Reflect and Improve: Evaluation Tools for Sustainable Change

Success Story

In 2002, the Innovation Center and its partners began work to answer a compelling need among organizations for an easy, integrated, and efficient way to plan and evaluate youth programs for community-based organizations. Many local organizations and Extension offices, already overwhelmed by the demands of day-to-day operations, are facing mounting pressure to demonstrate that their programs really do make a difference for young people at risk. In today's climate of dwindling funding and increased scrutiny, evaluating community programs and presenting results are tasks that all organizations need to do, and do well. Oftentimes, the word "evaluation" conjures images of theoretical models and data which cannot be applied in a real life context. Through this workshop structure of informal discussion, sharing and small group work, participants will learn about the more "human" side of evaluation efforts, and how they are effectively being used by small grassroots organizations and Extension agencies to make the case for their progress to funders, boards, youth, and communities.

This workshop will be based on the Innovation Center's new evaluation tool kit, Reflect and Improve: A Tool Kit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation. This tool kit can also serve as an insert to the Center's Building Community: A Tool Kit for Youth and Adults, which is a part of the National 4-H Juried Curriculum Collection. Reflect and Improve provides the framework for effectively evaluating the community development process and includes information on how to measure the impact of a community program, establish objectives, identify indicators, and train staff and community members in evaluation.

Participants will get an overview of the Reflect and Improve Tool Kit, participate in one to two activities and brainstorm ways the activities can be used in the participants' set-ups.