Goal(s) of Your Report

Generally, the goal of your report is to answer the evaluation questions posed at the beginning of the evaluation. Before starting, clarify the specific objectives you would like to achieve in sharing this information. Do you want to make a case for additional funding? Are you seeking recognition for the program? Do you want to advance the cause of smoke-free environments? From the beginning, think about the seminal messages you want to communicate to your audience, and what it is that you want back from them.

To help clarify the goal and objectives of the report, ask yourself these questions:

• Who is the audience?
• What are the audience’s needs and interests?
• What do I hope to get back from the audience?

Here are some examples of objectives you might want to achieve from your report.

• Share answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the evaluation, and what these findings reveal
• Guide management decisions about needed program changes
• Guarantee additional or continued funding
• Recruit/promote volunteerism for project activities
• Provide staff with feedback about the job they are doing
• Stimulate thought and discussion about the issues identified in the evaluation
• Elicit input for how to improve the less effective areas of the program
• Help advance the field of tobacco control
• Let others know you exist and what you are doing to help in the community
• Overcome resistance to the program or initiative
• Make recommendations for further action

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Bibliography:
 
Source: Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation Team. (n.d.). How can you report what you have learned? In The program manager's guide to evaluation. Retrieved September 1, 2004 from the Administration for Children and Families web site.  

Source: Muskin, L.A. (1993). Understanding evaluation: The way to better prevention programs. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.ed.gov/PDFDocs/handbook.pdf
 
Source: Hampton, C., Francisco, V.T., & Berkowitz, B. (n.d.). Communicating information to funders for support and accountability. Retrieved September 1, 2004 from the Community Tool Box web site.