Metrics & Stakeholder Engagement - Here’s a participatory, learning based approach to evaluation that explores one way of assessing  outcomes and impacts of multi-stakeholder projects. How can metrics and evaluation help to increase the effectiveness of collaborative projects? What kinds of metrics and indicators are the most appropriate for evaluating stakeholder engagement processes, outcome and impacts? Ann Svendsen and Tara Addis of Collaborative Learning and Innovation include a real life case study involving a diverse group of health, academic and industry stakeholders to address issues related to Lung Health in the Health Care system. Read the full report here.

Good Measures: New Approaches to Evaluation - Increasingly, foundations are moving away from formal impact evaluation to more timely, pragmatic and participatory approaches. In this podcast from the recent evaluation conference sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review and FSG Social Impact Advisors, Mark Kramer, FSG's managing director, describes this paradigm shift and suggest tools that can lead to more useful and less burdensome evaluations. Listen here. [Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review]

Building Evaluation Capacity - This two-guide set for evaluators and others interested in evaluation focuses on evaluation design, including identification and operationalization of program goals, building of logic models, and selection of indicators and appropriate measures for these indicators, and it lays out multiple issues involved in data collection, including strengths and weaknesses of different data collection formats, methods for ensuring data quality, confidentiality, and the protection of human subjects.  Learn more here. [Source: Urban Institute]

Community Scales: A Ladder to 21st Century - For over 30 years, Community Action Agencies in the U.S. have been at work helping improve the conditions in which low-income people live and helping them gain a greater stake in their communities. Nationwide, the strategies these more than 1,000 agencies use are varied, reflecting the diversity of each locality’s resources and pressures. This document presents a framework in which local programs can relate the commonalities of their struggles and results at the community level. Download the paper here.

Community Builder's Approach to Theory of Change - This practical guide from the Aspen Institute is for planners and evaluators who are going to facilitate a process for creating a theory of change with community-based programs and community change initiatives. Download the guide here. [Source: Roundtable on Community Change]

Mapping Change - Grantmakers commonly ask themselves and grantees why their activities will make a difference and if they're being effective. Mapping Change: Using a Theory of Change to Guide Planning and Evaluation explains why grantmakers use theories of change to guide their questioning, unearth assumptions underlying their work, establish common language and develop strong action plans. The guide also describes how using a theory of change sets the stage for evaluation by clarifying goals, strategies and milestones. Find out more here. [Source: FN&C Now]

Democratic Evaluation - This issue of The Evaluation Exchange periodical focuses on democratic evaluation. At the forefront of the discussion are equity and inclusion in the evaluation of programs for children, families, and communities, as well as evaluation to promote public accountability and transparency. Access the issue here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

Use of Evaluation for Continuous Improvement - The Harvard Family Research Project has released the latest issue of "The Evaluation Exchange." The Fall 2002 issue examines the use of evaluation for continuous improvement. The 20-page issue is filled with useful information for evaluators, practitioners, policymakers, and funders. It incorporates advice from well-known experts outlines innovative evaluation practices, and provides insights into evaluations of a wide range of initiatives. Download the full issue here. [Source: HandsNet WebClipper]

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