Where have we been? Where are we going?: Using Collaborative Trend Mapping for Program Design

In 2015, CAI established the HOPE Buffalo Collaborative to support teen pregnancy prevention efforts in Buffalo, NY. With almost a decade gone by, the HOPE Buffalo Collaborative conducted two trend mapping sessions in September 2023 to better understand changes to the landscape around adolescent sexual and mental health. Trend mapping is the process of creating a visual depiction of relevant trends influencing a system or topic using the collective knowledge and experience of a group of people familiar with that topic. This method is especially powerful as it helps to visualize people’s experiences in new ways and highlights the interconnectedness of certain trends a community is experiencing. Involving youth and the community in evaluation and program design is essential – not only for organizational or programmatic learning, but also for community learning, growth, and change. Using trend mapping allows programs to collectively identify where they have been and where they want to go, making it a valuable tool for any evaluator to have in their methods toolbox. Thus, this skill-building workshop will:

• describe how HOPE Buffalo used trend mapping;


• explain how to facilitate, analyze, and visualize trend mapping with a diverse audience ; and


• give participants the opportunity to experience a mini-trend mapping session.

Our trend mapping sessions engaged sexual health program facilitators, school district staff, youth, and other youth-serving professionals to ensure that both adult and youth perspectives and experiences were captured. To illustrate the type of information that can be gathered through trend mapping, HOPE Buffalo’s trend map will be shared as an example.