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Although it depends on the focus of the evaluation and who asked for it and who is carrying it out, generally the evaluation process comprises the following activities.
Use your mouse or keyboard to expand each of the headings below. To add an activity to your action plan, select the Add button beside it.
Since it is not possible for one evaluation to assess all aspects of the programme or address all key characteristics of a good programme, the first step of the evaluation stage is to decide what the focus or purpose of the evaluation is and what sort of questions need to be asked for the evaluation. CBR personnel, people with disabilities, representatives from disabled people’s organizations, members of the community and other key stakeholders should all participate in these decisions, since the evaluation is ultimately to determine whether their needs are satisfied by the programme. The table below lists a few possible purposes and the kinds of questions you would want to ask:
| You might want to assess… | To help you… |
|---|---|
| Whether CBR personnel are able to carry out their roles and responsibilities competently | Decide whether staff members require further training |
| Which activities worked best | Determine which aspects of the programme should be continued or discontinued |
| Whether the programme had, or was having, the planned impact in the short term | Decide whether to replicate the strategy elsewhere |
Whether:
|
Make decisions about the future of the programme and whether changes should be made |
The second step involves making a decision about the best way to answer the evaluation questions, thinking about the following issues:
Who can provide the information?
Information can be gathered from many sources (including people with disabilities and their families and other stakeholders) and from people involved in other community programmes, as well as local, regional and national government
agencies, such as national statistical offices. CBR personnel and other professionals are other obvious sources of information, as they usually keep records of their activities, interventions and outcomes.
How can information be collected?
As listed in the table below, there are many ways to collect information, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Usually more than one method should be used to collect information for an evaluation.
Data collection methods
| Method | Qualitative | Quantitative | Overall purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense records | X | To determine whether resources have been used as originally planned, and to provide assurance to funders that the programme is transparent and accountable | |
| Questionnaires | X | X | To get information on a number of designated and well-defined issues from people with disabilities, parents and other key stakeholders |
| Individual assessment | X | X | To assess the current situation of well-being, health, daily activities, and so on. The results can be measured against initial case-study reports |
| Surveys | X | To assess attitudinal changes and quality-of-life changes (ideally measured against baseline data) | |
| Documentation review | X | X | To understand the policies underlying the programme and how the programme operates (e.g. review of policies, regulations, procedures and financial and administrative management) |
| Record review | X | To get an overview of the number and characteristics of people with disabilities engaged, the progress made, the interventions made, the relationship between inputs and results, the workload of the rehabilitation workers, and so on | |
| Interviews | X | To understand someone’s views, impressions or experiences, or learn more about their answers to questionnaires. | |
| Observation | X | X | To gather accurate information about how a programme actually operates, particularly about processes and interactions |
| Focus groups | X | To explore a topic in depth through group discussion (e.g. about reactions to an experience or suggestion, to reach a common understanding of problems and issues) | |
| Public meetings | X | To gather information from a wide range of other members of the community |
When should information be collected?
Information can be collected at different stages. Collecting information before a programme starts provides baseline data (see Stage 1: Situation analysis). Baseline data are important when measuring the impact of the CBR programme. If the situation before the programme began is not known, it will be difficult to evaluate whether the programme has had any impact. Information can also be collected when the programme is under way (see Stage 3: Monitoring) or at the end of a programme.
After collecting the information, you will need to make sense of it. Analysing the information can help you identify patterns, trends or unexpected findings and determine whether the information answers the evaluation questions and, if so, to what extent. Effective analysis requires summarizing the information and looking for trends. If trends exist, whoever is doing the analysis will use his or her experience and other information to determine what the trend means or what it implies for the programming.
Different types of information are analysed in different ways. For example, quantitative data from questionnaires, tests or records are usually analysed using statistical methods and computer programmes. Qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions are usually analysed by structuring and organizing them into key categories and themes.
After analysing the information, it should be possible to draw conclusions and make recommendations about the programme.
An evaluation is useless if no one acts on its conclusions and recommendations. It is therefore important to report on and share the evaluation findings.
One technique is to present the evaluation results at a meeting attended by all stakeholders, including people with disabilities, their families, disabled people’s organizations and other community members. Another approach is to write a formal evaluation report, an article for the local newspaper or professional journal, or a case-study for a newsletter that is circulated to other agencies. It is also possible to present the evaluation as a paper at a conference.
After an evaluation, it is also important to reflect and learn from the things that worked and the things that did not. The results of the evaluation should influence decision-making about various aspects of the programme, including:
It is also useful to share your evaluation results with the wider CBR community, and with funding and regulatory organizations. This can inspire the development of additional CBR and disability-inclusive development projects, promote good CBR practices and mobilize support for CBR efforts.
