Troubleshooting Guide for Solving Problems:

Common Problems, Reflection Questions, and Links to Support Tools

     10.  We don't know how to evaluate our program or initiative.

SOME REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

SOME CTB SUPPORTS:

1. Have we developed a logic model for change, including the intended intermediate and long-term outcomes of our program or initiative?

Toolkit: Developing a Framework or Model of Change

CHAPTER 2: SOME OTHER MODELS FOR PROMOTING COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 2, Section 1: Developing a Logic Model or Theory of Change

2. Do we know the stakeholders who should be involved in planning and implementing the evaluation?

Toolkit: Evaluating the Initiative

Chapter 7, Section 6: Involving Key Influentials in the Initiative

Chapter 7, Section 7: Involving People Most Affected by the Problem

Chapter 18, Section 3: Identifying Targets and Agents of Change: Who Can Benefit and Who Can Help

Chapter 36, Section 5: Developing an Evaluation Plan

Chapter 36, Section 6: Participatory Evaluation

Chapter 38, Section 1: Measuring Success: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

3. Do we know how to use the evaluation to address the needs of the stakeholders?

Chapter 36, Section 3: Understanding Community Leadership, Evaluators, and Funders: What Are Their Interests?

Chapter 36, Section 4: Choosing Evaluators

CHAPTER 39: USING EVALUATION TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE THE INITIATIVE

Chapter 39, Section 2: Providing Feedback to Improve the Initiative

4. Have we gotten enough members of the community involved in planning and implementing the evaluation?

Toolkit: Evaluating the Initiative

Chapter 7, Section 6: Involving Key Influentials in the Initiative

Chapter 7, Section 7: Involving People Most Affected by the Problem

Chapter 18, Section 3: Identifying Targets and Agents of Change: Who Can Benefit and Who Can Help

Chapter 36, Section 5: Developing an Evaluation Plan

Chapter 36, Section 6: Participatory Evaluation

Chapter 38, Section 1: Measuring Success: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

5. Do we know what type of evaluation we should do?

CHAPTER 36: INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATION

Chapter 1, Section 5: Our Evaluation Model: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

Chapter 36, Section 3: Understanding Community Leadership, Evaluators, and Funders: What Are Their Interests?

6. Do we know why we should evaluate our efforts in the first place?

Chapter 38, Section 1: Measuring Success: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

Chapter 39, Section 2: Providing Feedback to Improve the Initiative

Chapter 39, Section 4: Communicating Information to Funders for Support and Accountability

7. Do we have the time or money for evaluation?

CHAPTER 42: GETTING GRANTS AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Chapter 36, Section 5: Developing an Evaluation Plan

8. Have we clearly defined evaluation indicators and how to clearly measure them?

Chapter 38, Section 1: Measuring Success: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

9. Do we plan to gather and use evaluation data frequently enough to see progress and make adjustments?

Chapter 38, Section 1: Measuring Success: Evaluating Comprehensive Community Initiatives

Chapter 38, Section 2: Gathering Information: Monitoring Your Progress

Chapter 39, Section 2: Providing Feedback to Improve the Initiative

10. Do we know how to present our evaluation data in a way that is understandable and useful?

Chapter 39: Using Evaluation to Understand and Improve the Initiative

11. Are members of the community involved in the evaluation?

Chapter 36, Section 6: Participatory Evaluation

12. Do we know how to incorporate evaluation data into a grant or other funding proposal?

Chapter 39, Section 4: Communicating Information to Funders for Support and Accountability