Mike Clifford and Margaret Jones call each other every morning. As the technical assistance providers for the Assets-Getting To Outcomes for Maine project, they need to be in close contact about the guidance they provide to the six communities chosen for the Assets-Getting To Outcomes (A-GTO) intervention. Clifford describes this morning ritual as an important part of the energy they are able to bring to the communities they serve. “When you provide technical assistance and you’re the lone person on-site, just knowing that there is backup and support is important because it improves the assistance we are able to offer to community groups.”
As the face of this project on the ground, Clifford and Jones offer in-person technical assistance to each of the community coalitions involved with A-GTO for Maine once every two weeks, as well as assistance by phone and e-mail as needed. They provide the communities with support at two levels: assistance to the six community coalitions involved in the intervention, and assistance to each of the youth development programs linked to these coalitions. At the coalition level, the technical assistance providers work with the group on coalition structure, program offerings, and developing mission, vision, and belief statements. Working at the program level within each coalition, they help program staffs become more intentional about asset building and measuring specific outcomes.
To accomplish this, they communicate with communities in a variety of ways. “Our role is to listen very carefully to what they are saying and what they are not saying, offer them some new ways of thinking about what they’re doing, and teach them about the Search Institute five action strategies [for transforming communities] and what those mean on the ground, and help them become more clear about the 10-step GTO process,” said Clifford. As longtime asset champions, Clifford and Jones realize that relationship building is key to the success of the project. “It’s listening, coaching, teaching, supporting, nudging, providing resources, helping conduct meetings or sitting in on meetings,” describes Clifford. Some of the other resources they provide are tools, such as worksheets, books, and models, but, as Clifford explains, “sometimes the most important thing is just listening.”
Through providing technical assistance for the project, Clifford and Jones hope to show that the strength of Developmental Assets can be magnified by the rigorous use of the GTO 10-step planning process. As Jones explains, “The strength of the assets is the strength of relationship building and all that that brings and Getting To Outcomes is a very concrete, sequential planning process. So, when you put those together, it makes for a much stronger model.” The technical assistance providers also hope to develop a deeper understanding of how to combine assets and Getting To Outcomes most effectively. “We [Clifford and Jones] have lively conversations about how exactly to measure certain things or how exactly do we know for sure that what we’re doing around the assets is making a difference. One of the strengths of this project is that we’re developing instruments in order to be able to do that and when it works, it’s just amazing,” said Jones.
Clifford and Jones play a vital role in the A-GTO for Maine project by providing direct support to the communities involved in the process. By listening and advising community coalitions and programs on the Developmental Assets and Getting To Outcomes models, the technical assistance providers are furthering the goals of the study as well as improving communities across Maine for youth.
Click here to view Assets-Getting To Outcomes for Maine participating coalition locations
