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FAQs:
Types of Evaluation
Evaluation
helps collaboratives to show positive results for children and families
in their communities. Collaboratives have many questions about the
ins and outs of evaluation. Here we provide answers to the key questions
that collabratives are asking about how to plan and conduct process
and results evaluation.
Collaboratives
want to know …
What
is evaluation?
How
do process evaluation and results evaluation differ?
What
types of evaluation questions are answered with process evaluation?
What
types of evaluation questions are answered with results or outcome
evaluation?
What
are other significant evaluation questions?
What
special approach to evaluation does Family Connection Partnership
recommend?
What
is meant by the term "best practice evaluation?"
What
is evaluation?
Evaluation
is the systematic process of collecting information and providing
answers to important questions about:
- What
the community collaborative is doing.
- How
well the collaborative is achieving desired outcomes for families
and children.
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How
do process evaluation and results evaluation differ?
Process
evaluation involves answering questions about the process
of delivering activities, programs and strategies to consumers.
Results or outcome evaluation involves
answering questions about whether the implemented programs, activities
and strategies made a difference in the lives of participants and
the community as a whole.
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What
types of evaluation questions are answered with process evaluation?
Process
evaluation answers questions about whether programs, activities
and strategies were implemented as planned and, if so, what happened.
Typical process evaluation questions include:
1.
What activities, programs and strategies were actually implemented?
2. Who was involved in implementing the activities, programs and
strategies?
3.
How was the money spent (on staff, resources, program/interventions)?
4.
How do actual expenditures, outreach, and services compare to
your original plan?
5.
How many people (classified by age, gender, ethnicity and risk
factors) were reached? Were they the ones you intended to reach?
If not, why?
6.
How did participants, staff, and stakeholders respond to the program?
What was their level of satisfaction?
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What
types of evaluation questions are answered with results or outcome
evaluation?
Results
or outcome evaluation answers questions about whether the implemention
of programs, activities and strategies resulted in any changes for
participants or the community as a whole. Typical results evaluation
questions include:
Participant-Level
- What
knowledge, attitudes and skills did participants gain?
- What
aspirations did participants develop?
- What
actions, such as changing practices or adopting new behaviors,
did participants take?
- Did
the status or condition of participants' lives change? Improve?
- Were
some participants affected more than others?
Community-Level
- Did
your program lead to long-term impact in your community?
- Did
community or county-level benchmarks improve?
- Did
conditions improve more for some groups than for others?
- Were
changes made in your community because of the strategy?
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What
are other significant evaluation questions?
System-Level
Did service delivery for children and families change from traditional
categorical service delivery toward collaboratively organized and
delivered services? For example:
-Co-location of services?
-Coordinated information, intake and/or referral service?
-Coordinated case management?
-Consolidated budget for collaborative strategies?
-Cross training with leadership development seminars/workshops?
-Computer network linking two or more agencies?
-Redeployed staff?
-Common service forms (intake, referral, etc.)?
-Cross-organizational rules?
Collaborative-Level
Does the collaborative have the needed membership, achieving the
necessary level of collaboration, working toward goals in a way
that develops community commitment for achieving positive outcomes?
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What
special approach to evaluation does Family Connection Partnership
recommend?
Family
Connection Partnership promotes a participatory approach to evaluation
which emphasizes the utilization of findings to inform planning,
policy and practice. Family Connection recommends best practice
evaluation. Best practice evaluation has been defined to
be sanction-free, participatory and systematic. Evaluation results
are used to inform practice and policy. Best practice evaluation
should be the ultimate goal of the local collaborative.
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What
is meant by the term "best practice evaluation?"
There
are four elements of best practice evaluation, as defined by the
Family Connection Partnership. Best practice evaluations are:
Sanction-free.
No penalties will be imposed by Family Connection based on the results
of evaluations which are conducted.
Participatory.
Collaborative partners, families, youth and program funders are
involved in the evaluation process. It is people-centered: project
stakeholders and target audiences are the key actors of the evaluation
process rather than the mere objects of the evaluation.
Typically
participatory evaluation has four key functions:
- It
helps to build the capacity of stakeholders to reflect, analyze
and take action.
- It
contributes to the development of lessons learned. When project
stakeholders are involved in analyzing problems, they can propose
solutions and may be more likely to introduce necessary changes.
- It
provides feedback which can guide local collaboratives in making
decisions for the future.
- It
helps to ensure results accountability. It furnishes information
on how well benchmarks have been met and how resources have been
used.
Systematic
implies at least these four things.
- There
is intent to evaluate.
- There
is an evaluation plan.
- The
evaluation plan is implemented.
- The
evaluation results are used and get as much attention as the development
of the plan.
Results are used strategically to inform practice and policy.
While the process is as important as the end result in participatory
evaluation, it is very important to use the results to inform decision
making. Focusing effort and resources on the strategies which work
should help Family Connection achieve positive outcomes for families
and children more quickly. Evaluating, learning from evaluation,
and making decisions based on lessons learned can make the collaborative
process more successful.
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