Evaluate

• What would success look like for community engagement, and how would we recognize it?
• What framework or pathway explains how activities are expected to lead to desired engagement outcomes? 
• How will activities and accomplishments be monitored over time?  
• How will we determine whether strategies and actions are effective? 
• How will evaluation findings be used for celebration, accountability, and improvement?
• How will an equity lens be applied to understand who is benefiting and where disparities persist? 

1. Describe the initiative’s framework or logic model that explains how activities are expected to lead to intended outcomes. Include information about:
   • The purpose or mission of the effort, including the problem or goal being addressed. 
   • The context or conditions in which the effort takes place and any factors that may influence outcomes.
   • Key inputs, including available resources and existing barriers such as time, funding, capacity, or structural inequities.
   • Planned activities or interventions or what the initiative will do to effect change and improvement.
   • Outputs or direct evidence of implementation of activities.
   • Intended effects or outcomes
     • Short-term (e.g., organizational and systems changes)
     • Intermediate (e.g., changes in behavior)
     • Longer-term (e.g., improvement in outcomes; reduced inequities)
2.  Focus evaluation questions and methods by identifying:
   • What information is important to stakeholders? 
   • What methods will be used to evaluate the effects of the initiative (monitoring systems, surveys, interviews)? 
   • What indicators will be used to assess the progress and success of the community effort? The indicators should match the evaluation questions. 
3. Outline and implement the evaluation plan that describes:
   • How you will involve all stakeholders (i.e., including those most affected) in identifying indicators of success, documenting evidence of progress, and interpreting findings. 
   • How you will track implementation of the intervention.
   • How you will assess ongoing changes in specific objectives and outcomes (e.g., indicators; inequities).
4. Make sense of the data and justify conclusions by engaging stakeholders in: 
   • Sensemaking and interpretation – How will we engage those responsible, and those most affected, in making sense of the data (i.e., what we are seeing, what it means)? How will we use the information to help answer the evaluation questions?
   • Judgments - statements of worth or merit of the initiative. How will we communicate what the findings suggest about the value added by the effort?
   • Recommendations – How will we identify recommendations based on the results of the evaluation?
5.  Use the information from the evaluation, including to:
   • Celebrate accomplishments
   • Adjust activities and interventions
   • Communicate lessons learned to stakeholders and relevant audiences

Explore these resources from the Community Tool Box.

Document your community engagement efforts in the OCI Community Check Box Evaluation System (requires login).