Located in:
- III. Operational Planning Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that supports the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will support the implementation of the State strategy described in section II Strategic Elements. This includes—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
III. b. 4. D. Evaluation
Describe how the State will conduct evaluations and research projects on activities under WIOA core programs; how such projects will be coordinated with, and designed in conjunction with, State and local boards and with State agencies responsible for the administration of all respective core programs; and, further, how the projects will be coordinated with the evaluations provided for by the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education under WIOA.
Current Narrative:
The State assures compliance with this requirement through the ongoing continuous improvement activities described throughout this plan, such as monitoring, customer satisfaction surveys for participants and employers, quarterly data analysis, annual review of the NH Works one-stop service centers, and other such activities and/or reports. In addition, the SWIB working with the NH Works’ One Stop Operator Consortium shall identify services/programs for which a third-party evaluator may be engaged to assess program effectiveness. In this situation, the board must recommend a strategy to the Governor for the use of the Title I Governor’s set aside funds to accomplish this activity. In addition, moving forward the State will require an evaluation component in each WIOA discretionary grant it receives and will set aside grant funds for this purpose, which would be coordinated with evaluations known to be conducted by the Labor and/or Education National office. As we have in the past, the State will also take advantage of workforce system evaluations conducted by graduate students.
An example of a research and evaluation project that New Hampshire recently participated in includes a Sector Partnership Study conducted by Maher and Maher. The purpose of the study was to support the NH Sector Partnership Initiative’s transition to a self-sustaining model that does not rely on State or Federal Funds for support. The report indicated that New Hampshire is still relatively young in its sector partnership work in comparison to most of the other states profiled. The initiative’s launch, statewide branding, and chosen sectors were identified as strengths, with labor market data and industry need backing decision making. The launch also included an asset mapping process that included a diverse group of stakeholders. A further strength identified was the use if industry champions and facilitators for each sector to ensure progress and implementation.
NHES, as a part of the grant process, is required to conduct an RESEA Evaluation Project. New Hampshire will monitor and evaluate the re-employment of RESEA claimants using the following criteria: occupations / career paths / industries that claimants are entering upon re-employment; returning to the same occupation or entering into a position in another industry; Demand occupations v. non-demand; Higher level positions. We will use Labor Market Information including but not limited to the Job Locator, Average Wage, OES, and a High Demand Occupations (HDO) report developed based on Office of Workforce Opportunity (WIOA) thresholds. The HDO report is also linked to Work Keys. This project will determine to what level we are also meeting employers’ needs. Working with our Labor Market Information Bureau, with their knowledge of the state of New Hampshire and the supporting data, we will determine how best to meet the needs of the employers as well as the job seekers to build the workforce for New Hampshire. This evaluation will also support the state Sector Partnerships data and work.
The Interagency Work Groups (Consortium, IDG, and IBT) will work with Board and other partners to integrate evaluation and research projects that impact the workforce system in New Hampshire.