Village Membership Matters! Evaluation Briefs
Capitol Hill Village
The Context
Villages are membership-driven, grassroots, nonprofit organizations that support older adults as they age in community. Since 2017, Sharp Insight has supported Capitol Hill Village’s evaluation efforts, including work that supports the network of Washington, DC Villages. Following three successful multi-Village survey initiatives in 2018, 2021, and 2022, the leaders of Villages across Washington, DC once again partnered with Sharp Insight in the summer of 2024 to learn from their members in a multi-Village member survey. The 2024 survey focused on member experiences with social connection and loneliness, transportation, and hospitalization and readmission.
Our Approach
Guided by executive directors from the DC Villages and an evaluation team composed of volunteers, Sharp Insight led a collaborative and customized approach to the 2024 Multi-Village Member Survey. This included: meeting with the evaluation team for their input on the survey objectives and items; offering the survey primarily online but with interview and paper options available for accessibility; and developing customized administration timelines, communication, and deidentified data spreadsheets for each Village. After results were analyzed, we convened the evaluation team to collaboratively explore the findings.
The Result
The final survey report included data from 953 Village members, representing all thirteen DC Villages and 35% of the total Village membership at the time (n=2,747). Following the development and review of this detailed report, the evaluation team determined that it would be most valuable to the DC Village community to turn the findings into public-facing briefs for each of the survey’s objectives. To that end, Sharp Insight conducted a review of related literature, along with available national and local data, and aligned the information with the 2024 Village Member Survey findings. The result was the Village Membership Matters! series of three briefs:
1) Increasing Community Mobility for Older Adults,
2) Increasing Social Connection Among Older Adults, and
3) Reducing Hospital Readmissions Among Older Adults.
These briefs are aimed at researchers, advocates, and policymakers, with the goals of sharing the Village value proposition and highlighting opportunities for further exploration and research in the field.
“Sharp Insight was part of a project that was underway when I took over as Executive Director at CHV in 2019. It was the best gift that the outgoing ED could have left for me. They have consistently brought knowledge and experience in planning, conducting and reporting on evaluation activities. But more than that, they are generous and willing thought partners, helping to make sure that we get optimal results from whatever resources (time, money, staff, etc.) we have for a given project. And they never lose sight of the big picture, the reason our organization exists.”
