October 1, 2024
Solving the Mystery of Program Evaluation: Start with the End in Mind
As we look forward to starting a new programming year, I want us to keep in mind the role of evaluation and its importance to our programming efforts.
Many of you have heard that phrase start with the end in mind when it comes to the extension program development. Program evaluation is a key part of the program development process because it allows us to assess if our programs are working and producing the results we anticipated. So the concept start with the end in mind also applies to conducting evaluation as it helps us focus on meeting our evaluation objectives and goals.
Evaluation planning involves determining the feasibility of the evaluation, identifying stakeholders, and specifying short- and long-term goals; and assessing how the program has worked and how we are going to measure the programs outcomes.
Evaluation allows us to report the worth (summative evaluation) of our programs and enables us to improve the internal working (formative evaluation) of our programs. Both are important in evaluating our programmatic efforts.
Below are some steps to consider as you get ready to conduct program evaluation:
- Assess your readiness: how prepared are you or your team to undertake the evaluation? Do you or your team have a culture of evaluation meaning a commitment within the group to value evidence to better manage and deliver programs?
- Start with the end in mind: identify clear program outcomes you intend to measure (short, medium, long-term)
- Develop a data collection plan: choose data gathering methods that match your intended outcomes (qualitative, quantitative)
- Identify resources: identify the resources needed to conduct the evaluation (tools, training etc.,)
- Collect, review and analyze data: collect program data, input data into PEARS and review and analyze the results
- Prepare reports: Write outcome summaries and Making a Difference reports.
There are many benefits to evaluation of our programming efforts including the ability to improve the internal working of the program and assessing the program outcomes which enables us to tell our story to stakeholders.