Other Evaluation Benefits

Following are some side benefits that can also result from a formal evaluation of your program.

  1. The opportunity to listen to the people you are trying to serve.
    In a formal evaluation, the people you are trying to reach will have an opportunity to say what they think and to share their experiences. This lets them know that you respect their ideas and that they have a voice in the program. It lets them know that the program is not being imposed on them.
  2. Improved employee morale
    Producing evidence to show either that their work is paying off or that management is taking steps to see that needed improvements are made can increase the morale of program staff. Moreover, through evaluation, the program has its greatest likelihood of success, and program personnel have the pleasure of seeing that their efforts are not wasted. They also get to hear the good news about the program in the words of the people served.
  3. Increased media coverage
    With good evaluation before, during, and after your program, the results may prove so valuable that the news media or professional journals will be interested in spreading the word.
  4. Broadened program visibility and reach
    Other groups that see the beneficial effects of your program, demonstrated through evaluation, may decide to do something similar. This allows your work to reach more people.
The CDC offers these reasons for evaluating tobacco prevention and control programs:1
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 To monitor progress toward the program's goals.
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 To demonstrate that a particular tobacco control program or activity is effective.
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 To determine whether program components are producing the desired effects.
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 To permit comparisons among groups, particularly among populations with disproportionately high tobacco use and adverse health effects.
•
 To justify the need for further funding and support.
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 To learn how to improve programs.
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 To ensure that only effective programs are maintained and resources are not wasted on ineffective programs.

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1. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Introduction. In Introduction to program evaluation for comprehensive tobacco control programs (pp. 5-13). Atlanta, GA: the Author.
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/evaluation_manual/introduction.html

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