VISTA Evaluation Study

The Corporation is developing a systematic approach for assessing how well local organizations with full-time AmeriCorps*VISTA members are able to sustain projects over the long-term. This study will evaluate the contributions of VISTA in strengthening local organizations serving low-income communities and develop a tool that can serve as a foundation for additional studies in the future. Information will be collected over time on the relevant characteristics of 250 closed VISTA projects. Closed projects are defined as projects that no longer have active VISTAs, although they still may be continuing without VISTA support. The original goals and objectives of the projects will be identified, as well as how the goals may have evolved over time. The study will evaluate the extent to which closed projects have been able to achieve their goals and will develop a model that identifies the likelihood that ongoing projects will be sustained beyond their third year of programming, after the VISTA members are no longer present. The study will include telephone interviews of the 250 projects and site visits to 40 projects.