~AEA Public Library

Handout from session at 2011 AEA/CDC Summer Evaluation Institute

Description: This workshop will provide an overview of program evaluation for Institute participants with some, but not extensive, prior background in program evaluation. The session will be organized around the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) six-step Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health as well as the four sets of evaluation standards from the Joint Commission on Evaluation Standards. The six steps constitute a comprehensive approach to evaluation. While its origins are in the public health sector, the Framework approach can guide any evaluation. The course will touch on all six steps, but particular emphasis will be put on the early steps, including identification and engagement of stakeholders, creation of logic models, and selecting/focusing evaluation questions. Several case studies will be used both as illustrations and as an opportunity for participants to apply the content of the course and work through some of the trade-offs and challenges inherent in program evaluation in public health and human services.

Audience: Attendees with some background in evaluation, but who desire an overview and an opportunity to examine challenges and approaches. Cases will be from public health but general enough to yield information applicable to any other setting or sector.

Thomas Chapel is a Senior Evaluation Scientist in the Office of Workforce and Career Development, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He serves as a central resource on strategic planning and program evaluation for CDC programs and their partners. Before joining CDC, Tom was Vice-President of the Atlanta office of Macro International where he directed and managed projects in program evaluation, strategic planning, and evaluation design for public and nonprofit organizations. He is a frequent presenter at national meetings, a frequent contributor to edited volumes and monographs on evaluation, and has facilitated or served on numerous expert panels on public health and evaluation topics.

#2011Institute