Increasing evaluation capacity within community-based HIV prevention programs

Understanding Dimensions of Organizational Evaluation Capacity

“…This stage is also characterized by 32 minimal involvement on the part of program stakeholders (Gilliam, Barrington, Davis, Lacson, Uhl & Phoenix, 2003;Sanders, 2002;Torres & Preskill, 2001). It is similar to the stage of compliance identified by Gibbs et al (2002) in their case study of ECB implementation in community-based organizations dealing with HIV prevention programs. These authors characterize this stage as evaluation conducted only to the extent required by external bodies with the perception that evaluation brings no benefit to the organization other than continued funding.…”

“…External accountability requirements constitute a powerful motivator for developing evaluation capacity by highlighting the importance of evidence-based decision making (Katz, Sutherland, & Earl, 2002;Mackay, 2002;Preskill et al, 2003;Sutherland, 2004;Toulemonde, 1999). These requirements can also influence evaluation behaviour within an organization by setting a baseline for the amount and type of evaluation activity to be conducted (Gibbs, Napp, Jolly, Westover & Uhl, 2002). Aside from creating a demand for evaluation results, the external environment of the organization can also offer incentives to foster evaluation capacity building such as increased financial resources for the organization and performance bonuses for managers (Boyle et al, 1999;Toulemonde, 1999;Trevisan, 2002).…”

“…Other human resources are also required to relieve program practitioners from their regular duties while they participate in evaluation activities, as well as to implement evaluation findings (Bozzo, 2002;Cousins & Earl, 1992;King, 2002;Milstein et al, 2002;Stevenson, Floris, Mills, & Andrade, 2002;Stockdill et al, 2002;Trevisan, 2002). Financial resources are required to support the training of practitioners in evaluation, to purchase specialized equipment or software needed for evaluation studies, and to disseminate 21 evaluation findings to key stakeholders (Boyle et al, 1999;Gibbs et al, 2002;King, 2002;Rowe & Jacobs, 1998;Sonnichsen, 1999;Trevisan, 2002;Toulemonde, 1999).…”

“…Senior managers must make evaluative inquiry a priority by allowing staff the flexibility required to participate in ECB activities while fostering a climate of risk-taking and experimentation within the organization. They must also be advocates for learning in the organization, and they must support and reward participation in evaluation work and in the implementation of evaluation results (Gibbs et al, 2002;Goh, 2003;Leonard & Miller, 1992;Preskill et al, 2003). It is also critical that organizational leaders understand the time frame required to establish evaluation capacity and that they develop and implement a clear strategy to accomplish this (Boyle et al, 1999;Milstein et al, 2002).…”

“…It is also critical that organizational leaders understand the time frame required to establish evaluation capacity and that they develop and implement a clear strategy to accomplish this (Boyle et al, 1999;Milstein et al, 2002). Gibbs et al (2002) underline the importance of strong leadership in their analysis of community-based ECB initiatives. These authors found that organizations whose leaders believed that evaluation could be used to improve program effectiveness and that strategies could be found to overcome the many challenges of evaluation conducted more extensive or complex evaluations than had been required of them by external funding agencies.…”