Program Impact Research: Design & Implementation

Help us to build disaster-resilient communities! We're looking for a highly motivated researcher — possibly a Master's or PhD student — to lead a small research study to evaluate the short-term outcomes of our wildfire learning experiences. We need someone who has enough knowledge of qualitative research to design and implement the study:

* Develop a compelling research question — You can keep your scope focused on our immediate question, "Does participating in one of our learning experiences affect what people think, do, or talk about in the month or so after playing?" Or you can delve into a broader question around wildfire risk perception, preparedness behavior, the effectiveness of experiential learning in community education, or even questions around methods for measuring behavioral change.

* Design a rigorous research study — Develop the methodology, design data collection instruments, oversee data collection, and lead data analysis.

* Have fun gathering data — Recruit participants and gather initial data at a variety of fun community events where people play our games.

Creative Crisis Leadership (CCL) is a dynamic nonprofit startup. We harness the power of experiential learning and games to empower individuals and communities and help them be prepared for disaster. We've crafted two engaging learning experiences that spark interest and propel action. We know that people love playing these (in-person) games, consistently report learning valuable insights, and intend to take action upon returning home. What we don't know is: Do they actually do anything?

We've honed the two game designs to make them compelling and engaging, now we need evidence about whether they actually produce the outcomes (behaviors) and have the impact that we believe they do!

We are actively delivering the two learning experiences at community events — preparedness fairs, farmers markets, game nights — in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties (California), and are working with community-based partners to help them integrate our games into their programs. We already have access to potential research participants.

This project is critical to our future. Empirical evidence is key to convincing ourselves, partners, and potential funders that our novel approach is effective in transforming community disaster preparedness. Your thoughtful and meticulous investigation, and trust-worthy findings will take us to the next level of preparing communities to be unprepared!