An official website of the United States government
Program Evaluation
Conducting routine evaluations that provide information for program management and strengthen program effectiveness should be a part of all state and local education and public health programs.
Evaluation Planning
Planning your evaluation is critical to having a successful evaluation. Evaluation planning provides an opportunity to focus your evaluation on things that are most critical for you and your stakeholders to understand about your program.
Evaluation planning should be conducted as part of overall program planning so that evaluation is built into your program from the beginning.
The CDC Framework for Program Evaluation guides public health professionals in program evaluation. It is a practical, non-prescriptive tool designed to summarize and organize essential elements of program evaluation.
The framework includes steps in program evaluation practice and standards for effective program evaluation.
The steps and standards of this framework will provide an understanding of each program’s context and improve how program evaluations are conceived and conducted.
Evaluation Briefs
Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan
Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan is a workbook developed by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that includes tools and resources on developing an evaluation plan.
Data Collection & Analysis
Knowing the who, what, when, where, and how much of program activities allows you to assess how well a program has been implemented.
Data Collection Methods
Collecting data accurately and systematically is an important part of program evaluation.
- Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Focus Groups [PDF – 176K]
- Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Questionnaires [PDF – 153K]
- Checklist to Evaluate the Quality of Questions [PDF – 165K]
- Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Observation [PDF – 203K]
- Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Interviews [PDF – 177K]
- Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Document Review [PDF – 187K]
- Increasing Questionnaire Response Rates [PDF – 267K]
- Using Incentives to Boost Response Rates [PDF – 224K]
- Using Ordered Response Options To Collect Evaluation Data [PDF – 94K]
Data Analysis
Once you have collected data, you need to analyze it so that you can use the information to improve your program.
Share Results & Improve Program
Use evaluation findings to plan program improvements.
Use evaluation findings to plan program improvements.
Evaluation data should be compared with your program goals and objectives to make program improvements.
Evaluation data should be compared with your program goals and objectives to make program improvements.
Develop reports and presentations to inform program staff and key stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels about your program.
Develop reports and presentations to inform program staff and key stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels about your program.
These reports can help make a case for the continuation or expansion of well-planned and implemented programs and can gather support for future program improvements.
These reports can help make a case for the continuation or expansion of well-planned and implemented programs and can gather support for future program improvements.
Resources: Share Results & Improve Program
The following resources may help you effectively use your evaluation results to make your program more effective:
DASH funded partners are asked to submit success stories annually to DASH that highlight accomplishments of their programs.