Evaluation Plan
Plans for Continuation
June 19, 2007

Topics

How to Evaluate the Project
Building in Continuity

Assignment due July 3

Evaluation plan. Develop a four-page (maximum, double-spaced) description of how you will evaluate the project and how you will ensure that project benefits extend beyond the life of the funding cycle. Include the following specific components.

(1) Explain your overall evaluation approach. Indicate key points during the project when evaluation will occur. Exlplain how your evaluation procedures will enhance the quality of this project.

(2) Provide a table or other graphic that clearly defines the outcome(s) that will be measured for each objective (see last week's assignment) and the specific performance criterion that will be used for each outcome. Performance measures must be explicit. Make sure that your outcomes are measurable within the life of the project.

(3) Explain how the data for each outcome will be collected -- where you will get the data, when you will collect them, and who will collect the data.

Plan for continuity. Develop a two-page (maximum, double-spaced) description of how you will ensure that project benefits extend beyond the life of the donor's funding.

(1) Describe your overall strategy for ensuring continuity.

(2) Describe the specific commitments that your organization has made to help ensure that project benefits continue after donor funding ends (for example, a permanent position with the organization for key personnel).

(3) Identify any potential barriers to ensuring continuity. Demonstrate that your organization has considered these barriers and identified alternative solutions to help overcome them.

Readings

Burke and Prater, Ch. 11

Israel, Glenn D. 2000. Conducting a Customer Satisfaction Survey. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Electronic Distance Information System. Available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/WC039

Israel, Glenn D. 2001. Using Focus Group Interviews for Evaluating Extension Programs. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Electronic Distance Information System. Available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PD036

Dicke, Lisa A. and Ott, J. Steven. 2003. Post-September 11 Human Resource Development in Nonprofit Organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration 23(2)97-113.

Gossett, Charles W. and Pynes, Joan E. 2003. The Expansion of "Charitable Choice" and "Faith-Based Initiatives": Human Resource Management Implications for Nonprofit Organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration 23(2)154-168.

Required Additional Outside Reading. Find at least one research journal article that describes how a program or project was evaluated. The article must include an explanation of the methodology used for the evaluation procedures and a discussion of the results that were obtained. The article should be relevant to your project -- e.g., describe an evaluation approach, procedure or methodology that provides useful insights about how to evaluate your own project, an example of a way to evaluate the kind of thing that you are proposing. You will give a brief presentation about your article in class -- basically explain to the rest of us how to use this evaluation procedure and its relevance to your project or program. Here are a couple of examples of the kind of articles you need to find.

Kuipers, Pim and Quinn, Raymund. 2003. The Template: A Cooperative Approach to Evaluating Community Rehabilitation Services. Journal of Rehabilitation 69(1):4-14.

Glisson, George M.; Thyer, Bruce A. and Fischer, Robert L. 2001. Serving the Homeless: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Homeless Shelter Services. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 28(4):89-97.

Class Activities

Discussion of readings -- note that you are responsible for presenting the information from the article that you select, the Required Outside Reading.

Additional Resources