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Coalitions have worked hard to develop a plan and implement it. To help ensure success the Evaluate phase is an essential component. Coalitions may feel this phase is not necessary because they used "best practices" or recommended interventions. Coalitions may fail to realize that a program may be successful in one part of the United States or with one target audience but it may not be successful in their community or target audience. The only true way to determine success is to Evaluate.

Another reason coalitions fail to evaluate is because many believe evaluation is costly but in all reality, it doesn't have to be. The room, handouts, and speaker(s)' time for presentations all have associated cost money whether they be direct or in-kind. A one-page survey or a simple spreadsheet will cost pennies compared with benefits and information received from the evaluation.

The evaluation phase is a tool that helps the coalition keep the plan up to date and ensure it is a living document rather than a plan that sits on the shelf.

Areas of Focus during this phase:

1) Process evaluation is assuring that you are doing what you said you were going to do in the way you planned to do it and in the time frame you projected. In the simplest form, the question you are asking yourself is " Did we accomplish what we intended to accomplish as stated in the work plan? ".

Process evaluation may include the following indicators:

• Number of partnerships maintained and/or added.
• Number of participants at a certain activity.
• Number of brochures distributed.
• Number of training sessions provided.
• Number of activities listed in the plan that were actually implemented.
• This can be used to figure the percentage of completed activities.

2) Impact evaluation is what effect the decisions, activities, and procedures had on reaching long-term goals. In the simplest form, the question you are asking yourself is " Did we change behavior in the community relative to the identified problem?"

Impact evaluation may include the following indicators:

• Number of people/organizations who now have the desired behavior.
• 4 restaurants in city XYZ are now smoke free establishments.
• Long term changes in the health status of the population.
• Percentage of community members who are physically inactive has dropped by 10%.

What to look for when...

• The coalition has an evaluation plan:
• The coalition knows if the target audience was reached.
• The coalition understands why a program was or was not successful.
• Communication has improved amongst partners.
• The coalition does not have an evaluation plan:
• Unable to determine if long-term goals were achieved.
• No way to assess what skills or new information participants gained from various programs.
• Hard to tell if policy or environmental changes occurred.

Evaluate Conclusion:

The Evaluate phase is a way for the coalition to measure their success; did all activities/programs/events have any effect on the chosen health problem?.

It is important to remember that evaluation needs to occur at every step to assure readiness to move forward.

Evaluate Tools:

Evaluation Steps:

www.evaluationinstitute.org

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Center for Disease Control: Evaluation Working Group:
- http://www.cdc.gov/eval/

Community Tool Box: Chapter 36 Introduction to Evaluation
http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/chapter_1036.htm
Section 1: A Framework for Program Evaluation
Section 5: Developing an Evaluation Plan

National Center for Injury Control: "Demonstrating your program's work".
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/demonstr.htm
A primer on evaluation for programs to prevent unintentional injuries.

Practical Evaluation of Public Health Programs
- http://www2.cdc.gov/phtn/Pract-Eval/workbook.asp

Program Development and Evaluation
- http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/index.html