The Evaluation Revolution

By: Sonya Dublin

Evaluators will tell you that until the 1980s, funders in the social services rarely asked for data about program performance. Grant applications were submitted, money was given out, and programs were implemented. Sounds nice, right? Starting in the 1980s, increasing focus on government accountability led to an upsurge of social program evaluation. Evaluators looked to the business sector for guidance, where evaluation concepts such as performance indicators and quality assurance were already the norm.

But measuring social outcomes such as empowerment, stigma, and health turned out to be more complex than measuring production and sales. Evaluation processes snowballed into pre-tests and post-tests, lengthy forms, multiple databases, and piles of progress reports. Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of the key to effective evaluation in the business sector - integration, in real time, into daily decision making processes.

(CONT)

Enter the Evaluation Revolution.

We are currently seeing a major shift in the field of evaluation: away from a focus on evaluation in order to report to funders, and towards more meaningful organizational learning. New approaches such as Utilization Focused Evaluation, Data Visualization, Data Dashboards and Participatory Evaluation are re-defining the value of evaluation in terms of how it is shared and used. This is the Evaluation Revolution: a movement to simplify, integrate, and better use evaluation in order to produce meaningful program improvements.

Even funders and government programs are now responding to this movement. The CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) recently unveiled their newest evaluation system; changes included reduction of required data collection, revamping of online reporting systems, and improved ability for organizations to use their own data.

We at Capacity for Health are excited to be activists in the Evaluation Revolution. Please join us and learn more about revolutionizing your evaluation activities; simplifying, integrating, and better using evaluation to improve your programs.

Are you ready for the Revolution?

Further resources about effective evaluation can be found in our Online Resource Library where we have online trainings, information sheets, recorded webinars, and links to other materials. Feel free to contact us if you would like individualized Capacity Building Assistance.