Colouring Outside the Lines: An Overview of the CAPC/CPNP Think Tank Process

Fact Sheet 5 in a series of 5
August 2002

Innovative Process Facilitates Working Partnerships

"This is a model that anyone can learn and understand. It makes sense." - A Think Tank participant

A Participatory Approach

"The purpose of this project was to find research support for what project people have known to be true for a long time. We are moving from practical experience to theoretical validation." - From ‘Colouring Outside the Lines: An Overview of the CAPC/CPNP Think Tank Process'

The first CAPC/CPNP "Think Tank" is a model of a unique process that builds effective partnership between community experience and research knowledge. The resulting issue papers inform practice at the project level, establish models that can be replicated, and build a sense of ownership.

Overall, a Think Tank should:

• result in knowledge development
• lend itself to replication
• have tangible outcomes
• involve the community of interest

Where Do We Start?

The first step involves forming a peer Advisory Committee. Representatives provide direction and guidance and are instrumental in determining priorities and criteria and guiding the process.

The Process in a Nutshell

• Form peer Advisory Committee
• Identify priority issues
• Determine relevant topics
• Establish criteria for selecting community-based participants
• Host Think Tank and evaluate it
• Produce and disseminate co-authored papers.

Selecting Priority Issues

The Advisory Committee establishes the criteria for selecting the issues. For example, issues addressed could include those which are:

• Important to CAPC/CPNP programs and projects of national relevance
• Useful — It should be a timely or urgent issue.
• Feasible — There has to be a critical mass upon which to draw and an existing capacity in the area.
• Unique — It should not duplicate other work being done, or should provide a unique perspective.

Preparing for the Big Event

• Invest in a meeting planner to coordinate logistics and behind-the-scenes details.
• Put together a competent resource team to cover all aspects of meeting planning, implementation and ensuring services in both official languages.
• Ask project representatives to review their community experience, including:
  • Learnings worth sharing
  • Key research questions
  • Barriers and challenges
  • Next steps and recommendations to better address the issue

We're on our Way!

• Structure the event thoroughly to allow for sufficient orientation and networking.
• Begin with an opening plenary then break off into working groups for discussion of the issues and to focus on predefined tasks.
• Reconvene for a closing plenary to report back on discussions to ensure that all participants have access to the information which was shared in the small group discussions.

Producing an Issue Paper

An example of the process used to produce an issue paper involves the following lessons learned:

• Hold a "Think Tank".
• Produce a draft report based on the working group discussions and circulate it for verification and feedback.
• Researcher conducts a literature review of key research questions and it is circulated to working groups for their review and feedback.
• Consolidate and edit the draft report and the literature review.
• Circulate a second draft for review.
• Edit ? desktop publish ? Translate = THE PAPER

Putting the Papers to Use

"The papers will provide a base for developing training and supportive material that would be shared with other … projects." - From ‘Colouring Outside the Lines: An Overview of the CAPC/CPNP Think Tank Process'

• A variety of potential uses for the Think Tank papers were identified including: training tools, informing funders, guiding program staffing, enhancing education strategies, influencing policy- and decision-makers, and mobilizing project staff.

Suggestions to Note …

"[What I liked most was] that our local perspective is valued enough to be documented and has the opportunity to change policy! I feel like we played an advocacy role…" - A Think Tank participant

Overall, CAPC/CPNP participants rated the Think Tank experience as either "very good" or "excellent". The main criticism centred on the lack of time to complete the process. A few suggestions to note include:

• Build in structured networking opportunities and promote them in the advance materials.
• Plan for a resource area and promote it more in the advance materials.
• Start with a reception to encourage networking among participants.
• Clearly define roles on paper.
• Clarify terminology and use simple language.
• Predetermine the process for producing the issue paper and be clear about the target audience.

Keeping on Track

Elements which are critical to the success of future Think Tanks are:

• Choosing the right sponsor.
• Having the sponsor adopt a low-key approach.
• Involving a grass-roots, representative advisory committee to steer and guide the process.
• Maintaining ongoing communication with Think Tank participants is essential before, during, and after the Think Tank.
• Selecting competent, committed representatives recognized by their peers for their expertise to ensure valuable contributions to discussions and the process in general.

The Ultimate Test

The effectiveness of the Think Tank model as a mechanism to deliver effective dialogue between community representatives and researchers to support experiential learnings with evidence from peer review literature.

"Often when the conference is over, the good work stops. I'm pleased this will continue and has a dissemination plan." - A Think Tank participant

The Community Action Program for Children (CAPC) and the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) support a range of community action programs and services for pregnant women, parents and children living in conditions of risk across Canada. CAPC and CPNP sponsored their first "Think Tank" in Ottawa. To ensure that the outcomes were meaningful to CAPC/CPNP projects, an Advisory committee with representation from projects, as well as regional and national Health Canada staff, designed and shaped the event.

At the Think Tank, representatives from 38 CAPC and CPNP projects came together with community- based participatory researchers to integrate their experience and expertise into four issue papers:

• Maximizing Parental Involvement
• Reaching and Maintaining the Focus Population
• Factors that Contribute to Increased Breastfeeding in the CAPC/CPNP Population.
• Partnership and Intervention in Dealing With Child Abuse Prevention

A fifth paper entitled, Colouring Outside the Lines: An Overview of the CAPC/CPNP Think Tank Process, provides an overview of the experimental model used during the Think Tank.

The key highlights of these five issue papers have also been captured in five fact sheets with the same titles. This fact sheet is the fifth in the series.

Production of this document by the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto, has been made possible by a financial contribution from the CAPC/CPNP National Projects Fund, Health Canada.

Permission is granted to photocopy this material provided that the source is acknowledged. Full versions of the issue papers and the fact sheets are available on the Division of Childhood and Adolescence website. Hard copies of the documents can also be obtained by contacting the Division of Childhood and Adolescence at (613) 957-3956.