Readiness & Preparation

Assessing Your Readiness

around a table Before beginning to plan your intervention, it is important to assess the community’s readiness allowing for a greater chance of success. Additionally, proper preparation will also improve your chances of planning and implementing an effective intervention.

Assessing the community’s interest in addressing the priority health issue is an important measure of readiness. Additionally, determining if there is leadership support, partnership engagement, and resources to implement an effective intervention are indicators of readiness.

The Show Me Am I Ready is a tool to help guide you through the process of evaluating if the community is ready to plan and implement an intervention to address the priority health issue. The scale provides ten essential questions to guide your thinking in determining readiness to proceed with planning and intervention.

Show Me Am I Ready Scale
The Show Me Am I Ready scale is designed to help you, your partners and those who may be affected by your intervention evaluate readiness. Choose the most appropriate response for each item ("Good," "Fair" or "Poor") by clicking in the circle. When you complete the last item, check to make sure that you have entered a response for each item and that it is correct. After you are finished, click the "Submit" button at the end to get your results. You may also want to print a copy of the worksheet, complete it with your partners and then enter and submit the responses on-line to receive your score.

Assessing Your Readiness Worksheet

Items	Good	Fair	Poor
1. The level of support I have from those who will be affected by an intervention is… Before you answer, think about the following: Who is the priority population that will be affected? Have you talked with representatives of the priority population about the need to plan and implement an intervention to address the health issue of concern? Was there support expressed for planning and implementing an intervention? Were any barriers expressed about moving forward with an intervention?
	Good	Fair	Poor
2. The level of political support I have from key decision-makers is… Before you answer, think about the following: Who are the key decision-makers and stakeholders in the community (e.g., organization administrators, legislators, advocacy groups)? Have you talked with these individuals about the need to plan and implement an intervention and asked their opinions on working with the priority population? Have you received buy-in from these key individuals that shows they will support your work?
	Good	Fair	Poor
3. The extent to which I’ve engaged partners – individuals or organizations – to assist me in planning and implementing the intervention is… Before you answer, think about the following: Who are the partners you’ve identified to assist and support planning and implementing an intervention? Are individuals or groups with public health experience and other important fields of expertise engaged as partners (e.g., in public policy, education or social services)? Are individuals who will be affected by the intervention engaged as partners to help you plan the intervention?
	Good	Fair	Poor
4. The level of administrative support I have from my organization is… Before you answer, think about the following: Who are the key decision-makers and administrators in your organization? Are they aware of your plans and do they support them, including the time you will spend on the project? Have you identified the resources you will need from your organization and received approval for them? Have you identified other organizations that may support your work and contribute resources? Have you received positive responses and encouragement from administrators for the need to pursue the intervention?
	Good	Fair	Poor
5. The amount of funding I have for planning and implementing the intervention is… Before you answer, think about the following: What funding do you have for planning an intervention? To implement and evaluate an intervention? Have you identified and/or applied for funding from other sources?
	Good	Fair	Poor
6. The number of people I have to work on the intervention is… Before you answer, think about the following: How many individuals do you have to plan and implement the intervention? How much time can each individual spend? Will this change over time? Do you need individuals with special skills or expertise?
	Good	Fair	Poor
7. The resources I have readily available to plan and implement the intervention are… Before you answer, think about the following: What are your space and equipment needs? What are your technology needs?
	Good	Fair	Poor
8. My team’s level of skills and expertise to plan and implement the intervention is… Before you answer, think about the following: What are the skills and expertise of your team members? What training needs do members of your team have? What are your technical assistance needs?
	Good	Fair	Poor
9. The strength of our team’s leadership is… Before you answer, think about the following: Who are the leaders on your team? Do the leaders motivate and support the team? Does your team respond favorably to the leaders?
	Good	Fair	Poor
10. Our ability to work together as a team is… Before you answer, think about the following: Does your team communicate effectively? Do team members trust one another and work well together? Is your team organized and efficient?

Thank you for completing the Show Me Am I Ready scale!

You received out of 20! See below to evaluate your score.

Evaluate your score:

If you received:

20 out of 20
Wonderful! Your score shows us that you are ready to begin planning and implementing your intervention. Please proceed to the next sections to help you get started.

15-19 out of 20
Congratulations! Your score shows us that you are ready to begin planning and implementing your intervention. You may want to consider the following suggestions as you proceed with the next sections to help you make your intervention successful.

10-14 out of 20
Caution! While you obviously have been working to get ready for planning and implementing your intervention, your score indicates there is additional work to be done. Please review the following suggestions before you proceed to the next sections.

0-9 out of 20
Stop! Your score indicates that you are not yet ready to begin planning and implementing an intervention. Please read and consider the following suggestions before proceeding with the next sections.

Suggestions to help you prepare for planning and implementing your intervention:

If you marked fair or poor on:

Question 1
In order for your intervention to be successful, it is important to think about those who will be affected. If a priority population for the intervention has not been identified, please go to the Assessment section for guidance. If a priority population has been identified, decide how to engage them in discussions about the need to address the health issue of concern. This can be done informally by having conversations with representatives of the group or more formally through interviews, group discussions or surveys. To ensure ongoing input from the priority population, it is important that representatives be included in the process of planning and implementing an intervention. Go to Related Links for more information.

Question 2
Within any community, there are decision makers that influence what gets done and how it gets done. These decision makers may be found within schools, businesses, civic organizations, advocacy groups or they may be elected officials. Because politics may play an important role in how interventions are planned and implemented, it is important to identify these key decision makers that can have an impact on your intervention. Be sure to identify those who may support your intervention as well as those who may not support it. It is critical to know of any political barriers you may encounter before you begin so that you can plan accordingly. You may want to have informal conversations with these individuals, or use more formal communication such as interviews, group discussions or surveys to gain input from these individuals or groups. Go to Related Links for more information.

Question 3
Partnerships play an important role in the success of any intervention. Intervention MICA has an entire section dedicated to creating partnerships. Go to Creating Partnerships or Related Links for more information.

Question 4
Sometimes working within your own organization can present challenges. Therefore, it is crucial to gain the support from your organization’s leadership prior to beginning planning an intervention. Keep your supervisors informed all along the way in preparing to plan the intervention. Invite them to your partnership meetings, and ask them to talk with the partners about the need to address the health issue. Establishing ownership and buy-in from your organization’s leaders will be essential for continued support throughout the project. Go to Related Links for more information.

Question 5
Identifying and securing funding are essential to successful intervention planning and implementation. Preparing a preliminary budget and having a good understanding of the costs associated with potential interventions can provide valuable information about what you may be able to do and not do. CHIR provides a section describing how to prepare a budget and potential sources of funding. Go to Budget Preparation and Funding Resources. You may also find additional information in Related Links.

Questions 6, 7 or 8
One of the biggest challenges in planning and implementing any intervention is trying to manage with the staff and resources that you may have or that you can afford. As you plan the intervention, you will need to refer to the preliminary budget you have prepared to determine if you can afford to do what you want to do. Interventions that are resource intensive requiring consider staff, equipment and materials may not be feasible. You may need to provide training for your existing staff rather than hiring new staff. In the end, the intervention of choice may be determined by the resources available. Go to Funding Resources to identify potential sources of funding or to Related Links for more information.

Questions 9 or 10
Positive working relationships among your partnership and team members are essential for planning and implementing an effective intervention. It is critical to develop strong leadership and conflict resolution skills among team members to build the capacity to deal with day to day problems in managing the intervention planning and implementation. Several resources are available on strengthening leadership capacity and team building. Go to Related Links for more information.

Continue to Preparing for Your Intervention >>

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