Hello, fellow evaluators! We are Janet Arogundade and Donather Magabe, Ph.D. students in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A course on evaluation and public policy prompted us to reconsider how evaluation creates public value and who benefits from it.
Lessons Learned: Evaluation’s Public Value Depends on Who It Serves
In research courses, evaluation reports, and program settings, we often encountered evaluation as a tool for accountability, learning, and improvement. The course encouraged us to ask: accountability, learning, and improvement for whom?
We learned that collecting data and meeting reporting requirements do not automatically create public value. Value also depends on whose questions are addressed, whose perspectives are included, and whether findings inform decisions. Two assumptions that appeared across our course discussions and prior experiences helped clarify this lesson. We call them myths because each offers a limited view of useful evaluation.
Myth 1: Evaluation is primarily for funders.
Funders need credible information about program resources and results. However, when reporting requirements determine the questions, measures, and timelines, evaluation may overlook information needed by program staff, participants, and communities. It can then become an exercise in upward accountability rather than shared learning.
Hot Tip: Involve Intended Users from the Beginning
Ask program staff, participants, community members, and funders what they need to learn and what decisions the findings should inform. Their responses can shape the questions, interpretation, and reporting format. Participatory evaluation offers practical ways to involve stakeholders throughout the process.
Myth 2: Participant satisfaction equals program success.
Satisfaction data matter, but they do not demonstrate intended outcomes. Participants may rate a professional development workshop highly because the presenter was engaging and the materials were relevant. These ratings describe the immediate experience, but not whether participants gained knowledge, changed practice, or improved outcomes.
Hot Tip: Pair Satisfaction Data with Evidence of Change
We can help program staff distinguish between two questions: How did participants experience the program, and what changed because of it? Connecting each measure to a program goal can build buy-in without dismissing positive feedback. Evidence of change may include knowledge, behavior, practice, performance, or longer-term outcomes.
Cool Tip: Plan for Use Before Collecting Data
Ask intended users what decisions the findings should support. Then select measures and reporting formats that fit those decisions. Program staff may need an action brief, community members a facilitated discussion, and funders a concise report.
Rad Resources
Utilization-focused evaluation is a useful starting point for identifying intended users and clarifying how they expect to use the findings. It helps connect evaluation questions, methods, and reporting choices to real decisions.
Want to move beyond satisfaction data? The Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks guide provides practical guidance for connecting intended results to indicators. For the second myth, the most relevant parts are those focused on distinguishing outputs, outcomes, and impact and selecting indicators that capture change beyond participants’ immediate reactions.
Evaluation’s public value is not automatic. We must design for it by broadening who participates, distinguishing positive experiences from meaningful outcomes, and planning for use from the beginning. These choices can help evaluation move beyond compliance and become a measurable force for learning and change.
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