It’s the elusive golden chalice of evaluation: proving FOR SURE that a SINGLE program made a REAL difference for those served. To meet such a high standard of knowledge, evaluators turn to experimental methods.
October 12, 2011 - 9:09pm
It’s the elusive golden chalice of evaluation: proving FOR SURE that a SINGLE program made a REAL difference for those served. To meet such a high standard of knowledge, evaluators turn to experimental methods.
June 21, 2011 - 4:28pm
Many of our clients at the Improve Group target their work on particular subpopulations. As evaluators we are always looking for new ideas on how we can help our clients better understand their target populations and increase the impact of their work.
June 1, 2011 - 8:31pm
According to a recent EdWeek article, in the first annual reports filed by states to account for spending $44 billion of one-time education aid to support education budgets during the recent recession, notable progress was made in improving school data systems and more equitably distributing highly qualified teachers across all schools.
August 20, 2010 - 6:16pm
When thinking about the outcomes of a program or service, we usually like to think about the impact on people: how their behavior, attitudes, or knowledge have changed. As I was reflecting on some client's expected outcomes this week, I realized that the word "change" is not clearly defined.
I came up with a short typology of change - I'd love your insights about whether there are other types of change that I have missed.
August 11, 2010 - 8:38pm
By Leah Goldstein Moses
Each August, the Improve Group staff takes a day out of the office to learn in depth about a topic that we’ve been addressing that year. This year, we focused on working ethically, respectfully and responsibly with people as we do our work.
November 12, 2009 - 5:30pm
I had the chance to collaborate with Tom DeCaigny of Performing Arts Workshop today to share some of the lessons we've learned about evaluation in the arts. With our participants we had a great discussion about figuring out the best questions to get the information you need, helping people to be honest and courageous during an evaluation, and ways to build buy-in and support for evaluation activities.
April 6, 2009 - 2:13pm
A recent book (summarized here) by the National Committee for Responsible Philanthropy has received much ink and pixels by those who take issue with its premise that there are four basic criteria that should guide foundations:
* Values
* Effectiveness
* Ethics
* Commitment January 22, 2009 - 2:36pm
With just over one week left in my sabbatical, I am racing through as much reading as I can, and have been riveted by December's American Journal of Evaluation. It starts, as each volume does, with the guiding principles for evaluators. These six principles guide our work and the work of all evaluators. Several of the subsequent articles explore how the final guiding principle is dependent on each of the others.