SECTION 3 – Assessment, continued:
2. Current efforts to address the issue
One of the most important aspects of identifying and addressing a social issue is to have a good understanding of what efforts exist in your community (and potentially at the state and local level) that target your issue and how those efforts are working. This section should also include practices that have been evaluated and proven effective. These practices may be classified as best practice, research-based practice, or evidence-based practice. As best practices are presented, discuss where there are gaps in service for the macro population. This section should be two to three pages in length.
Be sure to include:
Existing interventions to address the issue/problem (programs, community groups, advocacy, grassroots efforts)—these may be local, national, or global. Organizations’ websites are the most common way to find information about these interventions and should be cited. Three to five interventions will be enough for this paper.
Evidence-based practices, research-based practices, or “best practices”—these may be from literature or based on evaluation and technical reports. Again, three to five evidence-based practices are appropriate for this section.
Gaps in services—this should be only a couple of paragraphs.
3. People of influence, allies, and assets
In this section, you will first identify systems, organizations, people, or groups that will influence the macro change process. Depending on your intervention idea, your action system may include just a few people or multiple agencies. Include external organizations/people who will be resources for your project and those who may be barriers. Present a plan for how to work alongside the macro population and include the clients’ values and voices in the decision-making processes. This section should include a strengths perspective by identifying assets the macro client has to be leveraged in the planned change. See Chapter 9 in the text for details and ideas. This section should be two to three pages in length.
4. Summary of need and hypothesis of change
After you have identified current efforts, supporting evidence for those efforts, and gaps in services, assets, and people of influence, you will summarize the problem and the need by developing a working hypothesis of change. See text for description (pp. 107–112). One practice model of macro practice will be selected as an approach to the identified need. Thorough rationale should be given. This should not be more than a page in length.
Conclusion
Summarize the plan for engagement, the assessment, and the hypothesis of change for macro practice. Make sure to retain a strengths-based perspective and a macro lens to make a clear argument of why a macro intervention is needed for this client. This summative section should be only a couple of paragraphs in length.
NOTE: In this section you should include both scholarly sources, such as journal articles that articulate best practices, and sources such as white papers—you’ll have a mix. You will have at least six to eight sources in this section.
