Program & Systems Design Archives

Program Toolkit Development and Evaluation of a Youth Substance Use and Addiction Prevention Program (2019-2021).

Mental Health & Addictions, Research & Evaluation, Toolkit Development, Uncategorized, youth mental health

Partner: BGC Canada Conducted a case study evaluation with six pilot agencies to inform a national 12-week youth substance use and addiction prevention program. The toolkit followed a strengths-focused, inclusive, trauma informed approach. It was sensitive to diverse identities and experiences and applied the principles of harm reduction. The program also contained a guardian training

Finding the Right Methods for the Situation

Collective Impact, Community Wellbeing, Facilitation and Training, Home, Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation, Uncategorized, Youth Development

A Blog Series At TNC, we are always thinking about better ways to help our clients gather the data that they need. We never want to become wedded to a narrow, rigid set of methods. Sometimes, this process leads us to try out new methods that we have not tried before. At other times, it

Who Shapes the Evaluation and Learning Ecosystem? Organizational Culture and Trust-Based Philanthropy

Home, News, Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation

Andrew Taylor and Ben Liadsky, Taylor Newberry ConsultingJulia Coffman and Albertina Lopez, Center for Evaluation Innovation In this blog post, we share some thoughts on a theoretical frame that emerged during our discussions about evaluation and learning in philanthropy. This blog post follows up our recent publication: Approaches to Learning Amid Crises: Reflections from Philanthropy.

How is TNC being Called to Respond in the “New Normal?”

Facilitation and Training, Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation

Today marks the beginning of TNC’s 10th anniversary year. This is the first of a series of posts reflecting on our practice and our mission. At TNC, we choose partners carefully. Whether you are a grantmaker, a frontline service provider, a local government department, a national network or a capacity builder, we

Falling in Love with the Rules

Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation

NOTE: A version of this post was originally published at Tamarack’s Communities Collaborating Institute Online. Here at Taylor Newberry, when we do evaluation work, we try our best to create surveys and tools that are thoughtful, accessible, and useful. We try to avoid creating mindless paperwork. I have just finished reading The Utopia of Rules: On Technology,

Meeting the Needs of People with Complex Mental Health Challenges: Service Resolution

Mental Health & Addictions, Program & Systems Design

Building a Service Resolution Function in Toronto In Ontario, there has been a growing focus on building health and social service systems that are capable of meeting needs of individuals with particularly complex needs. Recent estimates suggest that about 5% of the population accounts for 61% of hospital and home care costs in Ontario[i]. Among

Explaining Collective Impact

Collective Impact, Program & Systems Design

Imagine you go to visit a town full of thriving, interesting shops and busy parks. You wander past a bustling new elementary school. Eventually, your walk brings you to the edge of town, where you notice something incongruous – a huge, straight, ugly wall. It is a very tall wall, and it stretches as

What Does Housing First Mean for Youth?

Housing and Homelessness, Program & Systems Design, Youth Development

Best practice literature indicates that Housing First is the preferred housing model for people who require intensive supports and are experiencing chronic homelessness. Housing First has gained wide acceptance and has been identified as “best practice” by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Cities across Canada and the U.S. are in the process of transitioning

Why Youth Focussed Action Plans to End Homelessness Matter

Anti-Poverty Strategies, Mental Health & Addictions, Program & Systems Design, Youth Development

TNC was contracted by United Way KFL&A to help them develop an Action Plan to End Youth Homelessness in Kingston and Area. This project was part of a national program called Mobilizing Local Capacity to End Youth Homelessness (MLC), being led by Eva’s Initiatives, the National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness, the Canadian Housing and

Mapping the Mental Health System in Peel Region

Mental Health & Addictions, Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation

United Way Peel commissioned Taylor Newberry Consulting to conduct a community research project to gain an improved understanding of the mental health and addictions system in the region. Peel Region includes the municipalities of Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. This report provides the findings of the research and associated recommendations for system improvement.

Creating the Conditions for Lasting Change

Program & Systems Design, Research & Evaluation, Youth Development

Iqaluit, Nunavut is an incredible place. It has one of the most youthful demographics in Canada. It also has a vibrant and energetic community of locals who care deeply about the future of their young people. Despite this, Iqaluit is an under-serviced city with respect to child and youth programming. TNC recently had the honour

Youth Are Talking About Mental Health

Mental Health & Addictions, Program & Systems Design, Youth Development

Boys and Girls Clubs across Canada have repeatedly and increasingly identified a need for mental health resources and programming. AstraZeneca (AZ) supports a wide range of community mental health initiatives and programs and has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (BGCC) to develop a national program specific to the Club context. BGCC contracted