I. Team Requirements
Policy Academy Teams will be responsible for the following steps:
- TEAM: Submit complete team list to Sandra Thompson (sthompson@westover.com) by February 6, 2009 (completed).
- BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Provide each member of the team with a copy of the pilot application for review prior to the virtual site visit.
- VIRTUAL SITE VISIT: Participate, as an entire team, in a virtual site visit via conference call on either February 26 or March 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please contact Sandra Thompson (sthompson@westover.com) by February 23 to confirm which session your team will attend.
- ACADEMY MEETING: Participate, as an entire team, in the on-site Policy Academy on Friday, March 27 to Sunday, March 29 and leave with a draft action plan. Individuals should register for the Policy Academy individually by February 23 and complete housing and travel arrangements by February 26.
- ACTION PLAN: Following the Policy Academy, share the plan, revise it as needed, and submit a completed plan to SAMHSA by Thrusday, April 23. Plans will be shared on the Academy Web site.
II. Background Information
Academy Overview
The Policy Academy is supported by SAMHSA. With a focus on developing a workforce that can address the behavioral health needs of the American public, SAMHSA will support teams from 15 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in an effort to:
- Build collaborative frameworks to address emerging trends in behavioral health
- Implement visions for eliminating health disparities
- Explore key policy areas to grow and sustain the HBCU network
- Promote awareness of workforce opportunities, health care policies, and finance issues that impact student health and careers
The Academy Process: Viewed as a “results-based decision-making process” rather than a single event, the Policy Academy involves four stages to help teams plan and implement their pilot projects:
- Team development
- Pre-Academy virtual site visit
- Academy meeting
- Action plan implementation and technical assistance (TA)
The Team: The six invited team members represent various constituencies within each college or university and are at a level to recommend, impact, and implement change. They include:
- One student leader
- One staff leader (e.g., from student affairs)
- One faculty member/counseling center lead
- Three additional students
Participating HBCUs may also develop “Home Teams” that include additional members (e.g., staff from the business/development office or career center, or a department chair). These members are engaged in the pre-Academy virtual site visit, during portions of the Academy via Web cast, and as an integral part of the team for the action plan implementation and TA phase.
The Pre-Academy Virtual Site Visit: Teams will participate in a 2-hour, virtual site visit scheduled for Thursday, February 26 or Wednesday, March 4. The objectives of the visit are to:
- Introduce SAMHSA staff and the teams
- Provide a brief history of the project
- Familiarize team members with the Academy process
- Help teams assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) within their environments
- Provide teams with an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback
The Academy: The Academy will be held at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel,
1800 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202 , team members arriving Thursday, March 26. The 2.5-day Academy will feature plenary and breakout sessions focused on the four themes of collaboration, practice, finance, and leadership. These sessions will allow team members to learn about promising practices and discuss challenges and potential strategies with each other, as well as other peers, national experts, and Federal representatives. Teams will also spend blocks of time in team sessions to develop action plans around the four themes with assistance from an external facilitator. Teams can expect to leave the Academy with 6-month action plans for implementing their SAMHSA pilot projects and creating sustainable systems change on their campuses.
Action Plan Implementation and TA: Following the Academy, teams will submit completed action plans in 30 days to receive feedback from SAMHSA and begin the Technical Assistance (TA) process. SAMHSA will work collaboratively with the teams to identify their TA needs and to match these needs with strategies for enhancing action plan implementation activities. Potential TA strategies include written materials, meeting facilitation, expert consultation on content-related issues, and peer-to-peer mentoring.
IV. Virtual Site Visit Materials
The Site Visit Process
All sites will participate in a 2-hour, Web-assisted, virtual site visit on one of two dates and times:
è Thursday, February 26 from 11a.m. to 1p.m. EST
è Wednesday, March 4 from 11a.m. to 1p.m. EST
It is strongly recommended that all team members from the site physically meet together, as portions of the visit will be facilitated by the SAMHSA team and others will be facilitated internally by site personnel. Teams should have a laptop with Web access available and an LCD projector and screen so all team members can view the process and documents together. It will be helpful to have a white board or flipchart paper and markers for the SWOT analysis.
