On August 20, our Measurement for Change (M4C) task group hosted a recorded info session led by Serena McDiarmid and Silviu Kondan. They shared two different opportunities for organizations to get involved with them this year:
- All Organizations: The relaunch of M4C’s free 1:1 data collection support using our customizable belonging surveys and associated PowerBI reports. This is being offered at NO COST to CYPT member organizations.
- Youth-Serving Organizations: An upcoming research project proposal to help map strategies and barriers to building youth belonging in programs, and to develop and test new strategies to support youth belonging in the Region.
Opportunity 1: Get Belonging Survey Data Collection Support
M4C is relaunching their 1:1 data collection support for CYPT members. They can help you design and run a tailored survey for your program on belonging and related outcomes. This combines validated measures with additional questions tailored to your own evaluation needs. The M4C team will:
- clarify objectives together with you
- co-develop age-appropriate items
- set up the survey
- produce program-specific visuals and brief(s)
This is being offered at NO COST to CYPT member organizations. To get started, please connect with Silviu or Serena!
Opportunity 2: Pilot Practical Belonging Interventions with M4C
Measurement4Change is preparing an application to the federal Partnership Development Grant. If funded, the grant would help us move from belonging measurement to action. Building on the shared measurement work many CYPT members have already participated in, this project will map current practices, identify barriers and co-develop feasible strategies that programs can implement.
We will examine whether these strategies increase a participant’s sense of belonging and whether they support other program goals such as learning, building a skill, or connecting to services. Organizations can engage in two different ways.
Light involvement is a no-commitment option:
- Stay informed through CYPT updates
- If the grant is funded, we invite your staff and youth to short focus group session on what is working now and what to try next
- This path is a good fit if you want to follow the work, contribute ideas and be ready to participate once timelines and activities are confirmed
- You can also share the opportunity with peer organizations that may wish to join
Deeper involvement includes a formal commitment:
- Participate in focus groups and/or pilot strategies that fit your context and to be named as a partner on the grant
- This involves a brief letter of engagement that outlines alignment with your organization’s goals and the in-kind contributions you can offer, such as staff or participant time, access to program space for focus groups or pilots, and feedback on the toolkit and materials
- The M4C team will meet with interested organizations in the next two weeks to discuss your interest and work to co-draft letters of support by September 20.
- If funded, activities begin in Fall 2026, with M4C supporting implementation, data collection consistent with your confidentiality procedures and data reporting that you can use in your own planning and funding applications.
Organizations prepared to have deeper involvement in the application process will strengthen our application. Your letters of support will be an integral part of our application, and we can work with you to help move this forward.
Sign up here if either of these two involvement options interest you.