Event Duration

 Though a given event or action may be powerful enough to produce behavior or organizational outcomes after a single exposure, experience suggests that this is not the norm. The longevity of any given event can determine the opportunity for exposure to that event or change. And, exposure to an event is a prerequisite for producing an outcome.The vast majority (82%) of changes facilitated by T/MC from 2000 through April 2008 were intended to be ongoing. Some examples are the citywide recruitment fair held every August/September since 1995 and the training and networking conference held every May and November since 1994. The building of OHATS is an example of an ongoing event that will be enhanced and engage new partners over the years. Another on-going event is the Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program locator, which demonstrates the T/MC’s fundamental commitment to help tutor/mentor programs in every part of the Chicago region get volunteers and donors. Click this link to read more and discuss this information:

http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmchistoryandtrackingsystem/ forum/topic/show?id=783429%3ATopic%3A1175
Event Innovation

Equally important to the abilities to create actions that endure time and to sustain events over multiple years are the abilities to adapt to changing conditions and to innovate. Reporters were prompted to categorize an event into one of the four groups: “new” (not existing in the prior history of T/MC work), “modified” (having occurred before, but modified in some important way), “existing,” or “other” (for uncertain or events with no clear category). The vast majority of events were either new or modified. Examples of new events include the creation of OHATS and the start of new working relationships and collaborations to conduct the GIS mapping work, the volunteer recruitment campaign, and the training and networking conferences. Modified events included enhancements to the major T/MC events and actions that grow and reach more people each year, such as the Program Locator database, the T/MC web site and social networking portals, the T/MC leadership and networking conferences and the Lend-A-Hand Program. Click this link to read more and discuss this information:

http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmchistoryandtrackingsystem/ forum/topic/show?id=783429%3ATopic%3A1176
Tutor Mentor Events

Of all the types of events and actions categorized in OHATS, community change is of particular importance. Community change is measured as new or modified programs, practices or policies related to the mission of T/MC. These are changes in the environment that alter the conditions that shape individual and organizational behaviors. Studies of comprehensive community initiatives indicate the rate of community change may be related to the rate of population-level health and development outcomes. Therefore, community change is tracked as an intermediate marker of broader, more distal population outcomes. Read more about the actions that are documented, and the meaning of this information:

http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmchistoryandtrackingsystem/forum/ topic/show?id=783429%3ATopic%3A1173
Event Goals:

Five interconnected strategies guide actions and events employed by T/MC: Public Awareness, research, resource building, technology, training, and networking events. Each of these strategies, and thus the events and actions that they represent, are interconnected and simultaneous.For instance, T/MC research on tutor/mentor programs characteristics and needs is not only a fact-finding activity, but also a process of building awareness of what programs exist and building a connection between programs. Every new contact documented in OHATS represents a new piece of knowledge in this research. The T/MC contact database that began with 400 people in 1993 now has over 14,000 contacts is one sign of this growth of knowledge. Another example of the interconnection across strategies is how technology (as a strategy) is also a resource, but is so important to the T/MC mission that it is documented separately. All events that T/MC leads are strategically designed to generate public awareness, resources, and training. Click this link to read more and discuss this information:

http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmchistoryandtrackingsystem/ forum/topic/show?id=783429%3ATopic%3A1176
Community System Change Events

This chart shows that T/MC was actively using the OHATS when it was new, but that between 2003 and 2007 OHATS was used less frequently. This was because the system did not update automatically, and was creating a growing list of actions (over 900 by 2007) which no observer would scroll through to read and understand the T/MC accomplishments, or actions that led to those accomplishments. While T/MC recognized the problems with OHATS, it was unable to find a donor to help fund the needed work, or a volunteer who would do this work on a pro bono basis.With the changes provided by this new version, is also a growth in the use of OHATS. There is still work to be done which requires donor or sponsor support. Click this link to read more and discuss this information:

http://tutormentorconnection.ning.com/group/tmchistoryandtrackingsystem/ forum/topic/show?id=783429%3ATopic%3A1174

Results of actions documented in T/MC OHATS

Below are four links to web pages that illustrate the work of the T/MC. These are on-going projects, which are intended to help people understand where and why tutor/mentor programs are needed, while helping parents, volunteers and donors connect with specific programs already operating in the Chicago region.

Map Gallery http://www.horizonmapping.net/projects/tmc/tmc_gallery/Tutor_Mentor_map_gallery.html


Program Locator http://www.tutormentorprogramlocator.net/programlocator/default.asp


T/MC links library http://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/servlet/SBReadResourceServlet?rid=1180119458133_1566509717_34175&partName=htmltext


T/MC Leadership and Networking Conference http://www.tutormentorconference.org