Elements of Effective Practice

What are the Elements of Effective Practice?

The Elements of Effective Practice (EEP) are a set of standards for the development and operation of a safe and effective mentoring program. The EEP were developed by MENTOR and are grounded in research and field-tested practices. The standards are grouped into four sections:

  • Program Design and Planning
  • Program Management
  • Program Operations
  • Program Evaluation

Below is an abbreviated version of these standards. To read the complete document click here.

Program Design and Planning

Structure the parameters of the program:

  • What population of youth will your program serve?
  • Who will you recruit as mentors?
  • What type of mentoring will your program offer (group, one-to-one, peer, or e-mentoring)?
  • What will be the focus of the mentoring sessions (career involvement, academic support, socialization)?
  • What are the outcomes you hope will be achieved for mentors, youth, and sponsoring organizations?
  • Where, when, how often, and for how long will your matches meet?

Plan how the program will be managed:

  • Establish policies and procedures
  • Develop a financial plan

Implement the program

  • Recruit, screen, and train mentors
  • Bring mentors and mentees together, and offer continual support throughout the program

Plan how to evaluate the program:

  • Decide on an evaluation design and determine the types of data that will be collected.

Program Management

Ensure the program is well managed:

  • Form an advisory group
  • Develop a system for managing program information
  • Create a development plan that allows for diverse fundraising
  • Design a system to monitor the matches
  • Establish a public relations/communications effort

Program Operations

Ensure strong, everyday operations:

  • Have clear eligibility requirements for mentors, mentees, and other volunteers.
  • Screen potential mentors and mentees
  • Orient and train mentors, mentees, and parents or caregivers
  • Use established criteria to create matches
  • Provide ongoing support, supervision and monitoring of the mentoring relationship
  • Recognize the contribution of all program participants
  • Help mentors and mentees reach closure

Program Evaluation

Ensure program quality and effectiveness:

  • Develop a plan to measure program success
  • Develop a plan to measure expected outcomes
  • Create a process to reflect on and disseminate evaluation findings.

Elements of Effective Practice Toolkit:

MENTOR and Mass Mentoring Partnership are pleased to make available a comprehensive tool kit entitled: How to Build a Successful Mentoring Program Using the Elements of Effective Practice™. The recently designed tool kit offers step-by-step instructions that new and established programs can follow to implement the Elements of Effective Practice.

In addition, the tool kit offers nearly 100 references to additional resources and includes a “Checklist of Program Progress” for each of the four main components. A CD with more than 160 customizable tools and templates is also available.

MENTOR developed the tool kit through a generous grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Visit MENTOR to download the complete toolkit.

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