1. INTRODUCTION TO THE TOOLKIT

   • About the Toolkit
   • Toolkit Contents
   • Using the Toolkit
   • Case Study Background

2. INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATION

   • Defining Evaluation
   • Purpose of Evaluation
   • Types of Evaluation
   • Challenges to Conducting an Evaluation

   • Who Should Conduct the Evaluation

     • Assessing Readiness
     • Using a Team Approach
     • Using External Evaluators

   • Considerations for Planning

     • Human Subjects Protections
     • Cultural Competency
     • Budgeting for Evaluation
     • Working with Funders

   • Framework for Evaluation

     • Framework Components
     • Evaluation Standards

3. PLAN YOUR EVALUATION

   • Step 1: Engage Stakeholders

     • Engage Stakeholders
     • Identifying Key Stakeholders
     • Engaging Stakeholders
     • Tools and Resources

   • Step 2: Develop a Logic Model

     • Develop a Logic Model
     • What is a Program Description?
     • Introducing Logic Models
     • Creating a Logic Model for Evaluation
     • Tools and Resources

   • Step 3: Focus the Evaluation

     • Focus the Evaluation
     • Decide What to Evaluate
     • Develop Evaluation Questions
     • What Are Indicators?
     • Start the Evaluation Plan
     • Tools and Resources

   • Step 4a: Plan Data Collection

     • Plan Data Collection
     • Identify Data Sources
     • Select Data Collection Methods
     • Tools and Resources

   • Finalize Your Evaluation Plan

     • Identify the Person Responsible and a Timeline
     • Review Your Evaluation Plan
     • Tools and Resources

4. IMPLEMENT YOUR EVALUATION

   • Introduction
   • Review Your Evaluation Plan

   • Step 4b: Collect Data

     • Design Data Collection Instruments
     • Additional Considerations in Data Collection
     • Tools and Resources

   • Step 5: Analyze and Interpret Data

     • Analyze and Interpret Data
     • Organize the Data
     • Analyze the Data and Synthesize Results
     • Interpret the Results
     • Identify Limitations
     • Tools and Resources

   • Step 6: Share Results

     • Share Results
     • Develop Recommendations
     • Communicate the Findings
     • Follow-up
     • Tools and Resources

Short-term Outcomes

Once you have identified your inputs and outcomes, you must identify the outcomes the program is expected to achieve or contribute to.

Remember, logic models explain not only what your program does, but also show why it will achieve the intended outcomes. There must be a logical flow connecting the resources, activities, participants, and outcomes. Anyone reviewing your logic model must be able to see and understand the connections across program elements. For example, providing intensive CPR training in multiple sectors in a community (activity) could not logically be linked to an outcome of reducing the incidence of heart attacks, but it could be linked to an increase in the survival rate from heart attacks in that community (long-term outcome).

Your outcomes should be realistic and attainable given the timeframe for your program—you don’t want to be too ambitious or too modest. When defining your outcomes, look for examples from other organizations similar to yours (their best practices, models, or frameworks) to help you determine what can realistically be expected and how your anticipated outcomes might play out in reality. For example, in health education classes, a generally accepted “theory of change” is that, in the short-term, you will see increased awareness/knowledge, which will ideally lead to behavior change (your intermediate outcome), which then leads to improvements in health (your long-term outcome). It is always useful to see how similar programs have defined these trajectories as you start thinking about the outcomes for your program.

Short-term outcomes are changes you expect to see fairly quickly in the participant population as a result of your program’s activities. The specific timeframe for short-term outcomes varies depending on the scope and timeframe of the program, but short-term outcomes are often expected to occur during the first few months or the first year. They reflect the changes in people’s levels of understanding, perceptions, or attitudes. Short-term outcomes lay the groundwork for the intermediate ones, which ultimately lead to the long-term ones.

Click on the PDF documents in the side bar to see examples of how this step was completed for our case study sites.

EXERCISE: Look at the example presented and then think about the outcomes you expect from your program. Determine which will be the first to occur, which will lay the groundwork for subsequent outcomes. Ask yourself, “What changes do we expect to see in the short-term (e.g., <1 year) as a result of the program activities? “ List these in the “outcomes—short-term” column in ERC Worksheet 2 – Logic Model.