Evaluation: Did You do it? Did it Matter?

Evaluators: Part of Your Team

Evaluators no longer are locked in the ivory tower of academia, but are instead an integral part of prevention programs. Evaluation should be woven into your initiative, from initial problem identification to convening of partners, from identifying resources to modification for improvement. It is part of the ongoing strategic planning process (see Getting to Outcomes in ACTION Pamphlet 1). “There’s a high value in bringing evaluator and evaluation design into the planning process from the earliest point so that initial data can be used throughout,” as one evaluator put it.

Eliminating the barriers between evaluators and practitioners helps establish trust. A heightened level of trust and collaboration makes it possible to implement more rigorous and structured evaluations. All key players become equally invested in results. Growing numbers of practitioners are finding evaluation to be an incredibly useful tool for developing, implementing, and improving programs and services that focus on difficult societal problems such as youth violence.

When all partners are involved in designing and implementing useful evaluations, the evaluation questions will be those for which the community as a whole wants answers, not just artifical constructs formulated by an outsider. The measures will be consistent with community and stakeholder values, and community acceptance can be assured. Together you will strengthen both the collaboration and the intervention.

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