Four limiting beliefs about program evaluation

Many leaders resistant to program evaluation hold one of these four limiting beliefs. Do you?

Evaluation...what is it?

Evaluation is a process that critically examines a program to collect and analyze information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and outcomes.

We know, however, that evaluation can be somewhat intimidating and confusing for those unfamiliar with its usefulness. Because of the negative stigma sometimes attached to evaluation, we feel it imperative to debunk some common myths associated with program evaluation.

Why should you conduct an evaluation?

1. Evaluations can help an organization identify areas for improvement and help you realize your goals more efficiently.
2. The information you collect in an evaluation can allow your organization to communicate your program’s impact to others, which is critical for public relations, staff morale, and for attracting and retaining support from current and potential funders.
3. The report from an evaluation is useful for marketing and creating program awareness. 

Evaluation findings can  showcase the effectiveness of a program to funders and the community. An evaluation can demonstrate that a program is worthwhile. Sharing findings with the community can serve as marketing and outreach tools for attracting collaborative partners, recruiting participants and program facilitators, and building trust with stakeholders.

Also, funders often require that a program evaluation be conducted when they agree to fund a program, and some funders will not fund or continue to fund a program until an evaluation has been conducted and outcomes have been demonstrated.

Program evaluation is a valuable tool, critical for securing funding sources and boosting organizational growth. In this article, we address four common concerns program managers and organizational leaders might have regarding an evaluation. 

Myth #1 – “Evaluation generates lots of boring data with useless conclusions.

Fact: Quantitative data can be difficult to analyze—statistical analyses are left to the “academics” who understand such data, and they sometimes fail to communicate results in ways that are meaningful and understandable to stakeholders.

Good evaluators, however, draw out implications from the findings from tables of numbers, and they can make substantial use of graphs and other visual aids to share results. An expert evaluator can use the data to develop recommendations that make sense for the program.

Ideally, an evaluation will have provided new insights to program managers who can then make program improvements or capitalize on existing program strengths. 

Myth #2 – “Evaluation is all about showing the failure of a program.”

Fact: When you use data to understand what’s not working as intended, you gain the power to change it. This kind of organizational self-awareness and sophistication makes you stand out to funders and accrediting bodies even more.

If you find that some parts of your program are not working, you have a responsibility to your clients and donors to do something about it, and an evaluation will give you the power to do just that. An effective evaluation will permit the program’s staff to decide whether to offer the program again because it is successful, to alter the program in order to make it more useful to participants, or to drop the program because it fails to meet a need.

Staff would not want to devote resources to a program that does not meet the needs of participants; in such a case, something more helpful should be offered instead. If the program is good, you want the evaluation to detect its strengths; where it needs improvement, you want to detect its limitation. 

Myth #3 – “Evaluation is too expensive.”

Fact: It is true that organizations can pay a bunch of money for fancy software to collect data, that at the end of the day tells them nothing about how to improve their programming. And while it is also true that evaluation will take some of your program resources up front, what a program can learn from an evaluation can help streamline its resources to focus on “what works” for program participants and improve outcomes.

An independent evaluator or consultant can help develop an evaluation design that is most appropriate for a program’s service delivery, the evaluation questions the program wishes to address, and the program’s resources for conducting an evaluation.

Many evaluators negotiate their fees to accommodate organizational resources. A program evaluation is well worth the initial investment to find out what works and what does not work. 

Myth #4: "Evaluation is too complicated, and no one here knows how to do it."

Fact: Many sources of help are available for designing an evaluation. If your organization does not have employees with the necessary skills, find help at a nearby university or from someone related to your program (e.g., a board member, a volunteer, or someone from a partner organization), or look for an independent evaluator.

If you are considering working with an independent evaluator, look for one who has experience with programs in your particular content area. In such situations, the evaluator has a passion for this particular social impact cause and would love working with your team.

RELATED: Download our free Guide to Program Evaluation

Final thoughts.

While conducting an evaluation may seem complicated, expensive, or somewhat overwhelming, it is important to remember that program evaluations serve as tools to improve programs and demonstrate effectiveness to stakeholders. Simply put, program evaluations are conducted to make programs better.

Although evaluation is not without challenges, the information obtained from a program evaluation can help to streamline and target program resources in the most cost-efficient way by focusing time and money on delivering services that benefit program participants. Data on program outcomes can also help secure future funding. Ultimately, an evaluation enables you to demonstrate your program’s impact to others.

Need help finding a reputable program evaluator? LaBarbera Learning Solutions offers a full suite of program evaluation and research expertise to nonprofits, community-based organizations, educational institutions, philanthropies, corporations, and state and federal agencies. Visit us at https://labarberalearning.com to learn more.