About Us
The Office of Community Connections (OCC) is a unit of the Clemson University Learning Institute (CULI). We are committed to helping communities build their capacity to improve their communities through the development of local partnerships.
OCC is staffed by a Program Director and community outreach specialist with expertise in assessing local needs and identifying potential partnerships. With support from other CULI units, we provide consultation, training, evaluation, and best practices to strengthen locally led collaborations.
Locations
OCC currently operates in the following counties:
What We Do
OCC desires to have a positive impact on local communities in the following ways:
Build Resilience
Increase the capacity of community organizations to provide interventions that help build resilience in South Carolina’s citizens.
Transform Behavioral Health
Enhance availability and accessibility of behavioral health services by promoting best practices and informed policy development.
Cultivate Community Partnerships
Assist and support collaborative, locally led projects and initiatives that address community needs.
Advance Sustainable Projects
Support local programs through sustainable financial models that blend public, private, and earned funding.
How We Do It
- 1
Assess Needs and Capacities
Using staff familiar with local communities, OCC gathers information from local sources to identify priority needs and evaluate the capacity of potential partners.
- 2
Determine Best Practices and Fit
Identified approaches are reviewed for effectiveness and compatibility with CULI’s goals and values.
- 3
Implementation and Evaluation
OCC works with local partners to implement sustainable programs while identifying financial and evaluation considerations.
Planning and Evaluation Framework
The effectiveness of the implementation strategies will be assessed with the use of the RE-AIM framework:
Reach
Number, proportion, and representativeness of individuals participating in a given initiative, intervention, or program.
Effectiveness
The impact of an intervention or outcomes, including potential negative effects, quality of life, and economic impact.
Adoption
Number, proportion and representativeness of settings and intervention agents who are willing to initiate a program.
Implementation
The intervention agents’ fidelity to the various elements, including adaptations, and costs of implementation.
Maintenance
The extent to which behavior is sustained after an intervention and the degree to which a program or policy becomes institutionalized.