The primary assignment will involve the development of an evaluation plan for a public health initiative. This assignment is designed to provide students with a real-life experience of working with community groups to develop (and implement as much as possible given time and other restrictions) an evaluation. Students will work individually. Students with links to community or health organizations are encouraged to work with their connections on such a project. Students are also encouraged to search out community/public health organizations needing an evaluation – particularly in areas of potential interest to students. Some examples of health programs will also be presented in class, and students can contact those organizations. Projects should be no longer than 20 pages (double-spaced except for tables/figures), not including references and appendices. Concise writing is essential.
This assignment will include the following pieces:
1. Title page
2. Overview/Executive Summary: Description of initiative/program/organization, aims of the program, aims and uses of evaluation, evaluation users and uses evaluation plan (approach, stages, design, methods), what was actually done, and any results/conclusions (if relevant). (1 page)
3. Problem background/Justification based on literature review and community/needs assessment. What does the scientific literature say about the problem being addressed and the intervention strategies being used? Include relevant citations. Did you conduct any type of community/needs assessment, or have others done an assessment? Describe what was done and what was learned. What else would you have liked to see done in a community/needs assessment? Could this still be done? If so, make some recommendations for the organization. Address why the initiative is needed. Is it addressing a problem of a public health concern? Are limited programs available? Why is this evaluation needed? (2-4 pages)
4. Initiative/program background: Describe the initiative being evaluated. What are the objectives of the initiative? Are they clearly described, and if not, indicate how you have (or would like to) modify them. Describe the theoretical framework guiding the initiative. Describe the actual initiative. Use a mixture of text and figures/tables. (2-4 pages)
5. Logic model: Include a logic model of the initiative, with evaluation activities incorporated. This piece is crucial as it guides the work to be done. The diagram itself should be 1 page. Additional text (up to 1 page) may be included.
6. Evaluation plan (and any results if collected): Include the following components in this section:
a) Provide an introduction to the evaluation plan. Indicate the aims of the evaluation,
the stages of evaluation (e.g., process, impact) if only a piece of a more extensive program
is being evaluated, who the stakeholders are and how they have been involved, and any
other information to introduce the evaluation plan. (1-2 pages)
b) Evaluation design and justification. Indicate what type of evaluation design (e.g.,
quasiexperimental, pre-post-post design with assessments at baseline, upon completion
of initiative, and at 3 months follow-up) is being used and why this design was chosen.
Describe the sample and justify why these individuals and the number of participants were
selected. It is optional to include a statistical justification for your sample size. (up to 1
page)
c) Timeline and description of data collection plan. Include a timeline with the specific
tasks to be done and when they will be done. Use a table/figure and some text. (1-2
pages)
d) Description of process evaluation and tools. Please include a description of the
process evaluation to be implemented and its components. Include both qualitative and
quantitative components and describe them. Indicate why it is essential (or not) to place a
significant emphasis on the process evaluation. All tools should be briefly described in a
short table with some text explaining the tools, why they were selected or developed, and
any available psychometrics. Additionally, essential tools should be included in an
appendix. Students should develop at least some of the tools using principles discussed in
class, although some items can be taken (and adapted) from existing tools. (2-4 pages +
surveys)
e) Description of impact/outcome evaluation and tools. Please include a description of
the impact/outcome evaluation to be implemented and its components. Include both
qualitative and quantitative components and describe. All tools should be briefly
described in a short table with some text explaining the tools, why they were selected or
developed, and any available psychometrics. Additionally, essential tools should be
included in an appendix. Students should develop at least some of the tools using
principles discussed in class, although some items can be taken (and adapted) from
existing tools. (2-4 pages + surveys)
f) Findings and presentation. Prepare tables/figures for “data” presentation. Since no
actual data collection will be done, prepare “dummy” or “skeleton” tables that show how
your results will be presented. Additionally, text may be used to describe the “data”
presented. A clear plan for a future presentation will be beneficial and help plan the
evaluation. (2-5 pages)
7. Budget and budget justification: Include a budget (in tabular format) and a budget justification that explains the details. Try to be realistic in terms of what the costs will be. (1-2 pages)
8. What has been learned through this process? Recommendations for next steps: Describe what was learned from this process and what recommendations you have for the organization in actually conducting the evaluation and/or learning from the evaluation. (1-2 pages)
9. Final reflections: Given the reality of working with real-life programs, students may encounter different situations. For example, in some instances, programs will be at their very beginning stages, whereas in other instances, programs may be up and running and ready for evaluation. Students may also find that some initiatives have fine-tuned theory-based objectives while others do not. In some cases, a needs/community assessment may have been conducted; in others, this has not been done. Given that programs may be in different stages and the semester goes quickly, the student’s ability to plan an evaluation will also differ. While all of these situations can make things a bit messy – the experience of getting out into a real-life situation is essential. Thus, in addition to the evaluation plan, students will submit a “reflections” paper describing the experience of doing this evaluation (What did you enjoy? Learn? Find challenging?), obstacles encountered, what would have been helpful to know, and what you learned for the next time. (1-3 pages)
10. Additional sections: References (grade will be reflected in the total grade for the literature review and other relevant sections, such as tools) and Appendices (surveys, more extended tables etc.).
