My name is Gail Krc. I am the evaluation team leader for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Office of Policy Initiatives and Budget, Policy and Research Section. I’d like to share information about the evaluation resource guide we developed.
Resource: Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Evaluation Resource Guide. This free resource provides links to online evaluation resources and print materials to evaluate and monitor the performance of public programs and policies. The materials included are intended to be useful to a wide audience, to provide practical advice, and to be easy to obtain. Online resources are cited whenever possible. Topics include performance measurement/outcomes, logic models, sampling, data collection and analysis, cost analysis, presenting evaluation findings, identifying effective programs/best practices, evaluation standards, and evaluation contracting. Links to evaluation organizations and other evaluation resources are also provided. It may be downloaded at http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/P0/P00212.pdf.
Hot Tips: I recommend the Evaluation Resource Guide to other state department of health staff and use it as a quick reference. Materials I use most often are the online resources for sampling and statistical analysis, materials on presenting evaluation findings, and materials on evidence-based practices in the section on identifying effective programs/best practices. Here are direct links to three of my favorites:
- Raosoft Sample Size Calculators http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html
- Canadian International Development Agency, “How To Perform Evaluations-Evaluation Reports” http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/51/60/35138852.pdf
- The Task Force on Community Prevention Services, “Guide to Community Prevention Services, Systematic Reviews and Evidence-Based Recommendations” http://www.thecommunityguide.org/
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