This post is an edited version of an email I sent to the PiP email list on 30/04/2009.

I have been working to finalise an evaluation plan for the Partners in Prevention project. In the process I have come across a variety of useful websites and resources. Many of these would be useful to other network members so I thought I would collect them here and tell you a bit about how I’ve used them.

DHS Evaluation website
The Department of Human Services health promotion team has a fantastic website on evaluation with a long list of resources (books, pdf documents, websites and powerpoint presentations). http://www.health.vic.gov.au/healthpromotion/steps/evaluation.htm

I based my evaluation planning on the tool described in ‘Planning for effective health promotion evaluation’ (pdf available from website above). However in discussion with Michael Flood last week we determined that the data collection and analysis times in the example plans are vastly underestimated. We pretty much doubled everything they said.

Program logic models
A program logic model is a visual tool that can be used to identify the assumptions underlying your program or outline the way program activities relate to particular outcomes.

Initially I used the ‘WK Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide’ available at www.wkkf.org/Pubs/Tools/Evaluation/Pub3669.pdf  This helped me put together a schematic of the PiP project that links aims, objectives, activities, outputs and outcomes. The SAPE framework standard 2 is also related to logic models (see below for links).

SAPE Framework
The newly released Sexual Assault Prevention Education Framework has a section on project evaluation which will also prove useful for those with a domestic and family violence focus. (Visit www.nasasv.org.au/standards.htm to view or download a copy for yourself.) If, like me, you have been scrabbling around for a sense of ‘how much evaluation is enough?’ then page 27 gives a decent baseline to work from. Pages 54 to 59 give a good overview of current, relevant issues in evaluation.

Measures
Some may be interested in measuring the impact of their programs with rigorously tested tools/surveys. Michael Flood has put together a collection of ‘short and accessible measures on violence, gender and respectful relationships.’ (see attached word document Flood…doc) These are tools developed by academic researchers that might suit workers in the community sector. I have sent this to the list before but if you missed it email me and I can send it out to you.

I will upload the PiP evaluation plan to the website when it’s finished. In the meantime if you have any evaluation stories/resources you would like to share please send them along. I am also happy to be a sounding board for your evaluation plans – although I can’t claim expert status I do have a sense of what different projects are doing and access to a variety of resources.

Happy evaluating!