|
FAQs: Relationship to Other Collaborative
Functions
Evaluation
is an integral part of all aspects of collaborative functioning.
Evaluation supports the processes of planning, implementing and
evaluating programs and activities, financing and budgeting, and
communicating efforts to the public. Here we provide some key answers
to questions that collaboratives have about evaluation's relationship
to other collaborative functions.
Collaboratives
want to know …
How
is evaluation related to other collaborative functions?
How
can evaluation support the Planning and Implementation process?
How
can evaluation support the Finance and Budgeting process?
How
can evaluation support the Public Affairs and Communications process?
How
is evaluation related to other collaborative functions?
Evaluation,
an applied discipline, is an integral part of all aspects of collaborative
functioning. Within the typical governance structure for a local
collaborative there are usually committees or task forces for Planning,
Implementation and Evaluation, Finance and Budgeting and Public
Will. Each of these endeavors utilizes evaluation processes
or results to improve efforts, make judgments and inform the decision
making process.
top
How
can evaluation support the Planning and Implementation process?
In
the planning and implementation process, evaluation strategies provide
the information and data for decision-making. To determine community
needs, community assessments involve a variety of evaluation strategies:
secondary data review, surveys, focus groups and interviews. Based
on the summary of this information in a usable format, decisions
are made about community goals and benchmarks. When comprehensive
community initiatives make recognizable impact on benchmarks, changes
may occur in community needs. And consequently decisions are
made to adopt new goals or refocus efforts or change priorities.
When process or outcome evaluations show particular strategies are
not reaching the desired target audiences, not reaching a sufficient
number of the target audience or are not powerful enough to move
the benchmarks, decisions are made to change or modify
strategies for those believed to be more powerful.
top
How
can evaluation support the Finance and Budgeting process?
Budgeting,
the process of managing current funds, relies on both process and
outcome evaluation processes to inform decisions. Tracking expenditures
by strategy and benchmark and relating the dollars to outreach can
show how much it is costing to deliver services to how many people.
Thus, you have a cost to deliver factor. Relating
cost to deliver figures to evidence of impact and achieved outcomes
can give you a cost-effectiveness analysis. Both these
evaluation processes become important tools to guide a collaborative
in making decisions about which activities, programs
and strategies are sound economical investments and where a collaborative
might like to concentrate more of their resources. When comparing
comparable strategies, (equal effectiveness at reaching the targeted
audience and changing selected benchmarks) you can pick the ones
that are more cost-effective.
When
we think of financing as the process of securing long-term
funding to support community initiatives it is apparent that evaluation
processes and results are critical.
1.
Foundations, government and other funders want documentation
of the need for the services you're providing.
Usual
methods of documentation include population statistics
provided with special reference to communities and target audiences
and input and feedback from target audiences using surveys,
focus groups and interviews.
2.
Potential funders want to know that their investment would be sound.
Providing
evaluation and cost-benefit summaries of similar or pilot
efforts or logic models of proposed new efforts
will give convincing evidence that your collaborative should be
funded.
top
How
can evaluation support the Public Affairs and Communications process?
Evaluation
strategies and evaluation processes can support the public affairs
and communications process in several ways:
Relevant
evaluation studies of economic impact can be very useful
in educating people about the condition of children and families
in their community and the potential cost to the community of not
addressing the conditions.
Evaluation
tools and strategies like focus groups, interviews and surveys can
be used to create opportunities for people to discuss local conditions
and to identify things that can be done to make improvements.
Evaluation
strategies are crucial in determining the results for children
and families who've been targeted by Collaborative strategies, programs
and activities, and in determining the ways the system has been
improved to be more efficient and effective. This becomes the Family
Connection message.
top
|
