How will your success be measured? 

Measurable objectives set the stage for effective outcome evaluation. If you have difficulty in determining what criteria to use in evaluating your program, better take another look at your objectives. They probably aren’t specific enough. 

Many evaluation plans are subjective in nature. Subjective evaluations tell you how people feel about a program but seldom deal with the concrete results of a program. For example, the evaluation of a public safety program that surveyed officers, community members, and political leaders would elicit attitudes about the program but would not speak to the tangible improvement in safety attributed to the program. 

Subjectivity also allows the introduction of our own biases into an evaluation. This can easily happen if you evaluate your own programs especially if you feel that continued funding depends on producing what looks like good results. 

Here are 3 ways to write your evaluation section: 

• Do what the grant maker tells you. For Federal Grant seekers, this is your future. 
• Hire an outside evaluator and include the expense in your proposal budget. You can usually find evaluators at a university. Look for a professor with experience in your field of work. Your grant maker may also recommend evaluators whose work they know and trust. 
• Do it yourself. It’s possible to do your own evaluations but you must make sure to address your own biases. Know your own limitations and always keep an eye on credibility. 

It is essential to build an evaluation plan into your proposal and be prepared to implement your evaluation at the same time that you start your program. If you want to determine change along some dimension then you have to show where your clients, agency or community started. It is very difficult to start an evaluation at or near the conclusion of the program for at that time you may not know or remember the original characteristics of your clients or community. 

Some evaluation tools to consider: 

Qualitative/Subjective: 

• Testimonials 
• Anecdotes 
• Success stories 
• Observations 

Quantitative/Objective: 

• Pre and Post Testing 
• Surveys and Questionnaires 
• Interviews 
• Activity Logs 
• Case Reports 
• Performance Reports