Beat the Time Program
Evaluation Summary
About the Beat The Time Program
The Australian African Foundation for Retention and Opportunity’s (AAFRO) Beat the Time (BTT) program targets vulnerable young people, offering early intervention support through a package of activities designed to respond to their needs and introduce them to beneficial activities during the school breaks. The program creates a friendly and culturally appropriate environment for all participants, ensuring they feel safe, welcomed, and connected through the activities provided (listed below), leading to many positive outcomes.
Outdoor and indoor sportbased activities
Arts and crafts
Cooking and eating food together
Learning and celebrating culture
Excursions and external activities
Evaluating the Beat The Time Program
AAFRO engaged Impact Co., an independent management consultancy firm, to conduct a program evaluation of the Beat the Time (BTT) program. This evaluation will be used to:
Build an evidence-base on the effectiveness of early intervention activities targeting young people from multicultural backgrounds.
Identify the program’s barriers and enablers, and recommendations for future iterations of the program.
The evaluation has been conducted through several activities listed below:
Desktop review of key organisation documents and program data
In-depth consultation with 7 staff working at AAFRO on the BTT program
Analysis of 26 worksheets completed by participants and/or parents of participants who attend the program
Overview of Evaluation Results
The BTT program has been demonstrated as a critically necessary early intervention program for African Australians and the wider culturally and linguistically diverse community in Victoria.
The evaluation identified six key insights, which are listed below. It is important to emphasise that these key insights are being achieved with very limited and stretched resourcing despite the growing demand for this program from communities, including those from other areas across metropolitan Melbourne.
BTT is a free-of-cost program utilising any available resources to deliver a well-run and highly sought after service.
77% of young people self-reported an increase in happiness after attending the BTT program largely due to the fun and friendly nature of the program.
BTT contributes to increased confidence and independence for young people through their connection to culture and community, often bridging the gap between them and others within the community.
The program leads to increased belonging and acceptance by activating a safe space where young people are encouraged and supported to be themselves.
The program is an incredibly important early intervention program that is contributing to better health and wellbeing outcomes, and in reducing the interactions between young people and the justice system.
The growing knowledge and awareness of the program within the community, given that attendance is largely word of-mouth driven, demonstrates the success of BTT.
Evaluation Recommendations
Based on the insights emerging from the evaluation, it has been identified that the BTT program is providing a well-received and much-needed early intervention program for African Australians and the wider culturally and linguistically diverse community, For this reason, the BTT program should continue.
That said, AAFRO could consider the following recommendations in the continued delivery of the program:
With dedicated resourcing, employ staff that are dedicated primarily to running and maintaining the BTT program. This role would also be responsible for promoting and advocating for the program.
With further resourcing, expand the BTT program to operate outside of the school holidays, allowing young people to 'BTT' after school or on weekends.
Expand the program into different geographical areas with further funding, using the same model to increase community impact. This opportunity would be enabled by partnerships with local councils.
Pitch AAFRO's unique value proposition as an early intervention support and the impact it has already made on the lives of vulnerable young people and families to secure ongoing funding.
AAFRO should create reporting metrics and capture more ongoing and robust data, to help them demonstrate their impact. This will support future funding bids for the program.
