In the ever-evolving landscape of community services and dynamics, the Organizational Stigma Assessment (OSAC) Cycle project was created. With the goal to address the nuances of stigma from an intersectional approach, this project is a testament to the transformative power of community-driven initiatives.
We are excited to announce the launch of the pilot phase of the OSAC project as it marks a significant milestone. We’re now able to test the Learning Assessment Cycle that has been co-designed with an active advisory committee over the last year in our pursuit of understanding, and ultimately reducing stigma within organizations. Flexibility and adaptability are key as we navigate the complex dynamics of organizations.
We are pleased to be working with two community-based organizations with five locations across two health authority regions. We are rolling out our systematic process designed to provide a holistic understanding of where stigma can exist in an organization despite best intentions of design and delivery of services. People with lived and living experience (PWLLE), staff, and volunteers are taking part in the Learning Cycle, which consists of seven steps. The pilot phase serves as a testing ground for these steps, allowing us to fine-tune our approach and tools.
Learning on the Ground
As the OSAC pilot phase takes off, the community and PWLLE are core and crucial partners in the assessment process. Their insights from lived experiences and interactions with community-based organizations contribute to the detailed understanding of stigma and how it presents within organizations. The pilot phase is truly the heart of the project, where data will be collected through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and other research methods aimed at uncovering all facets of stigma that may exist within an organization. We are working closely with organizations to support this process and adapt the work as we learn how the tools are implemented in a community-based setting. As the first data collection tool (survey) was being used in community, we heard emerging insights and feedback to improve the tool in real time. We were able to incorporate these suggestions and make the tool more accessible for future data collection – a key piece of developmental evaluation.
Insights into Action
The OSAC pilot phase involves evaluating the impact of the tools we have co-designed and together with the insights gathered from our pilot sites, we look forward to further refine the Learning Assessment Cycle with the goal of releasing it for wider use in the community. This phase will be taking place over the next 6-7 months within our pilot sites. The PAN team looks forward to reporting out our experience and learnings from the OSAC pilot phase later in 2024.
Want to learn more? Contact Leanne Zubowski: [email protected]