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As part of the larger Save the Children evaluation, our research team developed and disseminated an online survey to VOAD members and those partnered or affiliated informally with Arkansas and Nebraska state-level VOADs. The intent of this survey was to assess individual and organizational levels of disaster preparedness and the state of child-centered disaster preparedness activities. The Natural Hazards Center team created one survey, which was then updated to be specific to each state. The survey is divided into the following six sections: (a) organizational characteristics, VOAD involvement, and experience with disaster; (b) knowledge and awareness about children in disasters; (c) capacity for child-focused disaster response; (d) readiness for child-focused disaster response; (e) perceptions about child-focused disaster response; and (f) demographic information. We used the online survey platform Qualtrics to disseminate surveys through anonymous survey links. These links were sent to Arkansas and Nebraska VOADs and their partners on December 3, 2018. In all, a total of 24 surveys in Arkansas (7 of which were partially completed), and 46 surveys in Nebraska (13 of which were partially completed) were submitted via Qualtrics by December 17, 2018. This publication includes the final survey instrument, which may be of interest to other evaluation researchers.Between 2018 and 2020, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted an evaluation entitled: Building State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs) Capacities to Protect Children in Emergencies. This project was designed to assess the capacity of state-level VOADs to address children’s needs before, during, and after disasters. This project involved multi-method research in the focal states of Arkansas and Nebraska and in collaboration with members of VOADs, emergency management, Save the Children, and other child-serving organizations in both states. The evaluation team conducted participatory engagement exercises, survey research, secondary data analysis and GIS mapping, and an interorganizational network analysis survey. This project includes research instruments and the final reports produced as part of this project. The envisioned audience for these materials includes researchers, emergency managers, and professionals who work for child-serving organizations.
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Interorganizational Social Network Analysis Survey Instrument:Building State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) Capacities to Protect Children in Emergencies: An Evaluation Research Project
A primary objective of this larger evaluation project was to develop a baseline understanding of the existing connections across Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) member and partner organizations in Arkansas and Nebraska, including identification of opportunities for additional or more extensive collaboration. To address this objective, the evaluation team constructed an interorganizational social network analysis (SNA) survey to measure the degree to which VOAD member organizations in Arkansas and Nebraska: (1) engage in various levels of collaboration, (2) contact one another, (3) exchange essential resources, and (4) perceive the benefits and challenges associated with collaboration. In addition to measuring VOAD collaboration and exchanges, we assessed the extent to which child-serving organizations were represented within Arkansas and Nebraska VOAD networks and whether they were sought after for child-focused resources. To do this, we developed two survey instruments that were identical other than one survey included VOAD, emergency management, and child-serving organizations in Nebraska, and the other included such organizations in Arkansas. We also updated the introductory text in each survey to represent the names of the focal states and organizational partners. In total, 34 participants from Arkansas VOAD and their partners and 43 participants from Nebraska VOAD and their partners completed the SNA survey. The intended audience for this survey instrument includes researchers as well as practitioners and policy makers interested in the use of social network analysis in disaster research. As indicated by the highlighted text in the instruments, future users of this survey will need to update organizational names in the text and network question rosters. Please see the highlighted instructions in the survey for further guidance on replicating the instrument.Between 2018 and 2020, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted an evaluation entitled: Building State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs) Capacities to Protect Children in Emergencies. This project was designed to assess the capacity of state-level VOADs to address children’s needs before, during, and after disasters. This project involved multi-method research in the focal states of Arkansas and Nebraska and in collaboration with members of VOADs, emergency management, Save the Children, and other child-serving organizations in both states. The evaluation team conducted participatory engagement exercises, survey research, secondary data analysis and GIS mapping, and an interorganizational network analysis survey. This project includes research instruments and the final reports produced as part of this project. The envisioned audience for these materials includes researchers, emergency managers, and professionals who work for child-serving organizations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1635593
- PAR ID:
- 10510391
- Publisher / Repository:
- Designsafe-CI
- Date Published:
- Edition / Version:
- 1
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- CONVERGE - Social Science/Interdisciplinary Resources and Extreme Events Coordination - University of Colorado Boulder
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- DesignSafe Cyberinfrastructure
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Participatory asset mapping activities were used in both Arkansas and Nebraska to gain an understanding of existing organization-based assets and areas for improvement in the context of emergency preparedness. The main goals of the mapping activities that the Natural Hazards Center team led in Arkansas and Nebraska included: (1) Identifying organizational strengths, capacities, skills, and resources within organizations generally and for children in disasters specifically; (2) Deciphering organizations’ limitations and gaps both generally and in providing support for children in disasters; and (3) Facilitating potential cooperation between and among organizations by generating a shared awareness and understanding of organizations’ collective assets and areas for improvement. Our team constructed and facilitated a participatory asset mapping activity that was conducted during the two facilitated sessions held on December 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska and December 13, 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and hosted by Save the Children for the Building Capacities to Protect Children Project. Participants in both states included individuals from state-level VOAD member organizations, community-based organizations, emergency management, and partners that provide services for children during disasters and emergencies. A total of 16 individuals participated in Arkansas, and 12 in Nebraska. This publication includes the verbal consent form, participatory asset mapping guidance document, and organizational asset mapping worksheets. The participatory asset mapping facilitator’s guide provides step-by-step instructions for individuals interested in conducting participatory asset mapping. This can be adapted to fit other research and evaluation objectives. The participatory asset mapping protocol was used to facilitate the participatory asset mapping activities among Arkansas and Nebraska VOAD participants and organizational partners in Little Rock Arkansas, and Lincoln, Nebraska, respectively. The organizational worksheets were used for conducting the participatory asset mapping activities in Arkansas and Nebraska and can easily be adapted for use in other contexts or organizational types.Between 2018 and 2020, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted an evaluation entitled: Building State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs) Capacities to Protect Children in Emergencies. This project was designed to assess the capacity of state-level VOADs to address children’s needs before, during, and after disasters. This project involved multi-method research in the focal states of Arkansas and Nebraska and in collaboration with members of VOADs, emergency management, Save the Children, and other child-serving organizations in both states. The evaluation team conducted participatory engagement exercises, survey research, secondary data analysis and GIS mapping, and an interorganizational network analysis survey. This project includes research instruments and the final reports produced as part of this project. The envisioned audience for these materials includes researchers, emergency managers, and professionals who work for child-serving organizations.more » « less
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