WHAT IS PROGRAM EVALUATION?

Program evaluation is:

"the systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and results of programs to make judgments about the program, improve or further develop program effectiveness, inform decisions about future program development, and/or increase understanding" (Patton, 2008)

It differs from the informal assessment that many service managers may already be carrying out in that it is conducted according to a structured and consistent protocol to ensure it generates accurate and reliable information. Program evaluation can complement other types of data collection activities such as monitoring and auditing.

Consider how two organisations approach the same problem in the example below:

Organisation A and Organisation B provide home care to older people living in the community. Given the age group, they believe they should provide dementia-specific training to their workers who may be helping clients with dementia and/or supporting carers. In order to determine if this is necessary, Organisation A's manager asks staff whether they think they see more people with dementia now than before, while Organisation B's manager adds an item to the existing intake form asking if the client has a dementia diagnosis and alerts all staff to the need to complete this form in full, and the client numbers will be tallied over the next 6 months.

What are the differences between the two examples? What are the pros and cons of the two approaches?

WHY DO A PROGRAM EVALUATION?

There are many reasons for conducting an evaluation, you might be trying to find out:

• Is a program achieving its desired outcomes?
• How are the outcomes achieved?
• What are areas for continuous quality improvement?
• Is there evidence to justify current funding or the need for future funding?
• Is there evidence to inform policy and practice?

Optional activity: Brainstorming evaluation ideas

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