Approaches
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Canadian Evaluation Society Project in Support of Advocacy and Professional Development    http://consultation.evaluationcanada.ca/results.htm    presents a quick list of potential benefits that can be derived from evaluation, outputs that result from evaluation activities, and knowledge elements required to carry out evaluation activities.


Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation has Program Evaluation Standards. A summary is here but people are encouraged to read the whole book.  
http://www.jcsee.org/program-evaluation-standards/program-evaluation-standards-statements  "Joint Committee is a coalition of major professional associations concerned with the quality of evaluation. ...
The Joint Committee is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Standards approved by ANSI become American National Standards." 


American Evaluation Association has Guiding Principals   http://www.eval.org/p/cm/ld/fid=51   such as Systematic Inquiry, Competence, Integrity/Honesty, Respect for People, and Responsibilities for General and Public Welfare


Evaluator competencies

From the New Zealand Evaluation Association   http://www.anzea.org.nz/anzea-evaluation-competencies/evaluation-competencies-project/   this is their competencies project


International Development Evaluation Association   http://ideas-global.org/evaluator-competencies-2/   Competencies for Development Evaluators



Action research

Action research International  http://www.aral.com.au/resources/arphome.html   bunch of pamphlets and links
 

Understanding Action Research   http://cadres.pepperdine.edu/ccar/define.html   an overview


Action Research made simple   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg83f72_6Gw  

Checklists

Evaluation Checklists   http://www.wmich.edu/evaluation/checklists   This site provides refereed checklists for designing, budgeting, contracting, staffing, managing, and assessing evaluations of programs, personnel, students, and other evaluands; collecting, analyzing, and reporting evaluation information; and determining merit, worth, and significance


Michael Scriven has some checklists   http://michaelscriven.info/papersandpublications.html   about meta evaluation and key evaluation

   

Collaborative, Participatory, and Empowerment Evaluation


The homepage for the Collaborative, Participatory and Empowerment Evaluation TIG is here  http://comm.eval.org/cpetig/home/    


Community Toolbox, Participatory Evaluation   http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement/participatory-evaluation/main  brief overview


Some entries from American Evaluation Association blog page are here  http://aea365.org/blog/category/collaborative-participatory-and-empowerment-evaluation/  


Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships   https://ccph.memberclicks.net/cbprcurriculum   I'm not sure if this is part of participatory, but seems like



Impact Evaluation


Impact Evaluation: Methodological and Operational Issues   http://www.adb.org/documents/impact-evaluation-methodological-and-operational-issues   "This quick reference provides an overview of methods available for evaluating impacts of development programs, and addresses some common operational concerns about their practical application."  From the Asian Development Bank.

Handbook on impact evaluation : quantitative methods and practices   http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2009/01/11487317/handbook-impact-evaluation-quantitative-methods-practices   "This book reviews quantitative methods and models of impact evaluation. The formal literature on impact evaluation methods and practices is large, with a few useful overviews. Yet there is a need to put the theory into practice in a hands-on fashion"


Integrated/overall approach

Easy Outcomes   http://www.easyoutcomes.org/   "Easy Outcomes is a visual way of working which lets you do strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and contracting for any project, program, organization, collaboration or sector."


Other


IFADs new approach to evaluation   http://www.ifad.org/evaluation/oe/approach/1_0.htm   This includes 1. A strong service and partnership orientation,  2.Evaluation work is working together,  3.Moving evaluation to a higher plane and  4.Evaluation work needs to be evaluated.  Also,  evaluation work is inseparable from learning, and its resolve to learn with its partners and develop together with them the recommendations and lessons learned to help improve the performance of IFAD’s operations.

 

Realistic Evaluation: An Overview, Nick Tilley.   http://evidence-basedmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nick_tilley.pdf  This paper was presented at the 2000 Founding Conference of the Danish Evaluation Society. Tilley spells "out what I think evaluation can usefully contribute to social policy development."  Tilley writes: "Whereas the question which was asked in traditional experimentation was, 'Does this work?' or 'What works?', the question asked by us in realistic evaluation is 'What works for whom in what circumstances?'"   

Real world evaluation   http://www.realworldevaluation.org/   "It is not uncommon for evaluators to be asked to perform an evaluation of a project that is well underway or almost finished, yet when they ask questions about comparable baseline data and control groups their clients respond with blank stares. Too typically time and resources are few, yet clients expect “rigorous impact evaluation.” And there are also political pressures to deal with. The RealWorld Evaluation approach was developed specifically to address the need for practical strategies on how to ensure the highest level of methodological rigor consistent with the circumstances under which the evaluation has to be conducted."   The book is by Michael Bamberger, Jim Rugh and Linda Mabry.


Logic Models

Just to start, a logic model is a formal method to organize what you know about your program (goals, activities, methods, expected outcomes, etc) so you can clearly specify what you want to evaluate.


Logic model   http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html   overview from UW Cooperative Extension


Logic model development guide   http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2006/02/wk-kellogg-foundation-logic-model-development-guide  


Good outcomes model guidelines   http://www.easyoutcomes.org/guidelines/outcomesguidelines.html   and here   http://www.outcomesmodels.org/guidelines.html   similar to logic model, but different name


Logic model tutorial   http://www.usablellc.net/logic-model-tutorial   slide show and talk about what are logic models.


Politics of evaluation



Decision-Making in Government: The Role of Program Evaluation   http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/cee/tools-outils/aucoin-eng.asp   "Decision-making in government is a process in which evidence, both from systematic research and practical experience, mixes with a complex interaction of ideas, interests, ideologies, institutions and individuals. These several factors are the determinants of decisions at the political and administrative levels. At different times and under different regimes, the decision-making process will be structured and managed in ways that seek to give more or less weight to evidence. No one process is necessarily or always more ‘rational’ than the others. It all depends on what questions need to be asked by decision-makers in the circumstances and context of the times in order to make the best possible decisions for their agendas and/or public expectations of good governance.
    As a consequence, the importance attached to the use of evidence in decision-making invariable waxes and wanes over time."
 

Improving agricultural extension. A reference manual   http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5830E/w5830e00.htm   see chapter 11   http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5830E/w5830e0d.htm    Evaluating extension programmes, some discussion about politics of evaluation.



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last updated  May 2015
last verified May 2015