The Four Stages of Evaluation
Evaluation strategy is an integral part of planning and implementing your program. There are four key stages of evaluation: formative, process, outcome and impact.
Formative Evaluation. The goal of a formative evaluation is to determine whether program plans, procedures, activities and materials will work as anticipated. This sort of evaluation acts to guide and refine messages, program components and activities. A formative evaluation is used during the development of a new program. Also, it may be used when an existing program is being modified, has problems with no obvious solutions, is being used in a new setting or with a new population, or is targeting a new issue. It is used to evaluate:
· Whether the proposed message is likely to reach, be understood by, and be accepted by the target audience.
· The best time to introduce a program or new activity.
· Whether plans and strategies are likely to succeed.
· How people in the target population get information—i.e., which newspapers and radio stations will reach them.
· What individuals the target population would respect as spokespersons.
· Whether there are unforeseen difficulties with materials, strategies, or mechanisms for distributing information.
This type of evaluation is helpful because it reveals which aspects of a planned program are likely to succeed and which need to be changed before the program is launched. In addition, where an existing program is having problems, a formative evaluation will help to reveal the causes so that the necessary improvements may be made. Qualitative methods such as personal interviews, focus groups, and participant observations may be used. Quantitative methods such as surveys may be useful as well.
Process Evaluation. A process evaluation will help you to determine whether your program is effectively reaching the target population. This type of evaluation should start as soon as the program begins and continue for the duration of the program. A process evaluation will:
· Identify any problems that occur in reaching the target population.
· Allow programs to evaluate how well their plans, procedures, activities, and materials are working and to make needed changes.
· Show funding agencies the program’s level of activity.
· Provide encouragement to participants.
· Reveal problem areas so that additional formative evaluation may be done.
This type of evaluation reveals how well the process is working and whether there are any snags in the system. It may be done by measuring direct contacts with the program such as the number of people who call or visit. Indirect contacts such as public information and education campaigns and media stories may also be a helpful means of measurement.
Outcome Evaluation. This type of evaluation measures an organization’s progress toward achieving their goals and objectives. It should be done after an organization has begun its program and contact has been made with the target population. A baseline measurement done at the beginning of a program is necessary to determine the extent to which a program is accomplishing its purpose. For example, in a program designed to reduce underage drinking, a baseline measurement of the nature and extent of the underage drinking problem performed at the beginning of a program will be used to determine the degree to which the program has resulted in changes in the target population’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Surveys and observations of program participants are helpful means of measuring program outcomes. Positive results of an outcome evaluation can be used to justify the continuation of the program.
Impact Evaluation. Impact evaluations identify long term and unintended program effects. This type of evaluation determines the degree to which the program has met its ultimate goals and gives program directors the opportunity to incorporate any needed changes into their organization’s future programs. In addition, it can provide evidence of success for use in requests for funding. Program directors should make plans for an impact evaluation prior to launching the program to insure that the necessary information is collected during its duration. An impact evaluation should take place after a sufficient amount of time has elapsed for data changes to be significant and when the number of program participants is large enough to be statistically relevant. The data collected will be compared with the baseline established at the beginning of the program.
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