we have used the results of this research to inform and contextualize findings generated by quantitative research activities. In one recent project, the RP Group surveyed more than 900 students, coded their responses, and integrated them with data retrieved through the Chancellor’s Office Management Information System (COMIS). In another project, we surveyed and conducted focus groups with more than 1,000 students and used the findings to help answer questions that had arisen from a parallel quantitative analysis of the time it takes students to reach transfer. Perhaps most importantly, the RP Group’s experienced teams will work throughout the duration of the project to integrate findings generated from the quantitative and qualitative research with information collected the environmental scan and other sources. The resulting nuanced and contextualized results will continuously connect new information back to project outcomes and goals as well as the overarching research questions. In this way, the RP Group will attach meaning to the data we’ve collected and share it with stakeholders to inform decisions at all levels in the CCC system.