Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Examining Regional Collaboration on Workforce Development Submitted to: Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management 2016 Spring Research Conference Submitted by: 1333 Broadway Suite 300 Oakland, CA 94612 Phone: 510.597.2400 / Fax: 510.465.7885 www.impaqint.com Authors Ms. Kelley Akiya Dr. Raquel C. Sanchez Dr. Nada Rayyes IMPAQ International, LLC Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Examining Collaboration Around Workforce Development
DISCLAIMER This product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U. S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, expressed or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability or ownership. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendation expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The U.S. Department of Labor, Lead Agency or the ABC Consortium. IMPAQ International, LLC Page ii Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Examining Collaboration Around Workforce Development
Introduction The ABC 1 Consortium is funded by a U.S. Department of Labor Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant 2 to 11 Community Colleges in a region in California to develop career pathway programs in high-wage job sectors. The 11 ABC colleges offer various training programs, but all target at least one of three priority career clusters: advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, or transportation and logistics. The ABC programs are distinguished from other college programs by their focus on these career clusters, their provision of specific grant-funded student services (e.g., counseling and job placement), state-of-the-art equipment purchased with grant funding, dynamically dated or accelerated courses, and their emphasis on career paths that lead to advanced skills and employment opportunities. The research team was contracted by the grant lead to conduct an independent evaluation of the ABC initiative. The evaluation consists of an outcomes study and an implementation study, which also includes a social network analysis (SNA). The primary research questions of the evaluation study are: 1. What are the effects of ABC-supported training programs on the participation in and completion of training programs in advanced manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and biotechnology? 2. What are the effects of the ABC-supported training programs on participants’ outcomes? 3. What are the key elements of the ABC initiative and how have they developed over the grant period? 4. How has the ABC initiative brought partnering agencies together to collaborate around common goals? 5. What are the key features of the network of ABC stakeholders and how does the ABC network evolve over time? 6. How will ABC efforts be sustained beyond the life of this particular grant? The current paper focuses on the SNA component of the evaluation, which we used to address research question 5 ( What are the key features of the network of ABC stakeholders and how does the ABC network evolve over time?). The paper presents a preliminary descriptive analysis of social network data collected at two points in time: once during early implementation of the ABC initiative, and a second time near the end of the grant. Background Goals of the ABC Consortium The purpose of the ABC consortium is to support regional alignment of college-based training both across the college campuses and with industry needs. According to the grant narrative, ABC “represents an unprecedented opportunity for the [region] to build accelerated, intensive, and regionally articulated 1 ABC is a pseudonym 2 Information about the TAACCCT Grant program is available at https://doleta.gov/taaccct/ IMPAQ International, LLC Page 1 Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Examining Collaboration Around Workforce Development
programs of study so that TAA eligible 3 , dislocated workers or unemployed adults can earn degrees or credentials of value and enable them to enter the workforce in industries with growing occupational demand and opportunities for career and wage advancement.” The ABC initiative seeks to address the following challenges that influence the prospects of training participants and the economic health of the region: (1) Lack of “middle skill” employees; (2) Gaps in basic math and English skills, including English as a second language, among those seeking employment and furthering their education; (3) Lack of necessary technological skills; (4) substantial drop in wages due to jobs/positions, companies, and industries moving overseas and employees needing to take on jobs at much lower pay; (5) Difficulty matching hard to employ individuals with the region’s industrial jobs/careers in the three target sectors; and (6) lack of formal alignment between CTE programs and industry, or among community colleges. As the grant narrative described, prior to inception of the initiative, each college worked with industry, but did so separately, “developing disconnected certificates that are not regionally validated by industry or accepted by other educational institutions within the system.” The purpose of the ABC Consortium is to address this fragmented system of training programs and establish a coherent regional network of education partners providing industry recognized credentials. ABC Consortium Members A community college district (the Lead Agency) leads the ABC Consortium in partnership with 11 community colleges spanning five separate community college districts. Other partners in the consortium include local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), American Job Centers (AJCs), universities, economic development agencies, employers, technical assistance (TA) providers and other community partners. After receiving the grant, the Lead Agency also hired two consultants, an industry cluster coordinator and a regional workforce coordinator to support industry engagement in the three clusters. In addition to these partnerships, the ABC Consortium engaged key individuals from other federal and state-funded initiatives operating in the region. These individuals include Deputy Sector Navigators (DSNs) 4 , positions funded by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCO) Doing What Matters initiative, who are working with community colleges and employers in their region to align workforce training and career pathways in targeted industries. The ABC Consortium also partnered with the director of a Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge grant 5 , a multi-agency federal grant program designed to support the advancement of high-growth, regional industry clusters. Implementation of the ABC Initiative Implementation of the grant is occurring over a four-year period. Year 1 was primarily a planning year, during which the ABC Consortium focused on developing training programs at the colleges, hiring staff, and solidifying partnerships. Colleges began serving students in the last few months of Year 1 and 3 Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) eligible workers are those adversely affected by foreign trade. 4 Additional Information about the Deputy Sector Navigator is available at: :http://doingwhatmatters.cccco.edu/ WEDDGrants/GranteeRoles.aspx 5 Additional information about the federal Jobs and Innovation Accelerator grant program is available at: https://www.eda.gov/challenges/jobsaccelerator/ IMPAQ International, LLC Page 2 Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Examining Collaboration Around Workforce Development
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