Good Questions and Show of Evidence
What will the focus of the evaluation be? For example, will it focus on the whole program or just parts of the service? What is the purpose of the
evaluation? Is it to help strategic planning or to obtain more funding?
What are the evaluation questions? What are the outcomes that we want to find out and who are we finding these outcomes for? This latter part can mean that there may be different outcomes for different individuals or parties. How will the evaluation be used? For example, will it be used to help you develop and improve a service, or to demonstrate accountability to funders, or both?
Such is the kind of thinking that can be helpful in making one pause to answer good questions. We have all heard this,“ now that is a good question.”
Sharpened thinking and in-depth focus
Who will read and use the evaluation report? How do we expect data to be collected or the report to be written? And who are the key stakeholders the drafter of the proposal should speak to? In today’ s context this is always termed as who to consult. Who is consulted will shape the thinking of the drafter and the outcome of the final proposal and hence this should not be rushed through. Efforts should be made to ensure that the shortlist of those consulted helps to sharpen the thinking and bring in-depth focus to the evaluation report.
Guide on how to respond to“ show of evidence”
Besides good questions, there are often situations where an agency, a service or a program is required to show evidence that it has exercised a standard of care. For example, a report may require evidence that a program is providing the appropriate care, appropriate reason and appropriate plan for the right client. Appropriate here would mean safe, ethical and effective care.
So how would we show evidence of this requirement? These could be ways of doing this –( i) Document procedures, policy documents and training materials;( ii) Provide a sample of the actual documentation;( iii) Describe or
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