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As this is a formative evaluation, its intent is to provide a description and assessment of program design and implementation. This review focuses primarily on the time period June 1, 1995, the approximate date at which the Strategic Initiative Agreement was signed, through March 1996. Three distinct methods of information gathering were used.

First, documentation was reviewed and existing data sources were accessed. This included:

• background reports on SNDC/SCC;

• job descriptions;

• quarterly reports and newsletters;

• terms of reference, membership listings, minutes, and products of the sub-committee on SCC and other related committees;

• policies, program descriptions, operational directives and other documentation; and,

• management information gathered by involved provincial ministries, for example, statistics on contracts, staffing, budget, expenditures, and progress reports.

Second, in-person interviews were conducted during February 1996 with a total of eight representatives of the five ministries who have major roles to play in the transition to SCC at the provincial level. Primarily, this included the members of the sub-committee on SCC. These interviews were semi-structured and developed to address the particular Ministry responsibility of each respondent.

Third, interviews were conducted with a total of fourteen representatives from the nine Ministry of Social Services (MSS) regions.² Due to differences in implementation and geography, some regions had more than one respondent. The respondent was either the responsible Area Manager and/or designated District Supervisor(s) or Social Worker(s). These interviews were also semi-structured. While the majority were completed via telephone, four were completed in-person. These interviews took place during March and April of 1996.

Collectively, the information gathered via these distinct methods is used to describe and assess how well the transition process is proceeding.

Footnotes

2	The MSS retains responsibility for the administration and management of SNDC/SCC. Ministry staff have front line responsibility to work with communities to organize local procedures for making SCC a reality in BC.