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Because CED encompasses enormous social and ethical aspirations, as well as economic and environmental goals, evaluation can be fraught with difficulty. Certain types of initiative lend themselves readily to straightforward, quantitative measures of accomplishment. Other types present far greater challenges - and consequently, far greater risks to those who undertake them. The following items from The CED Digital Bookshop examine the issues of why to evaluate, what to evaluate, and how to evaluate CED initiatives fairly and accurately. A click on any title will forward you to the Bookshop to place your order. (Most items cost under $10. Many are free.) Nothing here that fits the bill? There's plenty more. Drop us a line to let us know just what you're after. 1. How Do You Evaluate This Stuff? Before you evaluate, be certain about why evaluation is necessary, who will do it, and how it will use quantitative measures without distorting an initiative's practice or accomplishments. These issues are crucial to the planning that must precede data collection. Despite the complexity of their work, community groups can improve their effectiveness and credibility by building evaluation methods right into their strategies. They need to be able to distinguish their strategies' 'incremental' impact, that is, the results attributable to their activities alone. 3. The Social Return on Investment The Return on Investment Tool, developed by the Roberts Foundation, expresses the impact of Third Sector organizations in terms of three types of measurable value: economic, socio-economic, and social. To clarify outcomes for a complex initiative, one community group identified three levels of impact, each with its own benefits: individuals, families, and groups; organizations; and the community as whole. 5. Why Evaluate? Cautionary Words for the CEDO By spending more time first specifying what an evaluation is to accomplish, community groups will find evaluation a smoother, less intimidating, and more informative experience. 6. What Really Works: Friedman's Research on Results & Performance To judge the effectiveness of a project or program fairly, says Mark Friedman of the Fiscal Policy Studies Institute, distinguish between its performance and the results which it and other initiatives are intended to realize. It is also essential that evaluation emphasize the quality of outputs (the hardest to measure) as opposed to the quantity of inputs (the easiest). Evaluation involves seven essential functions. It may be best to use a mix of personnel internal and external to your organization to cover all seven. 8. Giving Evaluation Back to the People Residents get a fairer shake and funders get better feedback when a community initiative's constituents are integral to the design, implementation, and analysis of an evaluation procedure. A CDC in Québec City has created its own Performance Monitoring System to provide feedback on its work. To make this system work has required that they strike a balance between relying on external resources, on staff, and on local partners. 10. Are Outcomes the Best Outcome? Ill-considered attempts to 'quantify' the goals and achievements of many groups run the risk ignoring some of the most valuable contributions they make to the community. Check out these other Hotlists! |
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