Feb 07, 2015

Healthcare Georgia Foundation;

This paper bridges the academic literature and ordinary practice to show how nonprofit organizations, regardless of where they are on the spectrum of evaluation capacity, and regardless of their desire to conduct evaluation internally or use external consultants, can strengthen their ability to engage in and sustain an ongoing evaluation practice. These suggestions are not exhaustive; but they are meant to be practical, accessible, and realistically doable for most nonprofits.

Oct 01, 2014

Healthcare Georgia Foundation;

This Healthcare Georgia Foundation publication is designed as a resource for both newly formed and smaller organizations to provide program administrators with a practical guide in applying best practices towards establishing a strong foundation for evaluating community-based programs serving underserved populations. It aims to outline key tasks and strategies for conducting evaluation in organizations working in underserved communities; and thereby contributing to the process of helping promising programs reach their full potential and institutionalize evaluation practices for: (1) proving effectiveness, (2) documenting gaps in services, and (3) making data-driven program improvements over time.

Apr 01, 2014

Healthcare Georgia Foundation;

Well-designed and carefully implemented evaluations are worthwhile endeavors. Certainly, program evaluation can help you determine what is and is not working in your program. It can also be used to show your funder(s) and other stakeholders what your program does and how it benefits program participants. In fact, the results of program evaluation can even assist you in raising money for your program by providing evidence of effectiveness. In addition, program evaluation adds to the existing knowledge about which types of programs are most effective with which types of program participants.An external evaluator can serve as a valuable partner to ensure that your evaluation is thoughtfully designed and carefully implemented. This partnership must be built on a shared understanding of the goals and objectives of the evaluation, a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of each partner, and mutual respect.External evaluators can greatly enhance the quality and usefulness of program evaluations if the purpose and tasks of the evaluation are clearly defined, adequate time is devoted to the evaluator selection process, and a collaborative approach is taken between the partners to design and implement the evaluation. If the guidelines and suggestions identified in this report are followed, the evaluation process should be enjoyable and productive for your organization and the external evaluator.