University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA.
American Institutes of Research, USA.
Eval Health Prof. 2024 Dec;47(4):369-385. doi: 10.1177/01632787241285561.
Technical assistance (TA) is a tailored approach to capacity building that has grown in use across diverse settings over the past two decades, particularly in the domains of health improvement, child welfare, youth development, and education. In practice, TA services often include a combination of activities (e.g., coaching, professional development, site visits, and resource sharing) and vary in dosage, modality, and numerous other dimensions. While tailoring to recipient needs holds significant value, the individualized nature of TA creates challenges for assessing the effectiveness of TA. The difficulty of determining what contributes to TA outcomes is amplified when TA delivery is largely reactive (rather than proactive) and unaccompanied by a systematic approach to planning, delivery, and evaluation. Logic models are a well-established tool and a straightforward way to make TA more systematic. In this article, we introduce the TA Effectiveness Logic Model as a skeletal framework to guide systematic TA planning, delivery, and evaluation. The TA Effectiveness Logic Model graphically presents the rationale and expectations for how TA works in a setting. We describe two types of TA effectiveness logic models: basic and contextual. In addition, we offer a case example from work based on a national training and TA center to illustrate both types of logic models. Lastly, we discuss practical implications of TA effectiveness logic models for TA collaborators (funders, training and TA center administrators, TA providers, TA recipients, and researchers). Routinizing the use of TA effectiveness logic models has benefits for both the science and practice of TA.
技术援助 (TA) 是一种针对能力建设的定制方法，在过去二十年中，在医疗改善、儿童福利、青年发展和教育等领域得到了广泛应用。在实践中，TA 服务通常包括一系列活动（例如，辅导、专业发展、现场访问和资源共享），并在剂量、方式和许多其他方面有所不同。虽然针对接受者的需求进行定制具有重要价值，但 TA 的个性化性质给评估 TA 的有效性带来了挑战。当 TA 的交付主要是被动的（而不是主动的）并且没有系统的规划、交付和评估方法时，确定什么因素促成 TA 结果的难度就会加大。逻辑模型是一种成熟的工具，也是使 TA 更加系统的简单方法。在本文中，我们引入了 TA 有效性逻辑模型，作为一种指导系统的 TA 规划、交付和评估的基本框架。TA 有效性逻辑模型以图形方式呈现了 TA 在特定环境中运作的原理和预期。我们描述了两种类型的 TA 有效性逻辑模型：基本型和情境型。此外，我们还提供了一个基于国家培训和 TA 中心的工作案例，来说明这两种逻辑模型。最后，我们讨论了 TA 有效性逻辑模型对 TA 合作者（资助者、培训和 TA 中心管理人员、TA 提供者、TA 接受者和研究人员）的实际意义。使 TA 有效性逻辑模型的使用常规化对 TA 的科学性和实用性都有好处。
