12 Jan, 2017

Try This: The World Cafe

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T19:02:13-04:00January 12th, 2017|Categories: Research & Evaluation|Tags: program evaluation, Research, Try This|0 Comments

What’s the first image that comes to mind when you think of a focus group?

Mostly likely a small group of people–typically between 8-12 in size–gathered around a table, responding to a facilitator’s questions while being recorded. There may be some snacks involved.

Focus groups are a qualitative data activity used to gather feedback on a product, program or service from a group of people who have some type of commonality, such as age, race, gender, work experience, etc. The information they share can help the organizations or businesses gain a better understanding of why something is working, why it’s not working, and how that something impacts their lived experience.

If you’ve ever facilitated a focus group, you might know how boring they can be. And if you’ve been in a focus group, you definitely know how boring they can be. But what I’ve noticed is this: Focus groups are not boring, technically. It’s how they are structured that makes them boring. There are more engaging ways to conduct a focus group. One of those methods is the World Cafe.

First, some background

From The World Café: Living Knowledge through Conversations that Matter, the World Cafe is a methodology that invites large group dialogue. While in a basic focus group, participants are asked a question and discuss it openly, the World Cafe takes it a step further by allowing for a larger group of participants to be in the space. While they are discussing the question amongst themselves, the conversation flows more freely because it’s a conversation amongst the group rather than the group responding directly to the facilitator. Also, the group is helping the facilitator collect data in a more dynamic, participatory way.

Based on recommended World Cafe design principles, the focus of the World Cafe:

Set the context– What is the purpose for bringing people into the space, and what do you (and the group) want to achieve?
Create hospitable space– Pay attention to how the space is set up. Is it comfortable and inviting? If accessibility is a need, does the space function so that those with certain needs are comfortable in the space?
Explore questions that matter– You can explore a single question or you can develop questions that build on each other. Either way, you’ll be able to synthesize the data to explore common themes
Encourage everyone’s contribution– Encourage everyone to participate in ways that work for them. While some find it easier to express themselves verbally, others may find it better to draw or simply listen
Connect diverse perspectives– The key to the World Cafe is sharing perspectives. When participants move about the room (more on this later), they’re meeting new people, seeing ideas and thoughts that have been generated, and sharing new insights
Listen together for patterns and insights– Shared listening is the key factor in the success of a World Cafe. This is the way to look for themes. Encourage people to listen for what is not being spoken along with what is being shared
Share collective discoveries– Once the World Cafe is complete, invite participants to reflect on patterns, themes and questions expressed and to share them with the larger group

Here’s a video explanation of the process.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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29 Dec, 2016

Try This: Identify Self Care Activities to Start, Continue, & Stop

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:59:24-04:00December 29th, 2016|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Try This|0 Comments

I recently shared a self care exercise you can use to identify your recipes, remedies, rituals, and resources for self care.

Today, let’s try another exercise taken from “The Revolution Starts with Me!: Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources”, a workshop I co-facilitate with Adaku Utah.

When I facilitated this exercise a few weeks ago with the staff at Reproaction, I adapted it to fit the organization’s self care needs, rather than have the staff complete the exercise individually. This exercise, adapted from the MS Society of Canada, is can found in our self care zine. If you already have the zine, pull it out and follow along, (or you can get a free copy when you sign up for my weekly newsletter.) Like the previous exercise, this exercise can be done individually or by a staff or group.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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15 Dec, 2016

Try This: Create Your Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources for Self Care

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:58:56-04:00December 15th, 2016|Categories: Self & Community Care|Tags: self care, Strategic Planning, Try This|1 Comment

I recently attended a staff retreat for Reproaction, one of my clients. During the two-day retreat, I led a few discussions on self care and goal setting in 2017 from an organizational viewpoint.

In particular, I led the staff through two exercises taken from my workshop “The Revolution Starts with Me!: Recipes, Remedies, Rituals, and Resources for Activist Self Care“. This workshop is typically co-facilitated with Adaku Utah, and is tailored to meet the needs of the primary audience. Over the years, the workshop has focused more on young activists as we’ve been asked to facilitate in mostly activist settings, but for Reproaction’s staff retreat, I adapted it to fit the organization’s self care needs. Today, I’ll walk you through one of the exercises. Whether you’re a staff or a group of students, this exercise will work for you, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it.

