The EARF (Employee Assistance Research Foundation) was established as a nonprofit to fund research demonstrating the value of employee assistance programs (EAPs) and related services. Recent research projects include benchmarking metrics for EAP vendors and examining EAP programs in Europe. The EARF is seeking additional donations and support to continue its work of promoting evidence-based practices, improving EAP quality and value, and redefining how EAPs are valued.

1. EARF: Moving Forward
National Behavioral Consortium
February 27, 2013
Bernie McCann, PhD, CEAP
EARF Development Consultant

2. What is EARF...?
Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation with a
generous matching grant from the Tisone Family
Trust, the Foundation was formed to stimulate
innovative, rigorous, and theory-based research
activities to demonstrate the ability of EAPs and
related behavioral health & work-life products to
transform individual lives and maximize employee
contributions to organizational success.

3. …and why now?
Unfortunately, there is simply an insufficient
amount of ongoing, credible research to
prove the valuable contribution of EAPs and
related services to workplace productivity.
The EARF seeks to fill this research gap to
re-establish the value of EAPs, and stop the
commoditization of EAP services.

4. Mission Statement
 To promote excellence in the design and delivery of
Employee Assistance services throughout the world
 To promote and support effective measurement
practices, performance tools, and outcome criteria
 To bridge the gaps between knowledge and policy
by translating valid research findings into practice
 To assist in the attraction and recruitment of
outstanding scholars to conduct relevant research

5. Board Members
Carl Tisone – President
John Burke – Vice President
David Sharar – Secretary/Treasurer
Paul Roman – Senior Advisor to the Board
Elizabeth Merrick – Research Chair
Dale Masi Dennis Derr
John Maynard Karen Osilla
Jeff Christie Ron Manderscheid

6. Organizational Donors
Chestnut Global Partners
Claremont Behavioral Services
Harris Rothenberg International
New Directions Behavioral Health
Optum Behavioral Health
ORCAS (Oregon Center for Applied Science)
Perspectives, Ltd.
Psychcare
ValueOptions

7. Desired Outcome: To re-define value of EAPs
 Transparent performance metrics are
routinely collected and reported
 Credible, effective services are priced
equal to their true value
 Purchasers are able to correlate price
and quality

8. Desired Outcome: To re-invigorate EAP research
 Increase emphasis on evidence-based practice
 Encourage a pipeline of next-generation EAP
and workplace productivity researchers
 EARF becomes a leader in
promoting, funding, and disseminating research
in the EAP field

9. Priorities for Action
 Fund new, relevant research
 Investigate trends in practice
 Aggregate and communicate findings
 Collaborate to improve quality and value

10. First Research Grantees report results
Creating a Benchmarking Resource of Metrics for
the External EAP Field, is a descriptive study of
basic metrics and service characteristics that describe
82 external EAP vendors located in North America &
10 other countries.
Principal Investigator is Dr. Stan Granberry, Director
of the National Behavioral Consortium (NBC) a
trade association of 17 member EAP, managed
behavioral health, and work-life firms.

11. First Research Grantees report results
The Eureka Project - EAPs in Continental Europe: State
of the Art and Future Challenges was conducted by Dr.
Debora Vansteenwegen of ISW Limits & the University
of Leuven in Belgium and Dr. Manuel Sommer of
Clinica CAPA & the Universidade Autonoma de Lisboa
in Portugal.
The multi-national research team surveyed HR managers
and employees in 6 European countries, examining
characteristics of existing EAPs and investigating the
future potential for EAPs in Europe.

12. What’s Next..? Round 2 of Grant Applications
 RFP - Workplace-related Outcomes released 9/12
 Latest research funding level at $100,000.00
 Four finalists invited to re-submit
 Deadline for re-submission: Friday, March 1, 2013
 Grant award announcement May 1, 2013

13. The Value Proposition for Supporting EARF
 Visibility for your organization as a advocate for
EAP viability and sustainability
 Tangible business benefits of better data on EAP
contributions to workplace productivity
 Demonstrate leadership in leaving the EAP field
better off then when we entered it

14. The Bottom Line…
 Total contributions to the Foundation have
totaled approximately $250,000 to date
 Total amount of research grant funding
and current commitments is $180,000.
 Current research funding levels are
unsustainable without additional support

15. How You Can Help
There are multiple ways YOU can support the
Foundation’s mission:
1. Organizational contribution
2. Personal contribution
3. Planned contribution
4. In-kind contribution
5. Assist in fundraising and/or publicity efforts

16. Contact information:
Bernie McCann, PhD, CEAP
Development Consultant, EARF
mccannbag@gmail.com
Cell: 781.264.6211
Skype: mccannbag
Website: www.eapfoundation.org