Tips for Best Results

For best results with evaluation planning, consider the following tips:

• Invest heavily in planning. Invest both time and effort in deciding what you want to learn from your evaluation. This is the single most important step you will take in this process. Consider what you would like to discover about your program and its impact on participants, and use this information to guide your evaluation planning.¹
   
• Consider the objective of the evaluation at every step along the way. This will help in making decisions about methods, materials, and where to cut costs.
   
• Refer to your logic model to be certain that you have considered all parts of the program that are connected to the outcome of interest to you.
   
• Plan to evaluate early and often. It is less costly to correct problems as they occur. The sooner we detect and correct problems, the more likely we are to have a successful program overall.

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1. Source: Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation Team. (n.d.). Why evaluate your program? In The program manager's guide to evaluation. Retrieved January 25, 2004 from the Administration for Children and Families web site.