The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) website contains a series of resources for planning an evaluation (including the development of an evaluation brief, KEQs, planning documents, and stakeholder engagement), data collection and analysis, and reporting and supporting use of the results.
The information provided was supplied by Suzanne Evas, Senior ILC Officer, Information Linkages and Capacity Building, National Disability Insurance Agency.Authors and their affiliation: Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (USA)
Key features
This site offers several downloadable fact sheets, guides and checklist to assist people with learning how to evaluate community programs. While written with a community health programs in mind, the information is general and simple to understand, and applicable to a range of programs.
Resources include:
Evaluation Briefs
- Selecting an Evaluation Consultant [PDF - 265 KB]
- Gaining Consensus Among Stakeholders Through the Nominal Group Technique [PDF - 200 B]
- Developing Process Evaluation Questions [PDF - 177 KB]
Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan
Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan is a workbook developed by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that includes tools and resources on developing an evaluation plan.
Data Collection Methods
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Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Focus Groups [PDF - 180 KB]
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Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Questionnaires [PDF - 157 KB]
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Checklist to Evaluate the Quality of Questions [PDF - 169 KB]
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Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Observation [PDF - 208 KB]
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Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Interviews [PDF - 182 KB]
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Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Document Review [PDF - 191 KB]
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Using Ordered Response Options To Collect Evaluation Data [PDF - 96 KB]
Data Analysis
Share Results & Improve Program
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Disseminating Program Achievements and Evaluation Findings to Garner Support [PDF - 146 KB]
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Using Graphs and Charts to Illustrate Quantitative Data [PDF - 256 KB]
How have you used or intend on using this resource?
We would like to use the evaluation briefs on data methods to provide to grant recipients of our Information Linkages and Capacity Building grants to support them in developing an evaluation plan for measuring outcomes. The briefs are simple and not overwhelming, particularly for small community organisations who may be new to outcome measurement.
Why would you recommend it to other people?
The briefs offer a good overarching concise introduction to data methods, and may be useful in capacity building for people new to evaluation. We found the evaluation briefs under the Data Collection and Analysis tab are particularly useful.
Sources
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov (USA)