Independent Evaluation of Tobacco Free Nebraska

Principal Investigator: Cheryl Wiese

Project Manager: Jeff Willett

Between 2000 and 2003, Tobacco Free Nebraska received a $21 million allocation to greatly expand its statewide tobacco control efforts.  The Bureau of Sociological Research worked in collaboration with Abt Associates Inc of Cambridge Massachusetts to direct an independent evaluation of the Tobacco Free Nebraska program during this time.  This independent evaluation covered each component of the statewide program and included process and outcomes-based evaluations. 

The BOSR/Abt Associates team adopted an evaluation model that combined a thorough program evaluation with extensive evaluation consultation provided to both state staff and program grantees.  This evaluation received praise from representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. 

Through its independent evaluation of Tobacco Free Nebraska (TFN), the BOSR directed or made significant contributions to the following:

·    a mixed-methods study of coalition sustainability among TFN's community grantees;  

·    a process/outcomes "blueprint" report providing the core indicators used for tracking statewide and local progress towards reaching TFN's goals;  

·    preparation of program evaluation reports including the annual "State Snapshot" and shorter data-driven "briefs" highlighting specific aspects of the program; 

·    preparation of case studies profiling each of the TFN community-based grantees;

·    development and implementation of TRAIN, TFN's online evaluation and reporting system;

·    analysis of data and report preparation from several tobacco and health-related studies;

·    consultation with program grantees to ensure that evaluation components are included in their work plans and to assess progress towards reaching their goals;

·    a case study illustrating the development of No Limits, TFN's youth empowerment movement;

·    coordinating evaluation components with external vendors and researchers;

·    consultation with TFN staff to ensure that evaluation findings inform the program’s future goals; and

·    Consultation with TFN staff and program grantees to develop sustainable evaluation capacities after the conclusion of the external evaluation.

Selected reports from this evaluation project are available below or can be viewed from Nebraska's Health and Human Services System website: http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/tfn/tfnpubrep.htm.

2003 Tobacco Free Nebraska Progress Report

Evaluation Data Brief on Nebraskans' Attitudes Toward Secondhand Smoke