Bloggers Series: John Gargani on EvalBlog

My name is John Gargani. I direct a program design and evaluation firm called Gargani + Company. I’m based in Berkeley, travel on planes a lot, and am a recidivist blogger.

Rad Resource – EvalBlog.com: EvalBlog was started to promote a simple idea—evaluation has the power to change the world. It is written by me and a growing number of guest bloggers. We focus on three topics—design, evaluation, and visuals. I believe they are the keys to social impact. Oh, and sometimes I try to be funny.

Hot Tips – favorite posts: Here are few of my favorites from EvalBlog.

Visuals

Tragic Graphic: The New York Times Checks Facts, Not Math: This was a popular post. I present two wildly inaccurate graphs from the same issue of the New York Times Magazine. Then I create some accurate alternatives.

Design

Data-Free Evaluation: New solutions don’t come with a great deal of supporting evidence. If we want to develop innovative program designs, we need to learn to conduct data-free evaluation.

Evaluation

Evaluation: An Invisible Giant. Ever wonder how large the field of evaluation is? I take a stab at figuring it out.

Attempts at Humor

The Laws of Evaluation Quality and Quality is a Joke. If these make you smile, you are a real evaluator.

Lessons Learned – why I blog: There is no practical reason for me to blog. I do it because I enjoy it, it connects me to smart readers, and I can share what excites me about evaluation. Some people write notes in the margins of books. I write a blog.

Lessons Learned: Be brief. Be thoughtful. Be done before your clients call.

This winter, we’re running a series highlighting evaluators who blog. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.