The term evaluation is described as the systematic investigation of an effort’s merit, worth, or significance. Program evaluation is an essential organizational practice that provides a way to assess specific projects and activities. For example, a direct service program providing evidence-based substance abuse prevention programming makes for an excellent opportunity for an evaluation. But what happens after you perform that evaluation and your program is not as effective as you had hoped?
It might be time to explore a program pivot by reassessing, reorganizing, planning, and executing an updated strategy to address the challenges discovered in your program evaluation.
Program Goals & Strategies
Reassessing your program post-evaluation allows one to consider who your organization wants to be beyond an ineffective program strategy. This process may include revisiting your original strategy and looking for actions that yield the desired outcomes. Your program priorities may have changed based on conclusions discovered in the evaluation process. Consequently, this may require new indicators and a different program delivery plan.
The evaluation process involves collecting and analyzing information about a program’s activities, characteristics, and expected outcomes. Its purpose is to judge a program, improve its effectiveness, and inform programming decisions. With this information, you may need to reorganize. Now that you’ve figured out which program components are important to salvage, change or adapt, it’s critical to remain focused on each task associated with improving your program outcomes one at a time, starting with the most important ones first.
Helpful Hints Along the Way
- Triage— Evaluate the RISK of doing nothing, and decide on your overall plan to move forward with the necessary changes to your program to achieve desired goals and objectives.
- Time Management— Develop a schedule and calendar task associated with the reorganizing process.
What’s Your Plan for the Pivot?
There’s an old saying by Benjamin Franklin, “If You Fail To Plan, You Are Planning To Fail.” Program planning Is a crucial component to program success. It’s a broad valuable strategy for making goals more powerful and attainable. There are moments in the program design process when you may need to pivot to make a change in direction. Facilitating a program evaluation process keeps your organization laser-like focused, connected, and grounded in your agency’s vision. Starting this process off where you want to succeed and developing a new strategy with achievable actions is a step towards reaching your programmatic goals.
Final Thoughts…
Lastly, once you’ve completed the thoughtful process of reassessing, reorganizing, and planning, it’s time to execute! Work to follow your new evaluation plan and take the necessary action steps to achieve your goals. During this journey, you will likely come across feelings of procrastination, fear, and doubt. Remain confident that the tedious work associated with program evaluation yields the results needed for program success.
