Hi! Sheila B Robinson here, aea365’s Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor with a few favorite eval sites with a broad range of content and free resources. Due to space limitations, I’ve left out descriptions of the most well known, but I do have them all and more here.
Lesson Learned: Start with: AEA, Better Evaluation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Office of the Associate Director for Program – Program Evaluation, Community Solutions Planning and Evaluation, Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods, Innovation Network Point K Learning Center, University of Wisconsin-Extension Program Development and Evaluation, and Western Michigan University Evaluation Center.
Hot Tip: Check out these other sites for great content too!
- Huge collection of links organized into categories – Evaluation 101, Evaluation Guidelines, Evaluation Resources, Evaluation Templates, Logic Model Resources (government and non-government), Logic Model Templates, Public Health Program Evaluation, Evaluation of government programs, US Government Accountability Office, and more.
- This site is primarily for community development, but does include evaluation resources. Look at the table of contents and scroll down to Part J: Evaluating Community Programs and Initiatives.
Evaluation Toolkit for Magnet School Programs
- Good basic resources for school-based programs; tools and resources may also inform evaluations of other types of programs.
- Organized around six areas:
- Set the stage for purposeful evaluation, Develop a theory of action for your program, Evaluate implementation to document what you are doing, Evaluate outcomes to show your program is making a difference, Get quality data into your evaluator’s hands, Take action in response to evaluation results.
The Free Management Library Basic Guide to Program Evaluation
- “This document provides guidance toward planning and implementing an evaluation process for for-profit or nonprofit programs…”
- Online guide to PE features sections on Where PE is helpful, Basic ingredients, Planning PE, Major Types of PE, Overview of methods to collect information, selecting which methods to use, Analyzing and interpreting information, Reporting evaluation results, Who should carry our the evaluation, contents of an evaluation plan, pitfalls to avoid.
- “This LfS portal is a reference guide for those working to support social learning and collective action around sustainability issues.”
- Though not devoted entirely to evaluation, this site features a wealth of evaluation resources including links to other sites, and downloadable papers and booklets.
- Look for sections of the site devoted to “Planning, monitoring and evaluation” and “Research methods and approaches.”
- While focused on Outcomes-Based Planning and Evaluation for Libraries and Museums, this website offers easy definitions of terms and examples with a free online course organized into 5 modules: Overview, Plan, Build, Evaluate and Report. It even includes instructor materials for teaching the course on shaping outcomes.
Something for everyone! Wouldn’t you agree?
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.