Amplify Community Impact with Individual Training and Technical Assistance

In Part 1 of this series on types of training and technical assistance (TTA), we discuss how individual TTA can help grantees increase their capacity to serve communities.

States and community-based organizations play a critical role in fostering positive community outcomes by implementing grant programs that improve behavioral health, child and adolescent well-being, disaster response, and much more. However, grantees can face a variety of obstacles to implementing these programs successfully, including resource constraints, capacity and knowledge gaps, and technology and data management issues. 

Individual Training and Technical Assistance

Individual training and technical assistance (TTA) is critical for supporting grantees in increasing capacity, overcoming barriers, and achieving program goals and objectives. Unlike generic, one-size-fits-all training, individual TTA is tailored to the unique needs of grantee organizations, ensuring that they receive practical, actionable guidance. This approach is rooted in collaborative problem solving, matching grantee organizations with subject matter experts who provide up-to-date science, experience, and proven recommendations. 

Individual TTA can be delivered through one-on-one conversations or topical small group sessions, facilitating learning within and across grantee organizations to help them work more efficiently and effectively. 

Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Individual TTA

High-quality TTA can provide the following benefits to grantee organizations and the communities they serve: 

• Saves time and resources. Partnering with subject matter experts helps grantee organizations efficiently implement high quality programs and services that solve community problems.
• Provides grantee organizations with access to vetted solutions and ideas. Collaborating with subject matter experts exposes grantee organizations to research-informed solutions tailored to their unique circumstances.
• Avoids or overcomes persistent challenges. Many grantee organizations encounter the same problems repeatedly, preventing them from reaching their full potential. Individual TTA can help grantees avoid or overcome these challenges and maximize their impact in communities of need.  
• Improves capacity and capabilities. Subject matter experts meet grantee organizations where they are, working with them to build up their capabilities to better serve their communities.  

Despite its proven effectiveness, individual TTA also presents some challenges. Grantees may not be aware that individual TTA can help them identify opportunities or strategies for moving forward. Taking the first step of requesting assistance also requires vulnerability from the grantees. In addition, many types of grantee organizations operate across the country, and their ability to pivot or implement innovative solutions may depend on their structure or funding requirements. 

Expertise Across Domains and Focus Areas

RTI International has decades of experience providing trusted, individualized TTA to grantee organizations to transform evidence-based research into impactful programs. Our approach is grounded in best practices in adult learning to ensure that grantees receive the highest quality support. RTI’s experienced staff are nimble and innovative, enabling us to adapt to grantees’ evolving needs.  

Our multidisciplinary teams, comprising industry-leading practitioners, researchers, and technical staff, bring a breadth and depth of experience across sectors and focus areas, including adolescent pregnancy prevention and substance use prevention. 

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention 

RTI partners with the Administration for Children and Families’ Family and Youth Services Bureau to provide tailored support to Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) and Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) program grantees. RTI provides off- and on-site individual TTA and site monitoring to assist in the implementation of programs that prevent adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, non-marital sexual activity, and other risk behaviors. 

Through RTI’s relationship-based approach, grantee organizations are paired with expert TTA providers who deliver individualized assistance to develop grantee competencies around specific needs. Since October 2023, RTI has collaborated with nearly 40 PREP and 50 SRAE grantees to build their capacity to implement evidence-based prevention education programs. RTI has also provided support to more than 150 PREP and 230 SRAE grantees through facilitated small group sessions. 

Substance Use Prevention and Education 

In partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, RTI provided tailored, evidence-based TTA to Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) grantees to help them amplify efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support individuals with substance use disorders. To account for unique needs and challenges across grantees, RTI leveraged a TTA approach that includes an initial assessment, multimodal TTA delivery, program implementation support, and monitoring of progress. 

Substance use programming experts provided timely, one-on-one support to more than 70 COSSUP grantees across a variety of topics, including program sustainability, multidisciplinary partnerships and data sharing, program implementation and evaluation, and more. 

Providing Tailored Support to Maximize Grantee Impact

RTI experts can create custom solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of grantee organizations and the communities they serve. Learn more about RTI’s training and technical assistance solutions and connect with our experts to find out how.