Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 03

March/April 2017 // Canadian Government Executive / 9 Program Evaluation needs. These are often also the groups who are most costly for the system. c. Problem focused, not solution focused
 Quantitative data tells us if a service is be- ing used or not, it does not offer insight into motivations, needs, preferences, and experiences. As such, quantitative data has to be combined with qualitative data to be more actionable – to reveal informa- tion about how the problem might best be solved. It is from this combination of data types that we learn not only the fact that Dustin does not seek medical help until he has to go to emergency, but why Dustin doesn’t go to his GP. If quantitative data is so limited, what intelligence does Grounded offer? Grounded data seeks to answer three types of questions: (1) how does a service or program work/not work, (2) for whom does a service or program work/not work, and (3) why? Grounded offers insight about: a. Service Journeys of groups. Which services do people interact with, when, and how do they rate their experi- ences? What are the enablers and barriers individuals encounter as they use services and
try to access support? Qualitative data offers a more global view of a person in context thereby illuminating insights indi- viduals may neglect to share. 
b. The motivations, preferences, and aspira- tions of individuals. How do people define a good outcome for themselves? What are their unmet needs and wants? How do
their service interac- tions shape their motivations and prefer- ences? c. The clever solutions. For example: how are homeless/under- housed individuals’ making 
do? What are their strategies and ways around chal- lenges? This kind of data gives us insights upon which we can resolve the cracks peo- ple are falling through and the elements that are misused. How does Grounded work? We envision the future of Grounded as a subscription service. In the meantime we are building our database through com- missioned research. Government Depart- ments and organizations working on a particular policy can commission Ground- ed to conduct research on a specific group or a social issue. On the backend, Grounded works through the creation of new roles, tools and a database. New roles: Data for Grounded is col- lected by Grounded Recorders. Record- ers are folks from the population we are researching. They are trained and paid to help their peers input and record their experiences with social services. The ad- vantage of hiring and training members of the population group under research is that the qualitative data they collect is real user experience in real time, not reported experiences filtered through surveys, fo- cus groups or interviewer biases. New tools: A specially designed note- book, or an app to submit notes, photos, and location-based information using mo- bile phones or a computer. New database: A new database will en- able researchers, on the back-end, to code sections by theme, add searchable tags and keywords, link entries, and include references and methodological notes. On the Grounded website data will be organized around themes (e.g addiction, grief), around issue areas (e.g health, jus- tice, housing), around service types (e.g shelters, dental services), and demograph- ic features. Users of the site can choose to read individual entries and watch media files; or view aggregated totals of ratings and barriers experienced. Results of test- ing early prototypes can be viewed here: https://inouttoronto.wordpress.com/ grounded-data-with-a- story/. Grounded Intelligence Can Effect Change Grounded is an innovative approach that can prompt change by bringing qualita- tive data into the social policy toolkit. Commissioned grounded datasets will help departments and organizations over- come red tape such as ethics approvals for qualitative data collection, or the hardship of recruiting people on the ground. For service delivery organizations, Grounded gives staff access to fresh per- spectives on their beneficiaries. For marginalized folks, Grounded offers some paid work and skill-building oppor- tunities. Moreover, Grounded validates their experiences - they see that their per- spectives matter to policy and program development. For social services, we argue that acces- sible quality intelligence of users’ needs and experiences will lead to improvement in programs and policies. We believe pro- grams and policies developed with in- formation from the very people who use them will help to bring about the acces- sible supports individuals require. What’s next? While the first prototype focused on the everyday experiences of street- involved adults like Frank and Dustin, Grounded seeks to grow its data sets in its next it- eration. In 2017 we are going to be beta- testing Grounded 2.0. We are seeking 3 or 4 partners, and are especially interested in working closely with Newcomers as well as Indigenous Youth and folks with addictions. D r . S arah S chulman , Founding Part- ner and Social Science Lead, InWith- Forward. D r . D aniela K raemer is Lead Anthropologist daniela@inwithfor- ward.com , InWithForward, J onas P iet , Director and Service Design Lead, InWithForward, N atalie N apier , Lead Recruiter, InWithForward. www. inwithforward.com Beta testing grounded with federal civil servants