Toolkit
  1. INTRODUCTION TO THE TOOLKIT

  2. INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATION

  3. PLAN YOUR EVALUATION

  4. IMPLEMENT YOUR EVALUATION

How

Just as different audiences will be interested in different information, the same type of communication will not be appropriate for every stakeholder on your list. For example, a comprehensive written report required by your funder may not be of interest to program participants.

That said, a common method for reporting evaluation findings is through a formal written report, which generally includes the following sections:

  • Executive summary

  • Background and purpose (covering program background and description, reason for the evaluation, and evaluation questions)

  • Evaluation design (covering indicators, data collection methods, sample, analysis procedures, and limitations)

  • Results

  • Conclusions and recommendations

If you do a formal, written evaluation report, make sure it is useful; too often reports are written and subsequently languish, with no action taken around them. More recently, people are moving away from lengthy evaluation reports to presenting findings and recommendations in a more succinct and/or interactive manner. Whichever form of communication you use, the outline above is a useful way to organize your information—but take care to present it clearly and succinctly. Use tables and graphs, examples, and stories to make the evaluation findings easy to understand and engaging.

It is also important to think about the language you will use. Complex analysis and technical terms may be appropriate for some audiences, but not for others. For maximum impact, people need to understand what you're saying, so make sure you are using appropriate language. Your stakeholders can help you make this determination, as they will know what format and how much detail is suitable for the people they represent.