Which Can Be Accomplished by Systematic Tracking

Program evaluation is one of ten essential public health services [8] and a critical organizational practice in public health. [9] Until recently, however, there has been little agreement among public health officials on the principles and procedures for conducting such studies. In 1999, CDC published Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health and some related recommendations. [10] The Framework, as depicted in Figure 1.1, defined six steps and four sets of standards for conducting good evaluations of public health programs.

The underlying logic of the Evaluation Framework is that good evaluation does not merely gather accurate evidence and draw valid conclusions, but produces results that are used to make a difference. To maximize the chances evaluation results will be used, you need to create a "market" before you create the "product"—the evaluation. You determine the market by focusing evaluations on questions that are most salient, relevant, and important. You ensure the best evaluation focus by understanding where the questions fit into the full landscape of your program description, and especially by ensuring that you have identified and engaged stakeholders who care about these questions and want to take action on the results.

The steps in the CDC Framework are informed by a set of standards for evaluation. [11] These standards do not constitute a way to do evaluation; rather, they serve to guide your choice from among the many options available at each step in the Framework. The 30 standards cluster into four groups:

Utility: Who needs the evaluation results? Will the evaluation provide relevant information in a timely manner for them?

Feasibility: Are the planned evaluation activities realistic given the time, resources, and expertise at hand?

Propriety: Does the evaluation protect the rights of individuals and protect the welfare of those involved? Does it engage those most directly affected by the program and changes in the program, such as participants or the surrounding community?

Accuracy: Will the evaluation produce findings that are valid and reliable, given the needs of those who will use the results?

Sometimes the standards broaden your exploration of choices. Often, they help reduce the options at each step to a manageable number. For example, in the step "Engaging Stakeholders," the standards can help you think broadly about who constitutes a stakeholder for your program, but simultaneously can reduce the potential list to a manageable number by posing the following questions: (Utility) Who will use these results? (Feasibility) How much time and effort can be devoted to stakeholder engagement? (Propriety) To be ethical, which stakeholders need to be consulted, those served by the program or the community in which it operates? (Accuracy) How broadly do you need to engage stakeholders to paint an accurate picture of this program?

Similarly, there are unlimited ways to gather credible evidence (Step 4). Asking these same kinds of questions as you approach evidence gathering will help identify ones what will be most useful, feasible, proper, and accurate for this evaluation at this time. Thus, the CDC Framework approach supports the fundamental insight that there is no such thing as the right program evaluation. Rather, over the life of a program, any number of evaluations may be appropriate, depending on the situation.

Which Can Be Accomplished by Systematic Tracking

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/eval/guide/introduction/index.htm