Process Evaluation of BJA''s Firearm Lock Distribution and Safe Storage Program

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) safe storage messaging is designed to "encourage firearms owners to store firearms safely by locking them up where children, at-risk youth, potential thieves, and those who intend to harm themselves or others, cannot access them." Building on that foundation, BJA will select a provider to distribute firearm locks and conduct education activities under its Firearm Locks Distribution and Safe Storage Program. The RAND Corporation proposes to conduct an extensive process and implementation evaluation of that program, as requested by NIJ. SUBJECTS The subjects of the process implementation will be key stakeholders and informants involved in program implementation. These will include individuals from the national program provider and from implementing organizations in five sites. The program provider and sites are still to be determined. PARTNERSHIPS No partnerships with other organizations are proposed for the research team. However, the evaluation team will work extensively with BJA, NIJ, and the national program provider to complete the activities related to the proposed project. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS For the proposed study, RAND will work with NIJ under cooperative agreement to monitor and document the program's implementation. The process evaluation will use a multiple-case-study design to understand the context for implementation; systematically document and describe the specific strategies employed at each site; document partnerships with local organizations; identify patterns in key domains such as implementation planning, leadership support, partnership building, distribution modes and patterns, and safety messaging, across sites; and document implementation. We will use four main methods of data collection for the proposed work: semi-structured interviews with key informants, site visits to the five sites distributing free firearm locks, surveys with a sample of implementing organizations in those five sites, and administrative data collection. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research will be used to organize the data and identify the factors that may influence FLO/SSP implementation and its effectiveness ANALYSIS The analysis process data has three main purposes: (1) to understand the context for the implementation; (2) to carefully and systematically document and describe the specific elements of the implementation in each site; and (3) to identify and document characteristics most closely associated with success. PRODUCTS We will produce a final summary overview for NIJ, present at one research conference, create a practitioner-friendly implementation document; and submit 1-2 manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. We will also conduct a briefing to share evaluation findings. This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law. ca/ncf