RESEA Behavioral Study - Program Manager Interview Protocol

OMB No.: 1290-0NEW 
Expiration: TBD

RESEA Behavioral Study Program Manager Interview Protocol

Introductory statement to respondents: We work for the research firm, [INSERT NAME] . The U.S. Department of Labor has hired us to conduct a behavioral impact evaluation of RESEA, which [INSERT NAME OF STATE] is participating in. We are examining the impact of the behavioral nudge or intervention that was implemented at your site.

This site visit is part of the evaluation and is designed to understand how RESEA works in [INSERT NAME OF STATE], with a focus on how the behavioral intervention is implemented.

Study Background

Over the next few months, we will be visiting [YY] [insert local name of AJCs—e.g. career source centers ] where RESEA program services are delivered. These visits are designed to help us learn about how the RESEA program and the behavioral intervention operate. We will explore topics such as, RESEA program flow, approaches to service delivery, customers’ experiences in the program.

If the interviewees ask about the study, feel free to share any of the following information:

• We plan to visit [YY] [insert local name of AJCs—e.g. career source centers ] where RESEA services are offered.
  
  
  

• At each site, we try to speak with (i) staff who deliver RESEA services, (ii) Career Center leadership, and RESEA participants. In addition to conducting interviews, we will also observe RESEA service delivery.

Interview Logistics

Today we’d like to ask about your activities, experiences, and perspectives as staff who work on the RESEA program. The interview will take about 60 minutes to complete.

Before we begin, I want to assure you that all your responses will be used only for this research study. Your name will not appear in any written reports we produce, and your co-workers will not know your responses. We will try to describe any responses you give in a way that will make it impossible to identify you. The interview itself is voluntary and you may choose not to answer any specific question.

Do you have any questions before we get started? If you have questions or concerns about today’s interview, specifically your rights as participant in this research, you can call the Abt Global Institutional Review Board (toll-free 877-520-6835).

We would like to record our conversation so we can have a back up to our notes. The recording will remain private. We will de-identify your information if we cite quotes from this discussion in our reports by removing references to any personal identifying information. We will erase the recording before the end of the project. Is it okay for us to record?

[If yes, thank the respondent and wait to record until you have confirmed the interview respondents name(s). After the recording is started, please add an introduction to the recording like: “This is an interview recorded on [date] by interviewer [name].”]

Questions

[Notes to Interviewer: 1) The interview is intended to be semi-structured and conversational. Though you do not need to follow the order of questions below—especially if the respondent jumps around with his/her responses—please try to collect information corresponding to each prompt. It is not necessary to ask every question in the allotted time, but please try to only exclude those questions that you determine are not relevant to your respondent. The solid black bullet points are the primary questions, and the sub-bullets identified as “Probe” are meant to encourage conversation when you determine necessary. You should not need to ask all the probing questions. 2) Please monitor the time and be sure to cover the topics in section 9 (innovations and challenges) so there is sufficient time for the respondent to respond to the topics.]

• Introductory questions

  • Can you tell me a little bit about yourself —your background, your role at the AJC, and how long you’ve been at that role?

  • Can you describe some of your job’s responsibilities at the AJC?

• Intervention implementation and monitoring

  • How do you ensure that the intervention is being implemented as intended by line staff?

  • What systems are in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention?

• Interpretation and communication guidelines

  • How are the guidelines for the intervention interpreted and communicated to the line staff?

  • Are there any discrepancies between the intended guidelines and their practical application?

• Resource allocation

  • Are there sufficient resources (time, personnel, materials) allocated for the successful implementation of the intervention?

  • What additional resources or changes in resource allocation would improve implementation?

• Staff feedback mechanisms

  • How do you collect and act upon feedback from line staff regarding the intervention?

  • Can you share examples of how feedback has led to changes or improvements in the intervention?

Public reporting burden for this data collection instrument is estimated to average 1 hour per response. The burden estimate includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing the interview. This collection of information is voluntary. You are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  Please send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to the U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office, 200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210, or ChiefEvaluationOffice@dol.gov and reference OMB control number 1290-0NEW.