66 - Building the Public Health Evaluation Workforce through a Graduate Student Experience Program: Developing a Student-Informed Applied Practice Training Program

Abstract Information: Evaluation is integral to public health, but there is a dearth of programs that focus on evaluation methods and approaches in the public health setting. Moreover, most master’s level public health programs lack practical applied experiences that are essential for evaluation practice. Emory Centers for Public Health Training and Technical Assistance (Emory Centers) is a Center of Practice based at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Our mission is to advance public health practice through capacity building in partnership with the public health workforce and communities nationwide. Through the Rollins School of Public Health work-study program, Emory Centers engages master’s level graduate students using an inclusive fieldwork model. Our model provides students with opportunities to support national and community-based evaluation projects in a supportive learning environment. The Program Evaluation and Quality Improvement (PEQI) Center, one of the subcenters within Emory Centers, offers applied program evaluation experience in an academic-consulting environment as a method of strengthening evaluation skills of the public health workforce. Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) are actively mentored throughout their experience by evaluation staff of various expertise levels, which improves student understanding of how their unique interests can align with current public health evaluation needs. As PEQI undergoes exponential growth, both internally as our team continues to grow and externally with newly developed clients and partnerships, the need for competencies and formalization of the GRA program has emerged. Using data obtained from past and present GRAs and real-world examples, we will delve into how PEQI developed evaluation competencies to ensure that GRAs of all backgrounds and experiences develop the evaluation skills and competencies needed to succeed as a public health evaluation professional. In this session, attendees will learn: - How GRA programs can provide experiential learning opportunities that can develop students into highly qualified, well-equipped evaluation professionals - How embedding graduate students in evaluation project teams can empower students to have a voice and elevate their fresh perspectives in their work - Methods and growth opportunities that University-Based Centers can employ to ensure improvements in evaluation skill and ability throughout these learning opportunities, including mentoring, applied experiences, leadership of appropriate project components and tasks, client/community facilitation experiences, and collaboration with other students and staff - The process of developing learning competencies, making sure to include perspectives and lessons learned from our junior level evaluators, as well as current and previous PEQI GRAs