Here’s what you’ll need:

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12 Aug, 2015

Try This: Discover Your True Color

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:48:01-04:00August 12th, 2015|Categories: Miscellaneous|Tags: Capacity Building, Try This|0 Comments

During my college resident assistant orientation, we went through multiple leadership and staff building exercises. One assessment that stood out most was the True Colors™ assessment.

True Colors™ * is a personality test developed by Don Lowry in 1978. Originally created to categorize four basic learning styles to identify the strengths and challenges of these core personality types, True Colors™ helps us to understand different personality temperaments.

The concept behind True Colors™ is we aren’t put into the box of one, with the understanding that our personality traits are fluid and can adjust based on our environment or circumstances. True Colors is a way to understand the how our behaviors and motivations relate to our own to increase camaraderie, improve communication, and limit potential conflict.

This was particularly useful when I started working with my fellow RAs. When we took True Colors, we were excited to see that we each embodied one of the four personality types: Orange, Gold, Green, or Blue. After a while, we would refer to each other by color only, and when conflict arose or when we came together for meetings and to plan activities for our residents, we were able to understand why someone made a particular decision as well as how to work together.

True Colors™ can be used by college residential staff, supervisors, teachers, and more. I would venture to say that it’s particularly useful for school social workers, counselors, teachers, and anyone else that works with younger people as it can help you tailor your lesson plans and weekly counseling sessions based on the color of the young people you’re working with.

One thing worth mentioning: While you may dominate in a particular color, there’s no better or worse color. Each color is design to compliment the others, and you can flow in and out of your dominant color throughout your lifetime. Before reading on, I highly recommend you take the assessment. Here’s the official link to purchase True Colors™ for your staff or students. It includes the assessment as well as a detailed report of your colors by ranking and cover different areas where your color can come into play such as an work environment, school, childhood, time management, and how others may perceive you. Here’s a sample report. (And no, I’m not affiliated with True Colors™.)

If you want to take the exam without purchasing, check out this assessment based on True Colors developed by Lone Star College, or the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill’s version created by the university’s Department of Campus Recreation.

Once you take the assessment, come back and read more about the colors:

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1 Jul, 2015

Try This: How Does Health Care Look Through the Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice Frameworks?

By Nicole Clark, LMSW|2021-08-19T18:47:08-04:00July 1st, 2015|Categories: Equity & Justice|Tags: reproductive justice, Try This|0 Comments

In March, I began consulting with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health around engaging community stakeholders on health equity and reproductive justice. I was initially intrigued because this was the first time I’ve heard of a city health department being interested in incorporating the reproductive justice framework into their work. Last week, the DOHMH held a community gathering of 65 local organizations on how to engage the community in this work, and I assisted in introducing the reproductive justice framework to those in the room who were not familiar with it. It was a great opportunity to assist the DOHMH in utilizing the reproductive justice framework in their work as they connect with local providers, community groups and activists, and I look forward to working with the DOHMH as they become more engaged with the New York City community.

During my presentation, I broke down the differences between the reproductive health, rights, and justice frameworks into two using Forward Together’s groundbreaking report A New Vision for Advancing Our Movement for Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, and Reproductive Justice (2005):

Reproductive Health: A service delivery model that focuses on addressing the reproductive health needs of women. The people affected are patients in need of services and/or education, and the key players are people who work as, or are allied with, medical professionals, community and public health educators, health researchers, and health service providers.

Reproductive Rights: A legal/advocacy based model that focuses on the protection of an individual’s right to access to reproductive health services. The people affected are individuals who are encouraged to actively participate in the political process, and the key players are people who work as, or are allied with, advocates, legal experts, policymakers, and elected officials.

Reproductive Justice: A community organizing model that focuses on intersectionality as a way to organize communities to change structural inequalities. The people affected are community members who are organized to lead against reproductive oppression and other injustices, and the key players are people who work as, or are allied with reproductive rights, reproductive health, and social justice and other justice organizations.

To go further, I used a health topic to demonstrate how it could look under each of these frameworks. Let’s take a look at an example on minors consenting to HIV treatment in New York State:

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First, some background

Here’s what you’ll need:

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