Graduate Coalition Academy (GCA)

The Graduate Coalition Academy (GCA) will be returning soon.

The Graduate Coalition Academy (GCA) focuses on coalitions bringing knowledge and skills to their coalition, which enables them to build coalition capacity and complete six key products take coalitions to the next step: Getting Outcomes.

The goal of the GCA is to enhance participating coalitions’ ability to implement and evaluate their prevention plans. Over the course of a year, participating coalitions will focus on updating and using their products to achieve the following:

Objectives:

• Update their Community Assessment and Logic Models
• Establish the baseline for each long, intermediate, and short-term objectives on their Logic Model
• Enhance their comprehensive strategies targeting local conditions
• Monitor and track their implementation efforts
• Access coalition development support and other resources to assist their implementation efforts
• Capture both outcomes and outputs of their work (evaluation)
• Tell their coalition’s story – including submitting a Getting to Outcomes Application

Graduation Requirements for the GCA include:

1. Participation in all training, webinar and pro-active coalition development sessions
2. Collection of coalition output and outcome data – this includes using data from a youth survey
3. Completion of Got Outcomes application
4. Coalition Ideas Fair poster at a CADCA National Leadership Forum

Qualifications:

Each year’s GCA cohort will consist of 10 – 15 coalitions that meet the following criteria:
• Coalition has graduated from the NCA
• Commit to sending a two-person team to three residential trainings
• At least one person had attended all three weeks of the NCA
• Commit to meeting the GCA Graduation Requirements
• Submit official application

Cost:
Similar to the NCA, the GCA training will be offered free of cost. Coalitions will be responsible for covering the costs of travel, lodging and per diem.

Application Process:

Coalitions will be required to submit the following coalition products. It is expected that the products will be updated after the coalition graduated from the GCA to reflect new data and strategies identified by the coalition.
• Community Assessment
• Logic Model for one substance (including data for each element)
• Action Plan for next year
• Evaluation Plan
• Evaluation Communication Plan
• Sustainability Plan

Coalitions will be required to submit one letter of recommendation from (Example: chair of leadership team, board or steering committee member) one volunteer member that has been involved with the coalition for a minimum of two years.