Internal Evaluation: |
Description: Internal evaluations are conducted by an organization's own staff members rather than by outside evaluators. Internal evaluators have the enormous advantage of an insider's knowledge so they can rapidly focus evaluations on areas managers and staff know are important, develop systems that spot problems before they occur, constantly evaluate ways to improve service delivery processes, strengthen accountability for results, and build organizational learning that empowers staff and program participants alike. This course begins with the fundamentals of designing and managing effective internal evaluation, including an examination of internal evaluation with its advantages and disadvantages, understanding internal evaluation within the organizational context, recognizing both positive and potentially negative roles for internal evaluators, defining the tasks of managers and evaluators, identifying the major steps in the internal evaluation process, strategies for selecting the right internal evaluation tools, and key methods for making information essential for decision making available to management, staff, board members, and program participants. The second day will focus on practical ways of designing and managing internal evaluations that make a difference, including: methods for reducing the potential for bias and threats to validity, practical steps for organizing the internal evaluation function, outlining the specific skills the internal evaluator needs, strategies to build internal evaluation capacity in your organization, and ways for building links between internal evaluation and organizational development. Teaching will be interactive, combining presentations with opportunities for participation and discussion. Time will be set aside on the second day for an in-depth discussion of key issues and concerns raised by participants. The instructor's book on Internal Evaluation: Building Organizations from Within (Sage) is provided with other resource materials. Instructor: Dr. Arnold Love is an internationally-recognized independent consultant based in Toronto, Canada, with more than 25 years of experience in evaluation. He is author of a chapter on internal evaluation in Encyclopedia of Program Evaluation (Sage, 2004), Internal Evaluation: Building Organizations from Within (Sage, 1991), and a chapter on implementation analysis for the new edition of The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation (Jossey-Bass, 2004). Dr. Love is editor of the Canadian Evaluation Society's Evaluation Methods Sourcebook Series and of special issues of New Directions for Program Evaluation and the Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation. He received his PhD from University of Waterloo; has taught program evaluation at the National Centre for Nonprofit Management at York University and at the Centre for Innovative Management at Athabasca University. He served a 2-year term as President of the Canadian Evaluation Society. In 1996, he recieved the CES National Award for Distinguished Contribution to Evaluation in Canada and in 2005, he was made a Fellow of the CES. The American Evaluation Association recognized Dr. Love in 1998 for his contributions to building a worldwide evaluation community and in 2005 for his service to AEA . He is a member of the Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Audit Committee of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Fee: $795 |
