PPA 722 Program Analysis and Evaluation Professor Scott W. Allard and Professor William D. Duncombe

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PPA 722Program Analysis and EvaluationProfessor
Scott W. Allardand Professor William D.
Duncombe
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Course Objectives 1st Half

• Summative versus formative evaluations
• Develop a formative evaluation strategy
• Qualitative data collection techniques
• Maximizing utility of evaluations
• Critique evaluation studies
• Maintain familiarity with descriptive statistics

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Expectations

• Complete reading assignments
• Orange Bookstore (Weiss, Trochim)
• Campus Copy Center coursepack 1022
• Stats book from PPA 721
• Come prepared to participate in class discussions
  
• Work well in groups
• Quality written work

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Assignments

• Focus Group / Survey Project (in groups)
• Conduct a focus group on January 29th
• Translate into survey, questions are due February
  3rd
• Data Assignment
• Handed out on February 10th, due on February 19th
• Individual Formative Evaluation Design Proposal
• Topic memo due on February 10th
• Final paper due February 26th

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Evaluation

• The systematic assessment of the operation
  and/or outcomes of a program or policy, compared
  to a set of explicit or implicit standards, as a
  means of contributing to the improvement of the
  program or policy.

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Formative Evaluation

• An evaluation designed to help program
  managers, practitioners, and planners improve the
  design of the program in its developmental
  phases.
• -Weiss
• A systematic analysis of program
  implementation, which examines the processes that
  comprise service delivery and assesses whether
  these processes are being carried out as
  intended.

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Summative Evaluation

• As assessment of the extent to which the program
  achieved its desired or intended effects.
• -Unintended or unforeseen consequences
• -How well did the program achieve its intended
  impact?

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Formative Evaluation

• What is being implemented? Stages? Steps?
  Services? Procedures?
• What are the inputs and outputs?
• Are the necessary steps in service delivery being
  adequately coordinated and executed?
• How do clients experience the program?

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Utility of Formative Evaluations

• Conducted early in program life cycle
• Determine whether service technology functions as
  intended
• Conflict, coordination, accountability
• Compliance with contract or grant

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Qualitative Methods and Evaluation

• Capture texture of the program
• Develop an understanding of participants
  perceptions
• Rigorous design and planning essential
• -Observing the natural environment
• -Dynamic, process oriented
• -Inductive, not deductive
• -Focus on complex interdependencies

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Readings for Next Time Weiss, Chapters 1-3,
6and STOP-DWI article