Replete with examples from a wide range of disciplines, this concise volume shows the reader how to communicate results to users and stakeholders throughout the evaluation process. The authors stress the importance of maintaining a variety of channels of formal and informal reporting mechanisms, as well as the need to tailor the medium and message for intended audiences and users. Easy-to-use worksheets are provided to help readers prepare reports. Practical tips on how to communicate effectively, on using graphs and tables, and on presenting the final report are all contained in this important publication.

A practical guide to concepts, methods, and instruments for conducting an evaluation of environmental health services. Noting that managers frequently overlook the importance of evaluation, the book also performs a persuasive function, serving to illustrate the advantages of evaluation for purposes ranging from the justification of continuing expenditure to assurance that public health is being adequately protected from hazards in food, air or water. Throughout the book, examples of evaluations conducted in European countries are used to show how different approaches work to resolve specific practical problems. The book has six chapters. The first provides a general introduction to the purpose, principles and components of evaluation, as well as procedures that are frequently used. Chapter two applies these general principles to the specific setting of environmental health services, where process, impact, relevance, and adequacy of services may need to be assessed. Factors that make such services difficult to evaluate through traditional mechanisms are also briefly discussed. Against this background, a chapter on data and indicators provides detailed advice on the choice of indicators, concentrating on the use of process, environmental health, and urban indicators. Chapter four, on instruments for evaluation, outlines the strengths and weaknesses of several methods of data collection, giving particular attention to tools for economic analysis and qualitative evaluation. The remaining chapters cover the use of results in management decisions and set out five case studies of evaluations recently conducted in Europe.

The objective of this book is to acquaint the reader with the ways in which evaluation results can be made more credible through careful choice of a design prescribing when and from whom, the data will be gathered. The book helps the reader choose a design, put it into operation and analyze and report the data that has been gathered.

Changes in the initial stages of the evaluation process over the last decade are reflected in How to Focus an Evaluation. A new book in the series, this volume replaces the first edition's How to Deal with Goals and Objectives. The volume recognizes that deciding what to evaluate is a complex negotiation process that involves the methodological predisposition of the evaluator and the client, client needs, the nature of the program and the constraints surrounding the evaluation. It outlines five models that characterize different methodological approaches and considers how each may contribute to the focusing process. The text provides advice on how and what type of information to collect from clients, how to clarify and prioritize evaluation concerns, and how to formulate a plan matching evaluation concerns with data collection procedures within cost constraints.

Introduces the reader to qualitative approaches--a major development in the field of evaluation during the last decade. This volume presents an introduction to the approach--differentiates it in the method and philosophy from more traditional quantitative methods; specifies the kinds of evaluation questions for which it is most appropriate; and explains the design decisions and sampling strategies which underlie its implementation. Step-by-step guides for planning and conducting fieldwork and observations; doing in-depth interviewing; analyzing, interpreting and reporting results; and many examples--from a wide range of disciplines and professions--clarify the use of qualitative methods in evaluations.

The "CSE Program Evaluation Kit" is a series of nine books intended to assist people conducting program evaluations. This volume, fifth in the kit, discusses the role and importance of implementation evaluation and presents methods for designing, using, and reporting the results using assessment instruments to describe accurately how a program looks in operation. Step-by-step guides are provided for program records, observations, and self-reports. The following chapters are included: (1) "Assessing Program Implementation: An Overview"; (2) "Initial Planning: Deciding What To Measure"; (3) "Planning for Data Collection"; (4) "Methods for Assessing Program Implementation: Program Records"; (5) "Methods for Assessing Program Implementation: Questionnaires and Interviews"; (6)"Methods for Assessing Program Implementation: Observations"; and (7) "Summarizing, Analyzing, and Reporting Your Data." An appendix contains questions for an implementation evaluation. (Contains 8 tables, 15 figures, and 10 references.) (SLD)