January 2009
Evaluation's Role in Creating Better Programs, part III
This is the last part of a three-part series, part one & part two are in previous issues.
How to Use Data to Improve Your Project
The ‘art’ of evaluation involves accurately recognizing connections between pieces of information as well as identifying opportunities for ‘win-win’ improvements in the project. Sometimes the connections are simple and obvious, such as a decrease in littering around a river as a result of participants understanding how baby salmon grow and develop.
At other times, connections may be complicated by having several possible contributing factors. For instance, increased exercise may be what caused participants weight loss, but if they decreased the amount of food they ate at the same time, it will be difficult to determine how much each separate activity affected the overall result. Be cautious about stating cause and effect from your data. NOTE: Often it’s not important to know exactly to what extent each activity affected the result; just knowing that the two activities produced a desired outcome is adequate information to validate your project activities.
Project managers are often most interested in using evaluation data to solve problems that arise and to improve overall project results. This can be done effectively by gathering information from a wide variety of project stakeholders and taking a ‘big picture’ viewpoint of the evaluation results. Ask yourself these questions:
- Are there any surprises here? Is the information received what I expected to see? If not, what is different, and how do we need to change our operations or response as a result?
- Are there ‘connections’ documented in the data that are important? Do they require a change in program operations to improve our results?
- Are there opportunities exposed by the data that we hadn’t anticipated? What can we do to maximize these opportunities?
- Are we on track to accomplish what we said we would accomplish in this project? Pay particular attention to parts of the project that feel uncomfortable – these are probably areas that aren’t working well and could be improved. What is it about each of these areas that causes you discomfort? The more accurately you can define the problem, the easier it will be to identify options and choose a solution.
Program Officers
If you are operating your project with grant funds, the funder has assigned a Program Officer to oversee your project. Normally, this is the person who receives your project reports and approves expenditures and changes to your project. This person is a valuable member of your team, and one of your greatest assets – be sure to utilize them as an important resource.
If you begin to experience problems in your project (see #4, above), contact the Program Officer right away and ask for their advice. They have overseen many projects and will often have excellent experience that can help you improve your project. Resist the temptation to view a Program Officer as a policeman over your project – instead, they are a mentor and a resource. They want your project to succeed as much as you do!
Program officers also appreciate knowing when your project experiences success, so don’t hesitate to call or e-mail them between project reports if something especially good or exciting happens in your project. They appreciate receiving feedback from you, and keeping this line of communication open can increase your chances of receiving future funding from their organization.
A Final Word
An effective project evaluation is the best way to continually improve your project, to document the successes of your project, and to identify problems before they cause your project serious harm. Each of us evaluates the world around us every day – so you already have valuable experience in evaluation that you can put to use in your project. Remember that asking the right questions is half the battle!
The Funding Exchange, Inc. offers evaluation services and can assist you with your evaluation needs. We invite you to contact us at Sharon@funding-exchange.org if you have questions about project evaluation or if you may need the services of an outside evaluator.
