Program research & evaluation for decision-making
General
- Graduate; Other
- 5 learners; individual projects
- 100 hours per learner
- Dates set by projects
- Educators assign learners to projects
Preferred companies
- 1 projects wanted
- Anywhere
- Academic experience
- Any company type
- Any industries
Categories
Skills
Overview
- Learner goals and capabilities
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Programs and initiatives of all types involve the use of resources, which are limited and in high-demand. Good evaluation of the use of our resources is essential. Program evaluation serves this purpose as it is the systematic process of assessing the value of any activity. The assessment delivered is then immediately useful to inform important program decisions.
Our students will provide your group with a detailed systematic evaluation of the design, implementation, or results of one of your programs or initiatives.
- Expected outcomes and deliverables
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Students will submit a full-color PDF version of the final project evaluation report which will contain any or all of the following that is relevant to the company's specific program evaluation project:
- Project Overview
- Key Terms and Definitions
- Evaluation Framework
- Evaluation Process
- Data analysis and findings
- Discussion, conclusions and recommendations
- Evaluator Observations
If requested, students will also present their findings to interested company stakeholders, either in person (if local) or via web-conferencing software. Students will be available to explain and answer any questions related to their work, both during the evaluation process and after the final report is submitted.
Project Examples
Starting now (September), a student research groups 5 will spend 100 hours each working with your organization to develop a detailed systematic evaluation of the design, implementation, or results of one of your programs or initiatives. Project examples include but are not limited to:
- Students could review or define the logic model of a program (e.g., an intervention was quickly implemented without clear definition of some or all of the actual or desired inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes).
- Students could develop valid measurement tools (e.g., surveys) and collect appropriate data in order to accurately measure the inputs, activities, outputs or outcomes of a program.
- Students could conduct qualitative analysis (e.g., how a variable of interest is portrayed in online print news), identifying recurring or commonly reported (or even missing) themes.
- Students could conduct quantitative analyses, testing for significant differences between groups, describing how variables factor (or participants cluster) together, or report significant relations between multiple variables.
- Students could create actionable internal reports and/or web-ready info-graphic information to help communicate program goals and outcomes to interested groups and stakeholders.
- Students could perform a literature review of an initiative focus to report on what initiatives have been implemented in similar or related populations, and report on past program outcomes and evaluations related to that initiative domain.
Additional company criteria
Companies must answer the following questions to submit a match request to this experience:
Provide a dedicated contact who is available to answer periodic emails or phone calls over the duration of the project to address students' questions.
Be available for a quick phone call with the instructor to initiate your relationship and confirm your scope is an appropriate fit for the course.