The PROSPER Delivery System is based on nearly 25 years of partnership experience and NIH-funded research.
PROSPER stands for PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience. PROSPER isn’t a program, rather it is a scientifically-proven delivery system that facilitates sustained, quality delivery of evidence-based programs that reduce risky youth behaviors, enhance positive youth development and strengthen families.
This delivery system links university-based prevention researchers with two established program delivery systems within a state—the Cooperative Extension System at the Land Grant University and the public school system. Extension offers knowledge of the community and experience in disseminating educational programs. The public school system offers access to youth in the community and to educators who care about making a difference in the lives of students. PROSPER starts with these existing resources and then adds partnerships among the other key youth and family service providers in the community to form small, strategic teams.
These community teams implement one family and one school evidence-based program that they select from a menu and are supported throughout their programming effort by program area specialists and evaluation experts from their university's Extension System, and prevention scientists and PROSPER implementation coaches from Iowa State University.