Checklist for Program Evaluation Planning

The following checklist might prove useful when planning evaluations for programs. The reader would benefit from first reading Basic Guide to Program Evaluation.

Name of Organization

Name of Program

Purpose of Evaluation?
What do you want to be able to decide as a result of the evaluation? For example:
__ Understand, verify or increase impact of products or services on customers/clients (eg, outcomes evaluation)
__ Improve delivery mechanisms to be more efficient and less costly (eg, process evaluation)
__ Verify that we're doing what we think we're doing (eg, process evaluation)
__ Clarify program goals, processes and outcomes for management planning
__ Public relations
__ Program comparisons, eg., to decide which should be retained
__ Fully examine and describe effective programs for duplication elsewhere
__ Other reason(s)

Audience(s) for the Evaluation?
Who are the audiences for the information from the evaluation, for example:
__ Clients/customers
__ Funders/Investors
__ Board members
__ Management
__ Staff/employees
__ Other(s) _________________________________________________

What Kinds of Information Are Needed?
What kinds of information are needed to make the decision you need to make and/or enlighten your intended audiences, for example, information to understand:
__ The process of the product or service delivery (its inputs, activities and outputs)
__ The customers/clients who experience the product or service
__ Strengths and weaknesses of the product or service
__ Benefits to customers/clients (outcomes)
__ How the product or service failed and why, etc.
__ Other type(s) of information?

Type of Evaluation?
Based on the purpose of the evaluation and the kinds of information needed, what types of evaluation is being planned?
__ Goal-based?
__ Process-based?
__ Outcomes-based?
__ Other(s)? ___________________________________________________

Where Should Information Be Collected From?
__ Staff/employees
__ Clients/customers
__ Program documentation
__ Funders/Investors
__ Other(s) ________________________________________________

How Can Information Be Collected in Reasonable and Realistic Fashion?
__ questionnaires
__ interviews
__ documentation
__ observing clients/customers
__ observing staff/employees
__ conducting focus groups among_____________________________________
__ other(s)

When is the Information Needed?
________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

What Resources Are Available to Collect the Information?

________________________________________________________________

For the Category of Evaluations (Many Kinds):

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Recommended Books

Evaluation (General)

Program Evaluation

Evaluation (General)

The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just click on the image of the book. Also, a "bubble" of information might be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

Program Evaluation

Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation: by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. There are few books, if any, that explain how to carefully plan, organize, develop and evaluate a nonprofit program. Also, too many books completely separate the highly integrated activities of planning, marketing and evaluating programs. This book integrates all three into a comprehensive, straightforward approach that anyone can follow in order to provide high-quality programs with strong appeal to funders. Includes many online forms that can be downloaded. Many materials in this Library topic are adapted from this book.