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Welcome to CSI's quarterly newsletter, in which we highlight lessons, projects and recent work that we think
will be of interest to you and our other friends, colleagues and clients. In this issue, you will find information
about our upcoming
Research Innovation conference being held October 11-12, 2007 in
Alexandria, VA. As a reminder - early bird registration ends September 7. We hope to see you there!
You'll also find a highlight of a very interesting project with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called
the
Healthy Brain Initiative, links to recent publications and presentations, and our "On the Job" column with tips you can apply immediately in your work.
Thank you to all our clients and colleagues, whose commitment to participatory decision-making and organizational enhancement inspire us to take our methodology to new levels. We look forward to continued innovation together!
Best Regards,
Mary Kane,
President & CEO |
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Research Innovation with Concept Mapping
If you haven't already heard, Concept Systems is hosting its Research Innovation Conference in the Washington, DC area October 11- 12, 2007!
- Work alongside Concept Systems creators and recognized innovators in the application of multi-method organizational planning, program implementation and evaluation methodologies
- Learn ways to enhance your own research and practice
- Build your skills through much-requested advanced training on the Concept System and its analytic engine
- Connect with colleagues in your field with whom you can co-author a publication
- Explore creative extensions of the methodology and solutions to shared challenges
For more information, please visit: http://www.conceptsystemsglobal.com/conference2007/
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On the Job: Successful Collaboration
Collaboration is a cornerstone of today's workplace. Teamwork. Participation. Communication. Working together comes in many flavors. Putting any of these concepts into practice means constantly making decisions about who needs to be involved in what. Does Jane need to be a part of that team or project? Should Jon attend this meeting? Do we copy Sue on this correspondence?
As consultants to those leading participatory projects, CSI has developed a simple but uniquely useful heuristic that can be applied to these decisions. We call it the P Paradigm. In short, ask yourself whether the person needs to be involved Practically, Politically or Philosophically.
Here's a brief summary of what we mean:
1) Practical: Who can participate? A successful effort needs people with the skills, knowledge, interest and time to contribute meaningfully.
2) Political: Who must participate? Key leaders or those who have the power to block an effort, or make it a success, must be included throughout a process to assure support for the endeavor and acceptance of the result. These participants may be involved directly only in key strategic decision points, may be briefed individually, or invited to meetings as a courtesy, but not expected to attend.
3) Philosophical: Who should participate? Often there are people with a stake in a project who are not politically powerful or may not be chosen primarily for their practical contributions, but nonetheless should be included. They may provide a moral leadership, or be recognized as speaking for those who would not otherwise be heard.
These questions focus our attention on the three important dimensions of a successful collaborative effort. Answering them will also clarify the specific roles of each of the major players, assuring they are involved most appropriately in the effort and that their unique contribution is respected and valued. Next time you are convening a group, leading a project or just deciding who needs to know what and when, try posing the Three Ps in the P Paradigm!
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CSI Project Spotlight:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's
Healthy Brain Initiative
In the latter part of 2006, our long-time and valued client, CDC, asked for our support with an important new endeavor. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had partnered with the Alzheimer's Association to establish the Healthy Brain Initiative, in an effort to provide a public health response to the growing concern about the potential for cognitive decline (including dementia and Alzheimer's disease) among an aging American public. These partners asked Concept Systems, Inc. (CSI) to provide support to this Initiative by applying concept mapping methodology to create a framework that might guide the priority-setting and communication of the public health
actions arising out of this effort.
Interestingly, the structure of this project varied somewhat from our "typical" concept mapping project. As such, it provided us with another opportunity to extend the application of concept mapping, as we worked to adapt the methodology to best serve client needs while still maintaining the integrity of the method.
CDC and the Alzheimer's Association, working closely with the National Institute on Aging, the Administration on Aging, and other public and private organizations, convened a multi-disciplinary Steering Committee of national experts to coordinate and advise the Initiative. Drawing from the results of a meeting that examined the state of knowledge regarding the protection of cognitive health, the Steering Committee assigned four workgroups of experts to create public health recommendations for advancing cognitive health protection and promotion over the next 3 to 5 years in four areas of action: Policy, Communication, Surveillance, and Prevention Research. These workgroups collectively produced 42 recommendations.
It was these 42 recommendations, then, that provided the initial input to the concept map, in place of the more typical "brainstorming" input that those of you familiar with concept mapping would anticipate. CSI consultants Catherine Van Brunschot and Brenda Pepe worked closely with the Steering Committee through late 2006 and early 2007 to apply the concept mapping methodology to prioritize, organize and visually represent the recommendations. Via web-based CSGlobal© technology, individuals from a broad array of organizations from across the nation provided input to the prioritization process by rating the relative importance and action potential of each of the recommendations generated by the Initiative's workgroups. In addition, a core group of stakeholders sorted the recommendations via CSGlobal©, to identify themes that might inform best approaches for communicating the recommendations to a broader public.
Concept mapping can be applied successfully to the conceptualization and prioritization of any group of ideas, regardless of their origin and the process of idea generation. "CSI was flexible about the use of the process, and that expertise helped a good deal," reported Steering Committee Co-Chair, Dr. Lynda Anderson.
