Leadership, Management and Workforce Development
Pre Conference - 120 Minutes
Debra Dekker, PhD
Director of Evaluation
NACCHO
Kellie Hall, BA
Senior Research and Evaluation Specialist
NACCHO
Kari O'Donnell, MA
Doctoral Student
Case Western Reserve University
Partnerships and coalitions can be a force for positive change in communities. Whether they are forming, storming, norming, coordinating, cooperating, or collaborating, how do you know when your partnership is effective? Partnerships change over time as the needs of members and communities change. Developing and implementing an evaluation plan is critical to monitor progress and outcomes of partnerships.
This interactive workshop is geared toward individuals with little to no knowledge of program evaluation, and will share basic evaluation principles to help attendees build an awareness and appreciation of evaluation. Although evaluating partnerships will be the focus of this workshop, participants will also discuss principles and techniques that can be applied to almost any program evaluation. Using real-life examples from public health, attendees will learn best practices in assessing process and outcome measures to report the value of their work and, ultimately, the effectiveness of the partnership.
National Association of County and City Health Officials staff evaluators will introduce the concepts of program evaluation through short presentations highlighting how to design and plan an evaluation and disseminate program results to various audiences. Participants will be given multiple scenarios and allowed free time to work individually or in small groups to practice their new skills.
At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will have (1) an appreciation for evaluating programs that are implemented through the work of partnerships; (2) a better understanding of the importance of evaluation and dissemination of results; and (3) coaching from seasoned evaluators familiar with evaluating public health programs at local health departments.