It is critical to the success of your IEP facilitation program to keep the people who will use and interact with the system, central to the design process. Identifying intended audiences and understanding their behaviors, motivations and concerns will help you create relevant materials and identify the most appropriate distribution mechanism. Key stakeholders play an important role in this process. They not only help us understand our intended audiences better, they often provide feedback on materials before they are disseminated to a larger audience. They also can help us with larger dissemination efforts.
Critical Considerations
- Have you identified the intended audiences for your materials and outreach efforts?
- Are you reaching the people who make requests for IEP facilitation?
- Do you have a good understanding of their behaviors, motivations and concerns?
Lessons Learned
- A lot of resources can be wasted or underutilized if time is not spent initially upfront working to understand the people who will use and interact with the system and addressing their concerns. For example, do many districts in your state have concerns about a “representative” of the state being in their IEP meetings? Do caseworkers fear that they’ll be viewed as incompetent if they make a request for a state-sponsored facilitator?
- Will others (parent organizations, school personnel) feel comfortable sharing materials about your program?