Considerations when developing an evaluation plan. 

There are important considerations when developing an evaluation plan.  First, you’ll need to decide on which organization you are interested in using for the development of the evaluation plan.  You will select one which ties into your MPA emphasis area and is a public or a nonprofit organization.  For purposes of this course, it is best not to choose an organization in which you work. Why?  What we have found is that when students select a policy or process at an organization, they are currently working in either as an employee or a volunteer, they tend to jump directly to the problem-solving section of the evaluation without taking the time needed to fully research options for best practices against which they could compare their organization’s policies and processes.  In other words, students tend to think they already know what needs to be corrected in their organization without going through the various steps of a thorough evaluation.

Once you have selected the organization for which you would think an evaluation would be beneficial is to determine what type of evaluation you want to recommend.  There are evaluations that examine what is being done to determine if it is the best use of resources, if it is meeting the expected outcomes, or if there are problems with how a policy is being implemented.  The evaluation might be a requirement of a funding source, or it could be based on a regular rotation of evaluation that is a customary practice for some organizations.

Another essential element in beginning an evaluation is to consider the full extent of the problem if one has been identified.  The problem might be defined differently depending on the stakeholders involved.  And, sometimes, the problem that is identified originally might turn out to be only part of a much bigger problem or might lead to the need to investigate and evaluate other elements of a program or policy.

For our purposes in this course and in the MPA program, we have settled on an organizational evaluation of either an organization policy or an organization process as the final project because it will require your demonstration of the many skills needed in almost every aspect of our public administration practice. Organizational evaluations require critical and creative thinking, good research skills, the ability to identify evaluation criteria and to create the related measures, and the ability to communicate both the need for the research, the project’s needed data, and to communicate and act on the results.

There are important considerations when developing an evaluation plan.  First, you’ll need to decide on which organization you are interested in using for the development of the evaluation plan.  You will select one which ties into your MPA emphasis area and is a public or a nonprofit organization.  For purposes of this course, it is best not to choose an organization in which you work. Why?  What we have found is that when students select a policy or process at an organization, they are currently working in either as an employee or a volunteer, they tend to jump directly to the problem-solving section of the evaluation without taking the time needed to fully research options for best practices against which they could compare their organization’s policies and processes.  In other words, students tend to think they already know what needs to be corrected in their organization without going through the various steps of a thorough evaluation.

Once you have selected the organization for which you would think an evaluation would be beneficial is to determine what type of evaluation you want to recommend.  There are evaluations that examine what is being done to determine if it is the best use of resources, if it is meeting the expected outcomes, or if there are problems with how a policy is being implemented.  The evaluation might be a requirement of a funding source, or it could be based on a regular rotation of evaluation that is a customary practice for some organizations.

Another essential element in beginning an evaluation is to consider the full extent of the problem if one has been identified.  The problem might be defined differently depending on the stakeholders involved.  And, sometimes, the problem that is identified originally might turn out to be only part of a much bigger problem or might lead to the need to investigate and evaluate other elements of a program or policy.

For our purposes in this course and in the MPA program, we have settled on an organizational evaluation of either an organization policy or an organization process as the final project because it will require your demonstration of the many skills needed in almost every aspect of our public administration practice. Organizational evaluations require critical and creative thinking, good research skills, the ability to identify evaluation criteria and to create the related measures, and the ability to communicate both the need for the research, the project’s needed data, and to communicate and act on the results.