Introduction
All programs wish that they could get the best outcomes data and employ it to drive decisions-making. In the CBO/nonprofit sector, the reality is that many organizations just can’t prioritize the most effective approaches to program evaluation.
Program Evaluation First Aid is for those programs!
You can do this!
Check-out the three actions below and get started on fast and meaningful approaches to program evaluation.
Tip 1
Gather three types of simple data.
Tip 2
In advance, discuss with your team how the data or results will be used to advance your program’s transformative power.
Here are three things to do if your program needs a fast approach to program evaluation.
1 Demographics
Gather 9-points demographics: age, sex, gender, race/ethnicity, nationality, zip code/SES, household size, primary language, and physical ability (do this at the start of the program).
Purpose: The purpose of this data is not simply to report-out to funders; instead, coupled with the information referred to below, you will have enough data to make real-time refinements to your program. Understanding which of your clients benefit the most or least means that your program can demonstrate its desire to get better and better at delivering important services.
2 Retrospective Survey or Test
Run a retrospective survey or retrospective test to capture how much knowledge and skills that participants gained from your program (do this at the end of the program). Ask knowledge- and skill-based questions like those in following the table.
Purpose: This approach to gathering before and after data will allow you to understand how much growth each participant underwent based on participation in your program.
3 Satisfaction Survey
Run a customer satisfaction survey to gather feedback from program participants (do this at the end of the program). Be sure to ask about the following program dynamics with multiple choice options: does the client trust the staff, quality of overall experience, possible improvements to program, are participants better off because of participating in the program, and would the participant recommend the program to peers?
Purpose: This type of feedback can be linked with the demographic data so that your team can understand the connection between participants’ demographics and their experience in your program. Also, this type of feedback can be linked with the growth data so that your team can understand the connection between participants’ experience in your program and their growth in knowledge and skills. Finally, this survey style feedback is important for quality assurance purposes, allowing your team to know what refinements are needed for the design and delivery of the program.
Get Your Program Evaluation Results Ready For:
- Giving Tuesday Post your program evaluation results on your website so that you can drive potential donors to the evidence of your success available online.
- Annual Report Include concrete outcomes data in your descriptions of what your programs accomplish rather than only who your programs serves.
- Annual Fundraising Telethons and Events Make small talking points for your Board of Directors to effectively communicate the impact of your organization.
Why did we develop 2 Tips videos?
The Anchoring Success team trusts the talent and sophistication of professionals in Human Services and Education organizations. We know that many professionals and organizational leaders do not have the funds to partner with specialists (like us) and/or the time to strategize on what might seem like extra projects.
Therefore, we share 2 Tips videos to support you with making tweaks, adjustments, and refinements in programs and operations — doable for busy professionals in community-based organizations!
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