Resources
📦 Tools to help you use this guide
Templates and Tools
The following table contains links to free and editable versions of templates that can assist in several steps of your project. It’s important to tailor each to your health topic, population, context, and format (virtual vs. hybrid vs. in-person).
| Tool | Use it for… |
| Project planning tool (Miro) | Working with your project team to plan for all steps of the project. This planning tool is freely available in Miro. |
| Skills checklist for community story analysis team (Word Doc) | Determining what kinds of skills and team members are needed on the story project team. |
| Story collection template (Word Doc) | Developing and tailoring a story collection form for your project. |
| How to set up the virtual focus group story discussion whiteboard (Word Doc) | Designing your virtual focus group whiteboard setup to aid in story analysis and selection. |
| Whiteboard template for story discussions (Miro) | Setting up whiteboards for focus group discussions in Miro. |
| Focus group facilitator guide template (Word Doc) | Providing a script for facilitating focus group discussions. This is used by the facilitator. |
| Focus group note-taker guide template (Word Doc) | Providing a simple, editable document to type notes into that follows the facilitator guide for focus group discussions. This is used by the note-takers. |
| Story theme analysis table (Word Doc) | To quickly identify common themes or gaps across focus group discussions. |
| Community stories report outline (Word Doc) | Outlining the outcomes from the focus group discussions and include recommendations for action. |
| Table of potential solutions for promoting healthier information environments (Word Doc) | Brainstorming potential ways to fix problems identified through story analysis. |
Useful Links
Here are links to reputable resources, articles, and toolkits on specific topics to help you plan your project. Be sure to consult local partners and authorities about any existing guidance and tools that might be more appropriate locally.
Most Significant Change (MSC) basics
- Tools4Dev: Using the ‘Most Significant Change’ (MSC) Technique to measure the intangible article
- Better Evaluation: Most significant change explainer
- The Monitoring and Evaluation Toolkit: Most Significant Change article
Institutional Review Board (IRB) and informed consent
- University of Michigan: Informed Consent Guidance & Templates
- University of Illinois Chicago: Informed Consent training
- Murray State University: IRB — The Basics explainer
Culturally sensitive community engagement
- University of Michigan: Engaging Your Community DEI Strategic Planning Toolkit
- National Center for Cultural Competence: Checklist to Facilitate Cultural Competence in
- Community Engagement
- CDC Global Health Equity: Guiding Principles for Communication
Facilitating focus group discussions
- Social Science & Medicine: Considerations for Employing Intersectionality in Qualitative Health Research, co-authored by Jasmine A. Abrams, Ariella Tabaac, Sarah Jung, and Nicole M. Else-Quest
- Brown University: Tips on Facilitating Effective Group Discussions
- Ohio State University: Overview of the Process of Conducting Focus Groups