Objectives
- Introduce the SAMHSA staff and the teams
- Provide a brief history of the project
- Familiarize team members with the Academy process
- Help teams assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
- Provide teams with an opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback
Agenda
- Welcome and Introductions
- SAMHSA Team
- Center for Excellence Team
- HBCU Policy Academy Teams
- Overview of the Policy Academy Agenda
- Overview of the process
- Review of agenda content and format
- SWOT Analysis
- Introduction to the exercise
- Completion of exercise by HBCU Policy Academy Teams
- Joint discussion of findings and process
- Logistics Update
- Q&A
- Wrap Up
SWOT Analysis Grid
During the site visit, we will ask the teams to break from the Web-assisted meeting to complete the following grid. By identifying and analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), each team will increase its understanding of its campus context as it relates to developing a workforce that can address the behavioral health needs of the American public.
Further instructions will be provided during the virtual site visit. Teams may wish to post flipchart paper on the walls, use a white board, or take notes on a laptop and project the image on an LCD screen to ensure that all team members can follow the discussion.
Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Opportunities
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Threats
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Tips for Teams
The Policy Academy is for you to share your stories, build upon your successes, and discern the lessons from your mistakes as you focus on developing a workforce that can address the behavioral health needs of the American public. The format is specifically designed to promote team learning. We have encouraged each HBCU to form a team of key individuals, who together, will make a difference. Our hope is that the teams will use their time—before, during, and after the Academy—to push and probe for answers to tough questions, challenge their own assumptions, and return home eager to move ahead.
These worksheets are intended to help teams get the most out of this project. We have developed these materials as assistance tools. You are free to use them or follow your own path.
GETTING READY
Before you arrive at the Policy Academy, take a few moments to consider your own personal goals. The following questions might help you focus:
- What is the “better future” I envision for my campus as it relates to behavioral health?
- Which part of this future am I totally committed to?
- What enables me to build or prevents me from building this future?
- How confident am I that others share my vision?
- How well do I understand my school’s policies and programs that influence behavioral health issues?
- What would I like to learn from my teammates?
- What would I like to contribute to the team?
- What do I want to gain from this project?
TEAM STRUCTURE and Process
You have time to work together but no time to waste. These practices might enhance your team's efficiency:
- Choose A Leader. The leader's role is to enable, not direct. Teamwork is like a jazz ensemble. The leader sets the key and the tempo, and the team makes the music. The leader is responsible for ensuring that the team defines its tasks and stays on focus. You might want to rotate leadership in order to share the responsibility among team members.
- Establish Tasks, Timetable, and Timekeeper. Determine how you want to use your time blocks each day. Set time limits on tasks. Appoint a timekeeper who will be firm and persistent.
- Select a Scribe. The scribe captures the pearls of wisdom from the team. The scribe enables the team to record and reflect upon what members have said and to put ideas aside without losing them.
- Develop Team Ground Rules. Teams function best when they collaboratively develop and commit to their own process rules. We've included some popular ground rules below.
- Determine Decision-Making Process. Do you want unanimous consent, simple majority, or consensus? We've included some tips on building consensus for you to consider.
- Check In and Check Out. Begin and end meetings with a quick barometer reading. Here's an approach that really works: Ask each member to state in two words (absolutely enforce the two-word rule) how he or she is doing. The leader should model the response at first to reinforce the two-word rule. You'll be amazed by how much information you can gather from each other . . . Skeptical/willing. Impatient/frustrated. Eager/optimistic. . .
POPULAR GROUND RULES
Each of us will participate.
- All ideas will be encouraged.
- We will strive for facts and understand opinions.
- We will test assumptions.
- We will encourage thoughtful disagreement.
- We will stay focused on tasks and discourage distractions.
- All critical decisions will be made by consensus.
- The leader will have the team’s permission to keep us on task and on time.
- Each of us will take responsibility for our collective success.
TEAM DECISIONS AND CONSENSUS
Consensus is a decision that most team members support and all members can live with. Teams using consensus find they are more able to deal with tension and disagreement as constructive elements of decision-making.
Below is a handy approach to consensus decision-making for you to consider.
Calling for a Vote. A member can make a motion and call for a vote at any time during the team's deliberations. This is a quick way to get a reading on points of agreement and disagreement.
The Vote. A consensus vote offers three choices:
- Yes, I'm for it.
- No, I'm against it.
- OK, I can live with it.
The Dialog. The No voters are encouraged to explain why they object. The object is to explore differences, not mask them. Team members focus on the core issues raised by these objections and on the strengths of the initial proposal. Members attempt to find a solution that addresses the issues without compromising the strengths. It helps if the group agrees to a time limit for discussion enforced by the timekeeper. Once the group reaches a solution, members vote again. If there are mostly OK, I can live with it votes, the proposal needs more work.
