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Practicing Consumer Control: Using Focus Groups in Your Strategic Plan

presented by Daisy Feidt, Executive Vice President of Access Living, and Pam Smith, President of PSmith Consulting, on August 31, 2009

About the Presentation

Consumer control is a central tenant of the Independent Living movement. The strength and quality of a Center depends on how well the Center responds to the needs of consumers in the community. Being responsive to those needs requires research, feedback from consumers, and careful planning. Please join us on Monday, August 31 to learn how to conduct effective focus groups to gain input and insight for strategic planning at your Center.

This training is designed to provide participants with knowledge and resources that will enable them to:

• Determine when and how to consider qualitative research in support of organizational objectives as well as describe various approaches to assessing constituent and consumer needs
• Plan, prepare and conduct successful focus groups
• Describe the process of coding and analyzing data, interpreting reporting themes and patterns, and determining how to best communicate findings to interested parties
• Integrate solutions for CIL service improvements and operations based on the results of an effective needs identification process

About the Presenters

Daisy Feidt is Executive Vice President of Access Living, Chicago’s Center for Independent Living. Daisy has worked at Access Living for more than 10 years and has held a wide variety of management positions during that time. In her tenure at Access Living, she has led the organization through multiple strategic planning processes and has gained extensive management experience in fundraising, evaluation and program implementation. Daisy is an alumna of Leadership Greater Chicago, a prestigious and competitive program that provides community awareness and networking opportunities for leaders in the Chicago community. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from Lawrence University.

Pam Smith is President of PSmith Consulting (PSC), a Chicago-based research, organizational development, and community relations firm. Pam established her company in 1999 after working in public affairs for 20 years; 15 years in management positions. The mission of her firm is to help organizations reach and advocate with socially marginalized groups through communications, strategic alliances, and social marketing. Pam’s clients include Access Living, a Center for Independent Living in Chicago, IL.

Presentation Slides, Transcript and Resources:

• Presentation Slides (PowerPoint file)
• Presentation Slides (HTML)
• Transcript of the Web cast (rtf file)

Go to Archived Web cast (use Real One Player)

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Presented by CIL-NET, a program of the IL NET national training and technical assistance project for Centers for Independent Living (CIL-NET) and Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILC-NET). The IL NET is operated by ILRU, Independent Living Research Utilization, in partnership with the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) and the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL).

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