Category: Evaluation

  Is your orgranization guilty of collecting evaluation data and then never looking at it again? As the comic above reminds us, evaluation is only useful if the information gathered is used to improve program delivery and make evidence-based decisions. There are many factors that can increase the likelihood that your evaluation findings will be… Read more »

This week I would like to share some words of wisdom from a consulting firm called FSG that focuses on research and evaluation of social service programs. FSG consultant Aimee White confesses that involving stakeholders in evaluation processes can be challenging. “Deciding who should be involved and at what stage creates complexity in evaluation planning and… Read more »

A few months ago the Pacific AIDS Network shared findings from the Community HIV/HCV Evaluation and Reporting Tool (CHERT), a survey tool that aims to demonstrate the impact community-based HIV/HCV organizations are making across British Columbia. Similarly, the World Bank undertook an evaluation to explore the extent to which community-based organizations (CBOs) have contributed to… Read more »

When it comes down to it, a program logic model is a simplified picture of how a program, initiative or intervention intends to achieve desired outcomes. Logic models are the first step to answering the question, “what difference is this program making?”.  Serving a range of functions, including program planning, program management, evaluation, and communications,… Read more »

While there are a wide range of evaluation approaches that can be used to assess projects and programs, when working with community-based issues a participatory evaluation approach is often recommended. What is it? Similar to community-based research, participatory evaluation involves the active engagement of those who have a stake the in the program – participants,… Read more »

Are you thinking about evaluating a program but are stuck with no baseline data? While this common situation is far from ideal, there are ways around it. Respected evaluator Jane Davidson shares a few tips on what to do if you are in this situation: Go to the people who were around early on when… Read more »

The next time your organization is gathering feedback from clients about the programs and services you deliver, consider offering incentives for their participation. Incentives can make a huge difference for survey response rates, overall evaluation buy-in, and the development of reciprocal relationships. Alison Baxter describes how incentives have made a difference in her research with youth… Read more »

Real-time evaluation (RTE) is one of the evaluation field’s latest responses to evaluation reports that come too late to be actionable or relevant. Nonprofits and foundations operate in complex ecologies and program implementation is not straightforward. As a result, they are looking to evaluation as a way to improve their programs in real time rather than… Read more »

What’s in the news about evaluation? Last week the Harvard Business Review shared an article about the distinction between outputs and outcomes in the business world. The author of the article, Deborah Mills-Scofield, argues that, “business in the 21st century needs more focus on outcomes than outputs”. Mills-Scofield discusses the shortcomings of focusing on outputs, as… Read more »

There is a wide range of evidence demonstrating the positive changes HIV advocacy efforts have been able to bring about. The tricky part is designing and implementing an evaluation that will allow your organization to illustrate the value of such work. International HIV/AIDS Alliance and the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) have created… Read more »