The Project
Families First Edmonton (FFE) is a research project to determine whether delivering health, family support and recreation services in a coordinated way can lead to better outcomes for low income families.
Families First Edmonton seeks to determine the most cost-effective, efficient use of resources to proactively assist families.
University of Alberta researchers, using accepted protocols and standards, follow 1,200 families for up to two years during the service delivery intervention. Researchers continue to follow up with families for a further three years to determine the longer term outcomes.
Family participation was voluntary. Families were randomly placed in one of four intervention groups:
- Comprehensive
- Family Healthy Lifestyle
- Recreation
- Self-Directed (Control group)
Funding for this community based research project was used to link participants to services, purchase services from existing community resources, and to add services, as required, for participating families.
Families First Edmonton will provide evidence based research on the effective delivery of health, social, and recreation services. This is expected to generate made in Alberta solutions.
Putting the Research to Work Project
The Families First Edmonton ground-breaking, six-year, community-based research study began as a concept in 2000, solidified during the partnership-development and design phase, moved on to the service delivery phase and is now using available research to improve service delivery. Final research results are expected in 2012.
Families First Edmonton - Putting the Research to Work is a project that takes a proactive approach to knowledge transfer for action. Knowledge transfer is a dynamic process of sharing information and interacting with partners to evolve ideas and concepts that result in coordinated and effective service changes based on the Family First Edmonton research.
Project partners expressed an interest in sharing learnings and working together to implement improvements identified during the research project. This interest is a continuation of the preliminary sharing that started during the research study's implementation phase. Community partners, especially, see this kind of collaboration as being important to 2012 and beyond.
See the Putting The Research to Work: Project Charter for further details.
Putting the Research to Work Project Objectives:
- Use the research findings effectively to improve access to services for low income families
- Create an enabling environment for policy improvements and links across systems that break down barriers and improves access to services for low income families
- Create a data lab/bank of knowledge whereby agencies and organizations can request analyses and find answers to program and policy questions related to families with low income
- Model innovative types of leadership, personnel, structures, and processes necessary for effective cross sector collaborations to deliver services to low income families
The partnership aims to:
- Be able to influence decision making for service delivery improvements and supportive policies to benefit families with low incomes
- Increase capacity for shared resources and information to address barriers
- Find innovative ways for organizations to work together
FFE Timeline
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2000-2006 Partnership Development and Study Design
FFE emerged from Listen to the Children, a 2000 report of the Alberta Quality of Life Commission that explored issues of Edmonton children living in poverty.
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2006-2009 Research Study Service Delivery Interventions
FFE is using Random Controlled Research to ensure decision makers view FFE results as reliable and valid. FFE families were randomly placed in one of four service delivery groups.
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2010-2012 Putting the Research to Work
Some of the research in outcomes, and service delivery practices and collaboration is already being used to help change the lives of families on low income.
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2012 Final Research Results Available
Results of the four research study questions are expected to be available in 2012.
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