Basic Guide to Program Evaluation Including Many Additional Resources Copyright Carter Mc. Namara, MBA, Ph. D, Authenticity Consulting. LLC. Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing. Evaluation. This document provides guidance toward planning and implementing. Nonprofit. organizations are increasingly interested in outcomes based evaluation. If you are interested in learning more about outcomes based evaluation. Outcomes Evaluation. What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' title='What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' />Outcomes Based Evaluations in Nonprofit Organizations. Sections of This Topic Include. Program Evaluation carefully getting. Where Program Evaluation is Helpful. Basic Ingredients you need an organization. Planning Program Evaluation what do. Major Types of Program Evaluation evaluating. McREL is committed to making a difference in the quality of education and learning for all through excellence in applied research, product development, and service. Overview of Methods to Collect Information. Selecting Which Methods to Use which. Analyzing and Interpreting Information. Reporting Evaluation Results. Who Should Carry Out the EvaluationContents of an Evaluation Plan. Pitfalls to Avoid. On the difference between Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dealers We are frequently asked by patients in our office, Whats the difference. Program evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly. Element 5 Developing a Program and Evaluation Plan Creating a program plan A program plan links to the strategies or broad approaches to facilitating. SEDL merged with the American Institutes for Research AIR on January 1, 2015. This archived website contains the work of SEDL legacy projects and rich resources. Online Guides, etc. Outcomes Evaluation. General Resources. Also see. Evaluations many. Related Library Topics. What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' title='What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' />Related Library Topics. Also See the Librarys Blogs Related to Program Evaluations. In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which. Program Evaluations. Scan down the blogs page to see. Also see the section Recent Blog Posts in the sidebar. Librarys Business. Planning Blog. Librarys Building. Business Blog. Librarys Strategic. What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' title='What Is The Difference Between Program Evaluation And Curriculum Evaluation' />Planning Blog. A Brief Introduction. Note that the concept of program evaluation can include a wide. There are numerous books and other. However, personnel do not have to be experts in these topics to. The 2. 0 8. 0 rule. Its better to do what might turn out to be an average effort. Besides, if you. resort to bringing in an evaluation consultant, you should be. Far too many program evaluations generate information. By Forces Unseen Pdf more. This document orients personnel to the. Note that much of the information in this section was gleaned. Michael Quinn Patton. Program Evaluation. Some Myths About Program Evaluation. Many people believe evaluation is a useless activity that. This was. a problem with evaluations in the past when program evaluation. This approach often. Generalizations and recommendations were avoided. As a result, evaluation reports tended to reiterate the obvious. More recently especially. Michael Pattons development of utilization focused. Many people believe that evaluation is about proving the. This myth assumes that success. This doesnt happen in real life. Success. is remaining open to continuing feedback and adjusting the program. Evaluation gives you this continuing feedback. Many believe that evaluation is a highly unique and complex. Many people believe. They dont have to. They do have to consider what information. And they have to be willing to commit to understanding. Note that many people regularly undertake. Consequently, they miss precious opportunities to make more of. So What is Program EvaluationFirst, well consider what is a program Typically. In nonprofits. each of these goals often becomes a program. Nonprofit programs. Programs must be evaluated. In. a for profit, a program is often a one time effort to produce. So, still, what is program evaluation Program evaluation is carefully. Program. evaluation can include any or a variety of at least 3. The type of evaluation you. Dont worry about what type of evaluation. Where Program Evaluation is Helpful. Frequent Reasons Program evaluation can 1. Understand, verify or increase the impact of products or services. These outcomes evaluations. Too. often, service providers for profit or nonprofit rely on their. Over time, these organizations find themselves. Improve delivery mechanisms to be more efficient and less costly. Over time, product or service delivery ends up to be an inefficient. Evaluations can identify program strengths and weaknesses. Verify that youre doing what you think youre doing Typically. Evaluations can verify if the. Other Reasons Program evaluation can 4. Facilitate managements really thinking about what their program. Produce data or verify results that can be used for public. Produce valid comparisons between programs to decide which. Fully examine and describe effective programs for duplication. Basic Ingredients Organization and ProgramsYou Need An Organization This may seem too obvious to discuss, but before an organization. You Need Programs To effectively conduct program evaluation, you should first. That is, you need a strong impression of what your. You may have used a needs. Next, you. need some effective methods to meet each of those goals. These. methods are usually in the form of programs. It often helps to think of your programs in terms of inputs. Inputs are the various resources. The process is how the program is. The outputs are the units of service, e. Outcomes are the impacts on the customers or on clients receiving. Planning Your Program Evaluation. Depends on What Information You Need to Make Your Decisions. On Your Resources. Often, management wants to know everything about their products. However, limited resources usually force. Your program evaluation plans depend on what information you. Usually, management. For example, do you. You may want other information or. Ultimately, its up to you. But the more focused you are about what you want to examine. There are trade offs, too, in the breadth and depth of information. The more breadth you want, usually the less depth you. On the other hand, if you want to examine a certain. For those starting out in program evaluation or who have very. They can both understand. Key Considerations Consider the following key questions when designing a program. For what purposes is the evaluation being done, i. Who are the audiences for the information from the evaluation. What kinds of information are needed to make the decision you. From what sources should the information be collected, e. How can that information be collected in a reasonable fashion. When is the information needed so, by when must it be collected What resources are available to collect the informationSome Major Types of Program Evaluation. When designing your evaluation approach, it may be helpful. Note that you should not design. Goals Based Evaluation. Often programs are established to meet one or more specific. These goals are often described in the original program. Goal based evaluations are evaluating the extent to which programs. Questions to ask. How were the program goals and objectives, is applicable. Was the process effectiveWhat is the status of the programs progress toward achieving. Will the goals be achieved according to the timelines specified. If not, then. why Do personnel have adequate resources money, equipment, facilities. How should priorities be changed to put more focus on achieving. Depending on the context, this question might be viewed. How should timelines be changed be careful about making these. How should goals be changed be careful about making these. Should any goals be added or removedWhy 8. How should goals be established in the future Process Based Evaluations. Process based evaluations are geared to fully understanding. These evaluations are useful if programs are long standing. There are numerous questions that might be addressed in a process. These questions can be selected by carefully considering. Examples of questions. On what basis do employees andor the customers decide that. What is required of employees in order to deliver the product.