A Method for Building Evaluation Competency Among Community-Based Organizations

Abstract

Community-based organizations often lack the capacity (e.g., time, staff, skills) to effectively evaluate programs, policies, and environmental changes. Providing evaluation technical assistance and training can be an effective and feasible way to build individual evaluation competency. The purpose of this article is to present a practical approach and related tools that can be used by evaluators and others (e.g., academic partners, funders) providing assistance to build evaluation skills in community organizations. The approach described was developed in collaboration with local universities and a regional health foundation to provide intensive technical support to 19 community-based organizations awarded funding to implement obesity prevention projects. Technical assistance processes and tools were designed to be tailored to organizations' capacity and needs and can be used as templates by others who provide technical assistance. Evaluators, funders, and academic partners can use lessons learned from this experience to help shape and implement evaluation technical assistance approaches with community-based organizations.

A research and evaluation capacity building model in Western Australia

“…Changes in attitudes in the sector towards the value of evaluation were evidenced by NGOs requesting support from SiREN to assist with evaluation planning before program implementation. The increased confidence in undertaking evaluation and the benefits derived from tailored technical assistance are consistent with the changes resulting from evaluation capacity building reported byKelly, LaRose et al (2014).…”

“…Evaluation capacity building (ECB) is critical for community-based health organisations seeking to demonstrate evidence-informed practice and effectiveness of programs (Mitchell, Florin et al 2002, Mayberry, Daniels et al 2008, Gibbs, Hawkins et al 2009, Kelly, LaRose et al 2014. Definitions of ECB have been offered by several authors (Stockdill, Baizerman et al 2002, Gibbs, Hawkins et al 2009 including "The ultimate goal of evaluation capacity building is sustainable evaluation practice-where members continuously ask questions that matter; collect, analyze, and interpret data; and use evaluation findings for decision-making and action" (Preskill and Boyle 2008, p.444).…”

Development and Evaluation of a Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Hong Kong Community Social Service Agency Staff

“…Second, the current TTT was disseminated to a larger number of community agency staff, which could have greater sustainability and community impact. Third, the current TTT gave a brief introduction of the general concept and its application to research and evaluation methods, including the Logic Model ( 30 , 31 ), randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and process evaluation ( 32 ), which had not been emphasized and evaluated in previous training (see below for more detail). It helped push the boundaries of community practitioners’ skill sets, as their background and training was oriented toward service delivery rather than theory and research.…”

One-Room School: The Summer Institute in Program Evaluation

“…Preskill and Boyle (p. 443) contend that capacity building seeks "to enhance stakeholders' understanding of evalu ation concepts and practices, and in an effort to create evaluation cultures, or ganizations have been implementing a variety of strategies to help their members learn from and about evaluation. " There are numerous examples in the literature of different types of evaluation capacity-building initiatives dating back more than 15 years (Hotte, Simmons, Beaton, & LDCP Workgroup, 2015;Kelly, LaRose, & Scharff, 2014;Norton, Milat, Edwards, & Giffin, 2016;Stockdill, Baizerman, & Compton, 2002), including academic courses in program evaluation that jointly train university students and community members (Kaye-Tzadok & Spiro, 2016;LaVelle & Donaldson, 2010;McShane, Katona, Leroux, & Tandon, 2015;Suiter, Thurber, & Sullivan, 2016).…”