Company Description

WI-HER is a woman-owned small business based in Northern Virginia. Our diverse global team is committed to delivering effective and equitable change through innovative solutions that are human-centered, sustainably delivered, transparently managed, and consistently documented. Our focus on tailored capacity development and rigorous monitoring and evaluation processes ensures excellence and impact in all of our programs across various sectors— while our small size brings flexibility and speed in response to our client needs.

Project Overview

WI-HER is seeking the services of consultants to review and assess the current SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework to determine areas for improvement.

Background

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that provides nutrition assistance to eligible individuals with lower incomes in the form of a monthly benefit. The SNAP Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program (SNAP-Ed) is the nutrition education and health promotion component of SNAP. The goal of SNAP-Ed is to improve the likelihood that persons eligible for SNAP will make healthy food choices within a limited budget and choose physically active lifestyles consistent with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) food guidance.

The SNAP-Ed Toolkit was developed to help state agencies identify evidenced-based obesity prevention strategies and interventions to include in their SNAP-Ed plans. The Toolkit also includes the interactive “SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework” (Framework) to help guide the development and evaluation of State SNAP-Ed interventions. The Framework is a menu of indicators for measuring the effectiveness of SNAP-Ed interventions that also helps conceptualize and organize various evaluation topics and approaches relevant to SNAP-Ed.

In 2023, FNS began plans to move forward with an update of the Framework. FNS engaged SNAP-Ed partners to assess efforts related to updating the Framework and to gather preliminary input on potential updates to the Framework. FNS has determined that there is a need to include equity measures in the Framework, update the evaluation tools for the indicators, include metrics to demonstrate advances in implementation science, add metrics to measure nutrition security, and include resources on program planning.

Position Objectives

The consultants' services will be required over a period of 12 months, and will provide evaluation, facilitation, and communications services for the partner organization.

Scope of Work

Tasks will include but will not be limited to the following:

• Conduct a systematic and comprehensive review of the current SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework.
• Identify new and innovative evaluation methods, and present findings to FNS and the steering committee.
• Facilitate a bi-monthly steering committee and small group discussion sessions with subject matter experts (SMEs).
• Review and analyze findings from the literature review, Framework review, discussion sessions, and steering committee meetings to develop recommendations to update the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework.
• Update the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master's degree in nutrition or public health and at least 5 years of experience in public health nutrition program research/evaluation.
• At least 2 years of experience in group facilitation and committee management and/or coordination.
• Experience with quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods is essential.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A commitment to health equity and understanding of how social determinants of health impact nutrition education programs. Ability to incorporate equity considerations into evaluation methods and recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with SNAP-Ed program planning, implementing, and/or evaluation preferred.

WI-HER is committed to fostering a diverse, multicultural work environment and welcomes a range of backgrounds, life experiences, perspectives, and opinions. WI-HER provides equal employment to all and has zero tolerance towards discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, disability, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal laws.