We all have our workplans, and in an ideal world, we would complete all activities by the assigned due date without incident. However, we are all painfully aware that we do not live in a perfect world, and oftentimes things do not go according to plan. What do we do then? In this article, we explore some real-life situations in which things did not go according to plan and how some evaluators have handled it.
Like any new relationship, when an external evaluator takes on a new project, there will be an adjustment period as everyone gets to know each other. This may be especially true if the project is new to CTCP-funded work. Below are some considerations to consider to foster a successful partnership with them.
If possible, the evaluator and newly funded project should build more time into the contract for meetings with project staff. This may include meetings with project staff and their CTCP Project Coordinator (PC). There are multiple reasons why this is important:
Even in years not dominated by a global pandemic, our plans do not always go the way we’d like.
In tobacco control, that might look like a key decision maker opposing a policy we’d hoped to pass, or a survey failing to yield helpful data. Sometimes the plans that need to change are our literal evaluation plans. And sometimes the events we look forward to attending all year pivot completely.
On Thursday, June 25, TCEC facilitated the second of two group TA sessions with our partners around the state to discuss the challenges and resources for conducting evaluation activities during the shelter in place and COVID-19 environment. Together we shared some tips and support to help get through this together.
On Thursday, June 4, TCEC facilitated a group TA session with our partners around the state to discuss the challenges and resources for conducting evaluation activities during the shelter in place and COVID-19 environment. Together we shared some tips and support to help get through this together.
Every August, the Claremont Evaluation Center (CEC) at Claremont Graduate University offers a series of professional development courses, which introduce several topics related to evaluation.
When it comes to public health programs, evaluation is a cyclical process of fine-tuning your programming to see what worked and what didn’t, to continually improve.
As you may have heard, TCEC is creating a collaborative space for tobacco control evaluation, where evaluation ideas can be shared. We are calling it The Evaluator Alliance (TEA).
