***Please note: as of June 2021, this position has been filled.***

 

Program Overview

The New American Integration Program (NAIP) is a partnership between the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition (MIRA) and English for New Bostonians aimed at increasing community organizations’ capacity to support immigrant integration across our Commonwealth. Each year, NAIP places up to 30 AmeriCorps members with diverse backgrounds at local non-profit organizations with proven track records to strengthen and expand their services to immigrant and refugee communities. We serve individuals who are low income and face one or more barriers to economic self-sufficiency including limited English proficiency and lack of access to job readiness training, career counseling, and naturalization services. NAIP’s service area reflects the geographical distribution of immigrants and refugees in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, now totaling over 1.2 million or 16.9 percent of the state’s population. Since the program started in 2011, NAIP has placed 267 members at 57 host sites, and provided services to more than 25,000 immigrant and refugee clients. Immigrant communities in Massachusetts reside largely in and around urban areas of the state, with the greatest concentrations in Eastern and Central MA, especially Greater Boston, Southeastern MA, the North Shore and Merrimack Valley, and Worcester. NAIP partners with host sites that serve one or more of these areas.

The New American Integration Program seeks an external evaluator to conduct a process evaluation study, focusing on the quality and nature of how NAIP and its host sites adequately prepare and support AmeriCorps members to effectively deliver services to refugees and immigrants’ community during the service year of 2021-2022. We are hoping that this evaluation study will help us to measure the effectiveness of our service delivery and provide insight into why certain goals or outcomes are or are not being accomplished. This will also help our staff to make a decision on what activities to improve, initiate, or modify. The study design will use mixed methods, using data collected during the 2021-2022 program year. The evaluator will work from a design, and follow a timeline, that has been approved by our funder, AmeriCorps. The study sample will consist of all 30 AmeriCorps members and their supervisors in service during the 2021-2022 program year. Data will include quantitative and qualitative data collected via pre-/post-surveys, process data about the activities and services performed by members each month, as well as interviews or focus groups.

Research questions

The study will focus on the following questions:

(1) To what extent does the training provided by NAIP and its host sites prepare AmeriCorps members to effectively integrate refugees and immigrants via the program’s service delivery models?

(2) Does the training and support provided by NAIP empower members and host sites to reach the program goals? Which services areas need more training and support? Which service areas and types of training/support are working well?

Service to be provided

The selected consultant will be responsible for the following activities in collaboration with NAIP Staff and its site partners from summer 2021-October 2022

  • Work with NAIP to refine the evaluation design, work plan and analysis, including identifying and/or designing appropriate tools to study AmeriCorps member training
  • Work with NAIP team to identify appropriate subsamples of AmeriCorps members and site partners to participate in interviews and/or focus groups
  • Code qualitative data (e.g., from open-ended survey responses, focus groups, and/or interviews) and analyze quantitative data using descriptive statistics
  • Write an evaluation report to be submitted with program application for federal funding (written report including an executive summary based on AmeriCorps format; final report due no later than October 2022)
  • Give updates and clarifications on progress monthly via Zoom or Google Meet

Support from NAIP team

  • Provide background materials about the program and approved evaluation plan to build from
  • Recruit and schedule AmeriCorps members and host site partners to participate in study and assist with scheduling
  • Provide consultant with electronic data on key activities of AmeriCorps members in an Excel or .csv format (NAIP collects monthly client data from all the AmeriCorps members)
  • NAIP team will be available to provide any information or documents needed from host site partners or AmeriCorps members

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with evaluating AmeriCorps programs and/or similar training and education Programs
  • Knowledge of refugees and immigrants service field
  • Experience in both quantitative and qualitative program evaluation methods

 Project Timeline

This study must be completed by October 2022, following the 2-year timeline sketched below. Some specifics may change as the contractor works with NAIP further on the study design.

  • April 2021: Evaluator identified and contract formalized
  • May 2021-June 2021: Pilot and refine surveys and other tools
  • September-October 2021: Data collection of pre-surveys from AmeriCorps members
  • February-March 2022: Interviews or focus groups with members and host site supervisors conducted
  • April-May 2022: Qualitative interview data coded and summarized
  • June-July 2022: End of year interviews or focus groups with members and host site supervisors conducted
  • End of July 2022: Post-surveys collected
  • August 2022: Data analyses finalized
  • September 2022: Report drafted, shared with NAIP team, and revised as needed
  • October 2022: Final report submitted

Proposal Submission

Proposals should be submitted to Christine Ntagengwa and Suzanne Metro via email at naip@miracoalition.org by March 15, 2021. Proposals should include the following information:

  • Summary of how applicant skills and experience would support this project and how this work would contribute to greater professional goals;
  • A resume and description of experience evaluating relevant programs, particularly AmeriCorps or other service programs, job readiness, and/or refugee and immigrant service programs; and/or evaluations of teaching or training effectiveness;
  • Description of your communication style and how you have structured ongoing communications with clients (e.g. how did you collaborate/communicate with service providers and other stakeholders; how did you overcome any unexpected challenges to developing or implementing the evaluation plan);
  • An outline of how you will structure work on the project, including identifying any individuals who may be supporting the project;
  • A proposed budget, not to exceed $30,000 total; and
  • A copy of at least one evaluation report that you have authored or co-authored.

Click here to download this Request for Proposals as a PDF