The primary purpose of this assignment is to assist students to understand and analyze the relationship between the evaluation approach and practice through the design of an evaluation plan. Each student is to propose a program for which they will design an evaluation plan. This can be a program in which students may be currently engaged, one in which they were engaged in in the past or might be engaged in in the future. A smaller program to which students can apply the ideas acquired in this course would work better than a large one in which they might be bogged down in the details.

The evaluation plan should be a 15-20-page paper, including the references and the cover page. The plan should be informed by the theoretical perspectives covered in the course. Please use the framework outlined below to guide the evaluation plan. The framework is a generic one and covers the kinds of steps/issues to follow in designing an evaluation plan.

1. Description of the evaluation environment (i.e., understanding the internal and external evaluation context of the organization or institution whose program is under evaluation). The internal environment would include organizational/institutional type, its structure, its history, its mission and the role of education or training in achieving mission.

The external environment also requires a description of those factors that might have an influence on the organization/institution and its program. Such factors might be economic and social, competing programs, technological changes, labour unions, etc. Identification and (if necessary) meeting with representatives of stakeholder groups.

Questions

If you intend to meet with group representatives, how might they be selected and by whom?

How many stakeholder groups associate with the program?

Which stakeholder group(s) is commissioning the evaluation or who is the “client”? What is the unit or focus of the evaluation; e.g., the whole program or only some component of it, and why?

What are the purposes of the evaluation? In other words, what is the purpose of the evaluation? Furthermore, what is it that the client might want to know about the program? What are the objectives of the evaluation?

Indicate the form or type of evaluation (e.g., formative, summative, etc.), and why?

What kinds of resources (besides the budget) do you require (e.g., support staff, equipment, etc.)?

Prepare a comprehensive budget for the evaluation. This decision will be based on a number of factors such as time, number of staff involved, equipment required, salaries and allowances, production and dissemination of results, computer use, etc. Be creative and imaginative. Provide estimates only.

Data collection procedures: what specific evaluation questions might you ask? How would you deal with participant confidentiality and anonymity? What is the timeframe for data collection, that is, how long might the data collection process last?

Data analysis and interpretation: briefly explain how you might analyze and interpret your evaluation data.

Presentation and reporting of the findings: Describe a strategy and format for the presentation and dissemination of the evaluation results. How might this be done? To who might the findings be presented (e.g. conference or meeting with stakeholder groups, the media)? Will stakeholders be interested in use of the evaluation results? If so, what kinds of obstacles to use might they face? How to facilitate the use?