Resource Brief: Maximizing Your Reentry Program’s Reach by Pretesting Participant Recruitment Materials
Many agencies and organizations that serve returning citizens seek to inform prospective clients about their services by developing written recruitment materials (e.g., brochures, quarterly newsletters, flyers), posting to social media, and creating scripts or talking points for in-person or virtual presentations. Pretesting recruitment materials with people who have lived experience with the criminal legal system can help programs identify the most effective materials and approach. There are six steps for pretesting recruitment materials:
- Determine the objectives of the pretest and understand the target audience
- Choose the pretest method (e.g., focus groups, individual interviews) and plan the pretest, which includes tasks such as identifying a venue, identifying staff, recruiting and protecting participants, and developing a budget
- Develop a pretest guide
- Conduct the pretest
- Analyze data and interpret and summarize results
- Revise recruitment materials
This brief from the Evaluation and Sustainability Training and Technical Assistance (ES TTA) team at RTI International and the Center for Justice Innovation (formerly the Center for Court Innovation) shares strategies for pretesting recruitment materials used by reentry programs. The brief also provides recommendations for developing your program’s recruitment materials and examples of how the content of such materials might change before and after a pretest.
