Program Evaluation
What’s Your Impact?
Purpose-driven organizations strive to bring change to the world, but can struggle to understand if their programs are successful. An evaluation can answer that question and strengthen your organization’s programs.
At Brighter Strategies, our program evaluation consultants are trained in behavioral science analytical methods and strategic thinking. That allows us to go beyond data collection and help you understand what your programs have accomplished, and their true potential.
Collaborating with our clients is at the core of what we do.
Our program evaluation engagements are based on a seven-step process that leverages the theory of change and logic models in order to articulate what success looks like to your organization.
We realize that a key success factor is the ability to effectively engage the leadership, staff, and stakeholders to secure meaningful feedback that allows the organization to thrive.
To that end, we design evaluation projects based on where you are in your program journey. We believe beginning evaluation planning before the project starts helps get the most out of the process.
Start with the End in Mind
Program evaluation helps organizations answer key questions
Data collection is a key aspect of a program evaluation, but our program evaluation consultants go beyond the numbers in order to help your organization:
- Align objectives
- Establish a theory of change
- Identify key indicators of success
- Identify inefficiencies
- Streamline operations
- Maximize impact
- Report project outcomes
Our data-driven qualitative analysis ensures we are asking questions that build on, and add depth to, the data we have. This process is a key early step in the evaluation, to make sure we are not just collecting data, but the right data.
“Brighter Strategies provided invaluable insight and tools to help strengthen our impact and better collaborate with our community partners.”
-Natasha Lane, Kronkosky Foundation
Needs Assessment
A needs assessment is a type of formative evaluation that can increase the likelihood your program will achieve its goals.
It is best leveraged when an organization is in a period of change, such as starting a new program, or expanding services to a new demographic.
A needs assessment may answer questions such as:
What are the needs of the population you are trying to serve?
Is the program adjusting the needs of the population?
Are resources and program components allocated appropriately to ensure goals are met?
Process-Based Evaluation
Process-based evaluation determines how a program operates and achieves its results.
It is beneficial when programs appear to contain major inefficiencies or must be visually illustrated to external stakeholders.
Process-based evaluation may answer questions such as:
How do we represent the program to stakeholders?
What is the lifecycle from beginning to end?
How much of the planned program is being implemented?
Impact Evaluation
When regulatory agencies or funders seek evidence that your program is meeting the goals you promise to deliver, it’s time for an outcome-based evaluation.
Outcome-based evaluation may answer questions such as:
What indicators measure to what extent the program is meeting intended outcomes?
How effectively is the program meeting those desired outcomes?
We focus on getting you the program evaluation that is right for you today.
We leverage the following evaluation models to get you meaningful and useful results:
Full Evaluation Plans
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Theory of Change
Logic Model
Model Testing
Evaluation Coaching
