BBF has collected data on the state of collaboration among early childhood partners and can now report on those results. As part of Vermont’s federal Preschool Development Grant (PDG), BBF created a data collection process and tool to measure interagency collaboration among the six PDG partner organizations. BBF adapted an exercise called the Collaboration Spectrum and collected both qualitative and quantitative information from the PDG partners.
The Collaboration Spectrum conceptualizes collaboration as having seven different levels of interaction, ranging from competing on the low end of the spectrum to full integration on the high end of the spectrum. The data collected gives us a snapshot of the current state of collaboration, the desired future state of collaboration, barriers that get in the way of greater collaboration, and the resources needed to see the desired change.
Read the Data Brief
Read the Executive Summary
Read a Plain Language Summary
What were the results?
The key results were that the majority of PDG partners rated the current state of collaboration as cooperation (rating 4 out of 7) or coordination (rating 5 out of 7). PDG partners indicated that the desired future state is an increased level of collaboration, and they frequently endorsed coordination (rating 5 out of 7) or collaboration (rating 6 out of 7) as the desired future state.
Qualitative responses indicated that partners felt the PDG was creating additional opportunities for increased collaboration and that stronger collaboration was one of the overarching goals of the grant. However, barriers included the fact that work continues to happen in silos, there is a lack of aligned leadership and shared vision for the early childhood system, and there is a lack of resources.
What are the implications of these results?
These results give us a baseline measure of interagency collaboration. They also fill a data gap related to implementation and progress on Goal 4 of Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan (VECAP), which states that “The early childhood system will be integrated, well resourced, and data-informed” and partners are working towards a “connected and collaborative system championed by both agency and community leaders.”
What comes next?
Early childhood partners can use these results to inform system-level improvements by focusing on the identified barriers and actively working to address the identified issues. Partners can also use the results to build on existing strengths, including the opportunities for greater alignment created through PDG-supported activities. Lastly, the data collection protocol can be replicated in the future to document how much progress has been made on the goal of greater interagency collaboration.
This project is part of the Preschool Development Grant Evaluation activity led by Building Bright Futures.