Given the multi-disciplinary composition of the groups involved in this Initiative, Dr. Anderson expressed appreciation for the manner in which concept mapping's mix of individual input and group interpretation of results meant that the unique contributions of each discipline could be maintained while producing a shared understanding and framework from which coordinated strategic planning was possible. "I'm so glad we did concept mapping," said Anderson. "The framework helped members of the Steering Committee think outside of their own disciplines and focus on the overall picture of what we were trying to accomplish."
The results of the concept mapping process were reviewed and interpreted by the Steering Committee, culminating in the publication and release in June 2007 of "The Healthy Brain Initiative: a National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health." This Road Map document proposes a set of actions, with 10 immediate priorities, that supports a coordinated national public health effort for addressing cognitive health and achieving the long term goal of maintaining or improving the cognitive performance of all adults. For more information on the Healthy Brain Initiative, and links to the Road Map document, see http://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain.htm .
CSI's Project Spotlight describes work that the CSI consulting team is engaged in, featuring unique applications of the concept mapping methodology and new uses of project results. |
Conferences, Presentations and Publications
Upcoming Conferences and Presentations
Mary Kane and Kathleen M. Quinlan will be presenting Complementary Action Partnerships for Achieving Health Equity at the Society for Public Health Education's 58 th Annual Meeting, Partnerships to Achieve Health Equity, in Alexandria, VA on November 2, 2007.
Mary Kane, William Trochim and Kathleen M. Quinlan will be presenting a full day workshop,
Concept Mapping for Evaluation: A Mixed Methods, Participatory Approach,
at the American Evaluation Association's conference, Evaluation 2007: Evaluation and Learning in Baltimore, MD on November 7, 2007. At this conference, they will also be presenting, with Dr. Jonathan M. Kagan, Deputy Director for Program Development at the Division of AIDS, NIAD, A Framework for Evaluating Large Scale Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Clinical Research Networks based on work with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Division of AIDS.
Recent Conferences and Presentations
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CSI News and Notes
Training provides users of The Concept System® with all the tools and support they need to apply The Concept System® effectively throughout their organizations for planning, development, decision-making and evaluation. Upcoming training sessions include:
January 9-11, 2008
April 16-18, 2008
The next Concept Systems Research Association (CSRA) teleseminar will focus on Options for Idea Generation and will be held on September 25 at 2 pm EDT. In the teleseminar, participants will explore and/or develop:
1. Fundamentals for idea generation in a concept mapping project
2. Planning steps for the idea generation phase of a concept mapping project
3. Approaches and techniques for idea generation that honor the cultural contexts and varied abilities of stakeholders
4. Issues for idea generation using text and other media.
New Staff
Director of Research Promotion
Concept Systems, Inc. recently promoted Dr. Kathleen M. Quinlan to Director of Research.
Dr. Quinlan's new responsibilities will advance Concept Systems' longstanding commitment to applied research innovation, building a
comprehensive database of methodological improvements that will serve both the CSI research staff and our clients. Dr. Quinlan is responsible for managing the publications and conference program of CSI; serving as the senior advisor to the Concept Systems Research Association; and developing methodology improvements derived from CSI's work with a range of clients, including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, the Environmental Protection Agency, and state government agencies as well as advocacy and foundation groups.
In her capacity as Senior Consultant, Dr. Quinlan has led engagements with the National Institutes of Health's Division of AIDS
and the National Cancer Institute, among others. State public sector consulting using the Concept System methodology has included
the New York State Early Intervention Program for at-risk children. Dr. Quinlan has
written and presented nationally on her work at Concept Systems.
Dr. Quinlan earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Stanford University and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maine.
Before coming to CSI, she held academic and leadership positions at the Australian National University and Cornell University's
College of Veterinary Medicine.
Client Services Consultants Promotions
Concept Systems, Inc. also recently promoted three staff members to the position of Client Services Consultant, each with distinct responsibilities in CSI's plans to improve client service and company stability and growth.
Melissa Burns, MRP, serves as the Manager of CSI's Knowledge Management Unit, and is developing long-term processes and data-collection tools to coordinate the research, methodology and client-based information that CSI has collected over the past 10 years. Ms. Burns' research management work will support the improvement of CSI's proprietary software and methodologies.
Katy Hall, BA, is the Manager of the Concept Systems Research Association, which supports on-site and client-based training, users' conferences, online seminars, and publication support for CSI licensees and consulting clients. Ms. Hall is currently coordinating this year's Research Innovation Conference to be held in the Washington, DC area. For more information, go to: http://www.conceptsystemsglobal.com/conference2007/.
Brenda Pepe, BA, is the Manager of the CS Global Licensee and Research Services unit, the program that develops and supports CS Global and CS Core's sales, service delivery and technical support management. Ms. Pepe provides oversight and coordinating support to the sales and service team for continued development of CSI's licensing and related products and services.
All three of the unit managers are seasoned Client Project Managers at CSI, where they manage client engagements with large federal agencies, state government offices, not-for-profit organizations and foundations to provide support in strategic planning, curriculum design, program evaluation projects and a range of workshops and retreats. | |
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1.800.260.1602 |
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