aha! Process Community Programs - Research & Development aha! Process, Inc. works diligently with our partners to design and implement assessments of our community programs. Using scientific research methodology, aha! Process examines links between program activities and changes within audience behaviors and practices. Qualitative or quantitative research methodologies – inventories, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, observational studies, exit studies – are implemented according to the program needs. Click here for information on the research methods and instruments used to assess implementation of the Bridges/Getting Ahead Sustainability Model. For specific reports and results peruse the list below: Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World Offers Students Hope for a Successful Nursing Career, Ohio (2004): The nursing shortage is a dilemma that many hospitals and health centers are facing. In Ohio, several hospitals and health centers turned to Kent State University-Salem Campus to help them work toward better retention rates in Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) programs, particularly among economically and educationally disadvantaged adults. A secondary goal was set for the LPN students’ teachers and future employers to lean about economic class issues. To meet these goals, Kent State University asked aha! Process, Inc to train 90 LPN students in Columbiana and Trumbull Counties in Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World program. aha! Process consultants also provided a one-day Bridges Out of Poverty training to LPN and other adult education instructors. Results support personal and professional growth among respondents. View More Indiana-Based Getting Ahead Program Sees Strong Movement Toward Reducing Poverty’s Grip: Leaders from South Bend, Indiana, social service agencies noticed that in their community, individuals in poverty seemed to be cycling through agencies but remained “stuck” in their lives. So, Linda Baechle of the YWCA of Saint Joseph County, decided to try a new approach: she used a small grant from a local college to implement the Bridges Out of Poverty/Getting Ahead model. In the two years since, she has documented very strong improvements in several resource areas across all the individuals they tracked, including: income, education, employment and support services. Read more about their process and results. View More