6.3: What to Collect

Once you understand the outcomes Powerhouse® is working toward, the next step is understanding what information helps us understand both program impact and how effectively organizations are prepared and supported to deliver it. Powerhouse® gathers information and feedback at three levels: organizations, facilitators, and young caregivers and programs.

1. Organizational Readiness & Experience

Organizational feedback helps us understand whether the Infrastructure Training, resources and ongoing support from YCA helped the organization build the structures needed to launch and sustain Powerhouse®.

Feedback can help identify:

  • whether the organization feels prepared to launch and deliver Powerhouse®; 
  • whether the training helped establish clear roles, processes and a workable delivery model; 
  • what resources and supports were most useful; and 
  • where additional guidance or support may be needed. 

This helps us understand whether the knowledge gained through Infrastructure Training has translated into organizational readiness to put Powerhouse® into practice.

2. Facilitator Preparedness & Experience

Facilitator feedback helps us understand whether training and resources translate into confidence and preparedness to deliver Powerhouse® in practice.

Feedback can help identify:

  • whether facilitators feel prepared and confident to deliver the program; 
  • what parts of the training and resources were most useful; 
  • challenges, questions or support needs that emerge during delivery; and 
  • opportunities to strengthen training, resources and future delivery. 

This helps us look beyond what was learned during training to understand how that learning is applied in practice.

3. Young Caregiver & Program

Once Powerhouse® is being delivered, information helps us understand who is being reached, what is being delivered, and what young caregivers experience and gain.

Program Reach

Program Delivery

Outcomes & Experience

Who are you reaching?

What did you deliver?

What did young caregivers experience and gain?

Participant numbers, age groups and other required participation information

Program selected, sessions offered, attendance and completion where applicable

Program outcome measures, participant feedback and qualitative responses

Your Program Selection Guides What You Collect

Not every Powerhouse® program is designed to achieve or measure exactly the same things. Each program selection has identified outcomes and corresponding evaluation tools. Organizations are not expected to select their own outcomes or measure every Powerhouse® outcome each time they deliver a program. For example, the six-week Powerhouse® curriculum includes outcomes related to well-being, stress, connection, knowledge, emotional understanding and caregiving identity, as well as coping, application, confidence and understanding what is within a young caregiver’s control. 

Other Powerhouse® program selections may focus on a smaller or different combination of outcomes based on the purpose and structure of that program. The program you select determines what outcomes you measure and which evaluation tools you use.

The specific information and evaluation tools required for each program will be identified in the corresponding Powerhouse® Facilitation Guide.

Different Information Tells Us Different Things

Understanding Powerhouse® goes beyond a single survey. Information and feedback can come from different places:

Formal Program Data — Information collected consistently to understand program reach, delivery and outcomes. This may include participation and attendance information, required outcome measures and qualitative evaluation responses.

Participant Voice — What young caregivers tell us about their experiences, needs and learning through formal evaluation and feedback shared throughout programming.

Facilitator Reflection — What facilitators learn through delivering the program, including participant engagement, emerging needs, successes, challenges and opportunities to strengthen delivery.

Organizational Feedback — What organizations tell us about their preparedness, experience implementing Powerhouse®, usefulness of YCA training and resources, and where additional support may be helpful.

These pieces serve different purposes, and not everything learned through Powerhouse® needs to become formal evaluation data.

Bringing the Information Together

Together, the information gathered across these three levels helps us understand the Powerhouse® experience from preparation through delivery:

Organizational Readiness → Are the structures and supports in place to deliver Powerhouse®?

Facilitator Preparedness → Do facilitators have the knowledge, confidence and resources needed to deliver the program?

Program & Young Caregiver Experience → What was delivered, who was reached, and what did young caregivers experience and gain?

The information gathered across these areas then supports Learning & Improvement → What is working well, what are we learning, and what could be strengthened?

This continuous learning helps both YCA and participating organizations strengthen training, support and future Powerhouse® delivery.