Skill Building Resources

Skill-Building Resources

Parachute has assembled a collection of information, guides, and tools, to help communities develop their skills in planning and priority setting. The following resources in the tool kit have a range of applications: from general public health uses and injury-specific prevention to specific examples of exercises used by Parachute. Please use this information in whichever way makes the most sense for your needs! Check back often as new tools and guides are added to the page. 

Priority Setting

Skill-Building Tools: An Introduction to Priority Setting, Parachute

• A document to introduce users to some of the methods available to help you set priorities and focus your work. Click here to download

Communty Planning Guide- Safe Communities: National Community-Based Injury Prevention Priority Setting Exercise, Parachute's Safe Communities

• Step-by-step guide for communities intending to complete an injury-prevention priority setting exercise as a part of their Safe Communities Designation. Click here to download

Facilitator's Manual - Safe Communities: National Community-Based Injury Prevention Priority Setting Exercise, Parachute's Safe Communities

• Step-by-step guide for instruction on how to come to consensus on community priorities for injury-prevention. (Complimentary to the Planning Guide available above). Click here to download

Community Motor Vehicle Collision Priority Setting Toolkit, ​Parachute

• Developed to facilitate priority setting for communities interested in tackling issues related to road safety and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) in their region. Click here to download

Multi-criteria analysis manual for making government policy, Department for Communities and Local Government, UK

• This manual provides guidance for government officials and other practitioners on how to undertake and make the best use of multi-criteria analysis. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-criteria-analysis-manual-for-making-government-policy

Program Evaluation

Skill-Building Tools: An Introduction to Program Evaluation, Parachute

• A document to provide users with a basic introduction to Program Evaluation: what it is, what kinds of evaluation are out there, and how to get started. Click here to download

Excerpts from the Review of Evaluation Frameworks, Saskatchewan Ministry of Education

• Comprehensive guide on evaluation frameworks and processes. Click here to download the guide (pdf)

Chapter 36: Introduction to Evaluation, ​The Community Tool Box, The Work Group for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas

• Online chapters available on Evaluation Frameworks, Intervention Research with Communities, Understanding Stakeholders, Choosing Evaluators, Developing an Evaluation Plan, and Participatory Evaluation. Click here to access the chapter directly on the Community Tool Box website

Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs: A Self-Study Guide, Centers for Disese Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• This document is a "how to" guide for planning and implementing evaluation activities. The manual, based on the CDC's Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health, is intendended to assist managers and staff of public, private, and community public health programs to plan, design, implement and use comprehensive evaluations in a practical way. Click here to download the guide (pdf) directly from the CDC website

​RE-AIM Evaluation Framework

• This is a general evaluation framework that has been used extensively in the literature, especially with regards to sports and recreation. RE-AIM stands for "Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance". More information available at http://www.re-aim.hnfe.vt.edu/

​Doing more with program evaluation: A toolkit for conducting program evaluation, The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO

• This toolkit contains resources for planning, doing, and using program evaluation. Toolkit includes worksheets that can assist your team in focusing on what is important and feasible as you begin to formulate and implement your evaluation project. Click here to download the guide (pdf) directly from the Centre's website​

Network Evaluation

Network Evaluation: Cultivating Healthy Networks for Social Change, Centre for Social Innovation & Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation

• Series of strategies and tools for network evaluation. Evaluator's Toolbox begins on page 39. Click here to visit the CSI website and download the free pdf guide

Logic Models

Skill-Building Tools: An Introduction to Logic Models, Parachute

• A basic introduction to program logic models. Click here to download

Logic Models and Program Planning, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Provides a comprehensive overview on the development of logic models, including examples. Click here to download the guide (pdf) directly from the CDC website

Relating Activities and Outcomes: Developing and Using Logic Models, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Provides an overview of how to contruct a logic model, with tips on elaborating, focusing, and applying the model. Found on pages 26 to 38 in "Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs: A Self Study Guide", available to download here from the CDC

Knowledge Translation

Skill-Building Tools: An Introduction to Knowledge Translation, Parachute

Knowledge Translation (KT) Planning Primer, Public Health Agency of Canada

• A three-part tool designed to support active forms of knowledge sharing

Social Media

Skill-Building Tools: Social Media as Helath Promotion, Parachute