The infographic was developed for people who:
- Commission evaluation
- Use evaluation results
- Conduct evaluations
Why?
- Help people know what should be considered at the different steps of an evaluation.
- Enable people to know what to expect during a quality evaluation process, so they feel confident asking questions.
- Show that the practice and process of a quality evaluation has a coherent, systematic structure.
- Demonstrate the competencies that underlie professional evaluation practice as defined by the CES Credentialed Evaluator (CE designation).
Planning
What is the broader system that the program operates within? How might this impact the program?
Why is the evaluation requested at this time? Have previous evaluations been completed?
Who will be included in the evaluation and in what way? (e.g., managers, frontline staff, program participants)
What components/aspects of the program will be included in evaluation?
What are the constraints (e.g., resources, financial, time)?
What are the risks, and how are these addressed or mitigated?
Developing An Evaluation Structure
With the work plan, are the roles/ responsibilities clear for each party?
Will a logic model or a more flexible theory of change be more appropriate to structure the evaluation? Is another presentation of the program’s expected results more appropriate?
How important is it to establish attribution or contribution (e.g., how do the activities play a role in achieving the overall results/ outcomes)?
Considering the context, which evaluation method will best answer the evaluation questions? Who took part in making this decision?
Data Collection
Considering the context, are the tools selected the most appropriate to use?
Who has been involved in developing and trying out the tools?
For the particular outcomes, are there validated tools to consider to create a baseline understanding into the future?
Does the data collection process ensure privacy and confidentiality?
What is the consent process?
How will sensitive data be handled?
What methods will work with your design and context to give you credible, defensible findings?
Data Analysis
(e.g., statistical analyses of numbers, looking for themes in experiential data)?
Have the findings been shared with all those involved in the evaluation to support interpretation discussions?
Is there adequate time to ensure thoughtful/robust analysis?
Who is involved in the analysis?
Data Interpretation
Does this include people from a variety of backgrounds to ensure thoughtful discussions of results?
What might be happening in the broader context that relates to the outcomes achieved?
How will recommendations be developed?
Sharing The Results
What should be done (e.g., action planning) to ensure the use evaluation results in timely way?
What are the best ways to share the evaluation results with different groups, such as decision makers, employees, or general community members. Do you need more than one product or approach?
- Help guide discussions about what should be discussed and the decisions to be made at each step of the evaluation.
- Use as a checklist with clients during the evaluation to double check what has – or hasn’t – been asked.
- Introduce evaluation to clients and explain why certain things need to happen at certain points in time.
- Introduce students to evaluation in courses and workshops
- Explain evaluation to people unfamiliar with professional evaluation practice.
- Inform Requests for Proposals and Terms of Reference for evaluations
- And many other yet-to-be discovered opportunities!
Considerations to Guide Quality Evaluations
It is a succinct and easy-to-understand overview of the types of questions to consider at each stage of an evaluation.
The infographic was developed for people who:
- Commission evaluation
- Use evaluation results
- Conduct evaluations
Why?
- Help people know what should be considered at the different steps of an evaluation.
- Enable people to know what to expect during a quality evaluation process, so they feel confident asking questions.
- Show that the practice and process of a quality evaluation has a coherent, systematic structure.
- Demonstrate the competencies that underlie professional evaluation practice as defined by the CES Credentialed Evaluator (CE designation).
Planning
What is the broader system that the program operates within? How might this impact the program?
Why is the evaluation requested at this time? Have previous evaluations been completed?
Who will be included in the evaluation and in what way? (e.g., managers, frontline staff, program participants)
What components/aspects of the program will be included in evaluation?
What are the constraints (e.g., resources, financial, time)?
What are the risks, and how are these addressed or mitigated?
Developing An Evaluation Structure
With the work plan, are the roles/ responsibilities clear for each party?
Will a logic model or a more flexible theory of change be more appropriate to structure the evaluation? Is another presentation of the program’s expected results more appropriate?
How important is it to establish attribution or contribution (e.g., how do the activities play a role in achieving the overall results/ outcomes)?
Considering the context, which evaluation method will best answer the evaluation questions? Who took part in making this decision?
Data Collection
Considering the context, are the tools selected the most appropriate to use?
Who has been involved in developing and trying out the tools?
For the particular outcomes, are there validated tools to consider to create a baseline understanding into the future?
Does the data collection process ensure privacy and confidentiality?
What is the consent process?
How will sensitive data be handled?
What methods will work with your design and context to give you credible, defensible findings?
Data Analysis
(e.g., statistical analyses of numbers, looking for themes in experiential data)?
Have the findings been shared with all those involved in the evaluation to support interpretation discussions?
Is there adequate time to ensure thoughtful/robust analysis?
Who is involved in the analysis?
Data Interpretation
Does this include people from a variety of backgrounds to ensure thoughtful discussions of results?
What might be happening in the broader context that relates to the outcomes achieved?
How will recommendations be developed?
Sharing The Results
What should be done (e.g., action planning) to ensure the use evaluation results in timely way?
What are the best ways to share the evaluation results with different groups, such as decision makers, employees, or general community members. Do you need more than one product or approach?
- Help guide discussions about what should be discussed and the decisions to be made at each step of the evaluation.
- Use as a checklist with clients during the evaluation to double check what has – or hasn’t – been asked.
- Introduce evaluation to clients and explain why certain things need to happen at certain points in time.
- Introduce students to evaluation in courses and workshops
- Explain evaluation to people unfamiliar with professional evaluation practice.
- Inform Requests for Proposals and Terms of Reference for evaluations
- And many other yet-to-be discovered opportunities!
