Evaluations are systematic, objective studies conducted periodically or on an ad hoc basis to assess how well a program is working. This web site provides program managers and staff who are responsible for managing evaluation activities with resources and tools to make evaluations more useful and cost effective. It also will help facilitate organization-wide quality improvement and coordination of evaluation activity.
This website is designed to provide the user with information and resources needed to understand how program evaluations are designed and implemented and to manage the performance of such studies by evaluation professionals. The intended audience consists of program staff and managers who are responsible for planning, commissioning, managing, and utilizing evaluation studies of their program activities. This site is not intended to make the user an expert in designing and performing evaluations (although it does provide substantial detailed information and links to other sites). Primarily, the information provided here is designed, to give program staff a strong, practical background on the purpose and processes of program evaluation, to help them define and clarify their evaluation needs, to allow users to converse knowledgeably with the evaluation professionals they might employ to carry out an evaluation of their programs, and to ensure that high quality and useful evaluations are performed.
This website is basically organized with four major sections:
- Contacts
- What, Why and When to Evaluate
- Planning, Conducting, and Using Evaluations
- Information Resources
The Evaluation sections provide you with information on why it is useful to conduct program evaluations, and examples of how programs have benefited from evaluation studies. Additionally you are able to access the information for the type of evaluation that is applicable to you.
The Resources pages are your location for relevant resources that will help you prepare and manage an efficient and effective program evaluation. This includes reports, evaluation examples, guides, links, forms, and more that will help you in the process. These sections are designed to be user-friendly, provide program staff with ready access to the specific information they need, and ultimately improve their evaluation planning and management. The user should feel free to access as many (or as few) of the sections as required, depending on their individual needs and circumstances.