Stakeholder Influences

HSM/270
October 4. 2012

Stakeholder Influences
In the field of human services one of the most influential stakeholders when it comes to program planning and evaluation is the funding source. Often times the funding source has a specific set of requirements that the program and agency must meet in order to obtain or maintain funding. The program planning and evaluation process is greatly affected by this.
The needs and expectations of the stakeholders influence program planning and evaluation because they must adhere to specific restrictions placed upon them by the IRS and other government agencies. The funding source usually wants to proposed program to have similar goals and objectives along with similar values. The program planning may be changed in order to line up with the values of the funding source.
The Madison Children’s Hospital seeks to start a program which research is done to look into the issue of chronic illness in adolescents ages 8-21. The funding source for this program is the National Institute of Health Care. The National Institute of Health Care seeks to fund research to improve self-management and quality of life for children with chronic illness.
The needs and expectations of the hospital are to address the concerns of a lack in self-management of chronic illness. The hospital is interested in researching the causes for the lack of self-management which is causing an increase in complications as well as a lack of school attendance. Some of the goals of the hospital are to be a leading source of research and development, educate the next generation of leaders in child health, and enhance the health and well-being of children and families in the local community.
The National Institute of Health Care also seeks to have research done to improve the self-management and quality of life in children with chronic illness. The institute is also interested in bio-behavioral studies of the children in the context of family and family-community dynamics. The institute seeks to look into the many aspects of living with chronic illness and self-management and improving care.
Both the hospital and the National Institute of Health Care seek to research adolescents with chronic illness and self-management of their illness. The institute is looking to research many aspects of this issue. If the hospital wants to receive funding from this source they will have to expand their research and work along the institute’s timeline which is two years. There is also a financial cap on the funding which is $275,000 over a two year period. The hospital will have to make their program plan and evaluation plan within this timeline and budget. The hospital may have to compromise by cutting costs to work within the budget. The funding source may also have to compromise by limiting the areas they want researched to be able to work within the timeline and the budget.
The stakeholder has a strong influence in program planning and evaluation especially when they are the main funding source. The program will have to work to meet specific requirements set by the stakeholder or else they could lose funding. The stakeholder should make clear their expectations for program planning as well as how they would like the program evaluated.
One funding institution that works with human service organizations is the Teammates for Kids Foundation. This foundation accepts proposals for grants from non-profit organizations that specialize in working with children. The foundation seeks to support areas such as health, education, and inner-city services. The foundation has specific qualifications that the program must meet. Some of the qualifications are having a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service, record of outstanding service in effectively delivering programs to improve the lives of needy children, deliver services which impact the lives of children both short and long-term, and 100% of grant monies received must be used to benefit the children (Teammates for Kids Foundation, 2012). The foundation is very specific in their requirements of the funding recipient.
The foundation also has a list of areas they do not provide funding for. Some of these items are; organizations in existence for less than two years, annual memberships and benefit dinners, debt retirement or operating deficits, endowments or other reserve funds, grants to individuals, medical research, and individual medical procedures (Teammates for Kids Foundation, 2012). The foundation will not fund a program for consecutive years.
The foundation makes it clear what they will fund and what they will not. The foundation is specific as far as the requirements the grant seeker must meet. These requirements could influence the program plans because they are very specific in how the program must benefit children so the agency seeking the grant may need to adjust their program plan or seek other funding. The foundation also makes it very clear that 100 % of the grant must go to the benefit of the children (Teammates for Kids Foundation, 2012). This means the evaluation process will focus on the financial aspects of the program and they will need to show where all of the grant money is being used.
This foundation makes it clear what they expect from any program in which they provide a grant for. This is an example of how stakeholders influence program planning and evaluation because the program seeking a grant will have to meet the standards of the funding source. This may cause a program plan to be altered or the evaluation process to focus on specific areas.

References
Appendix B, HSM 270 course materials.
Teammates for Kids Foundation. (2012). Retrieved 10 4, 2012, from Teammates for Kids Foundation: http://teammatesforkids.com/PDF/GrantQualify.pdf