 |
| "If
we could first know where we are, and whither
we are tending,
we could then better judge what to do, and how
to do it."
— Abraham Lincoln |
|
Evaluation Defined
|
Evaluation is
the process of determining whether programs—or
certain aspects of programs—are appropriate, adequate,
effective, and efficient and, if not, how to make them
so. Evaluation also shows if programs have unexpected
benefits or create unexpected problems1.
It is a tool used to assess the
way a program is put into effect and the
outcomes of the program, its efficiency
and impact over time, and to demonstrate accountability.2
|
|
Program managers and staff often informally assess their
program's effectiveness with these questions:
- Are participants benefiting from the program?
- Are there sufficient numbers of participants?
- Are the strategies for recruiting participants working?
- Are participants satisfied with the services or training?
- Do staff have the necessary skills to provide the services
or training?
These are all questions
that program managers and staff ask and answer on a
routine basis. Evaluation addresses these same questions,
but uses a systematic method for collecting, analyzing,
and using information to answer them — and to
ensure that those answers are supported by proof. What
this means is that, while evaluation does require technical
knowledge and expertise, program managers and staff
are more than capable of understanding it.3
|
Research or Program
Evaluation?
For an explanation about the difference
between research and program evaluation,
see What
is Program Evaluation? in CDC’s
Introduction to program evaluation for comprehensive
tobacco control programs. |
|
|
Evaluation provides us with information to serve a variety of
purposes, including:
- Learning whether proposed program materials are suitable
for the people who are to receive them.
- Learning whether program plans are feasible before they
are put into effect.
- Ensuring that a program is being conducted as it was
designed.
- Having an early warning system for problems that could
become serious if unattended.
- Monitoring whether programs are producing the desired
results.
- Learning whether programs have any unexpected benefits
or problems.
- Enabling managers to improve service.
- Monitoring progress toward the program’s goals.
- Producing data on which to base future programs.
- Demonstrating the effectiveness of the program to the
target population, to the public, to others who want to
conduct similar programs, and to those who fund the program.
--------------------
1. Source: Source: Deniston, O.L. & Rosenstock,
I.M. (1970). Evaluating health programs. Public Health
Reports 85 (9), 835-40.
2. Source: Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. (2001). Executive summary. In Introduction
to program evaluation for comprehensive tobacco control programs
(pp. 1-3). Atlanta, GA: the Author.
Click here
3. Source: Child Outcomes Research and Evaluation
Team. (n.d.). What is program evaluation? In The program
manager's guide to evaluation. Retrieved November 15,
2003 from the Administration for Children and Families web site.
|
|
