Developing the Evaluation Plan

This section of the process guide will cover the development of the evaluation plan. A good evaluation plan is a written document that:

• spells out exactly what the state is trying to accomplish, including the impact of the SSIP activities on the SIMR and other key outcomes such as changes to infrastructure and practice (i.e., intended short-term, intermediate, and long-term outcomes at each level of the system relative to strategies, activities, timelines and ranked priorities);
• outlines how the state will measure the intended outcomes and identifies the best way to capture the most relevant information (i.e., meaningful performance indicators, targeted evaluation questions, and specific data collection methods) that will enable staff to:
  1. determine whether activities are on the right track;
  2. make mid-course corrections to improve the implementation of activities; and
  3. determine the degree to which intended outcomes were achieved;
• provides opportunities to critically examine the extent to which implemented activities and strategies are functioning as intended and may guide mid-course corrections to implementation processes and activities; and
• provides opportunities for reporting and dissemination that address the question of whether or not what has been accomplished is what was intended.

Stakeholder involvement is critical to all aspects of the SSIP process. Accordingly, state leaders need to use purposeful strategies to meaningfully engage those stakeholders. Evaluation is no exception. One way to ensure the relevance and usefulness of an evaluation is to include the perspectives and insights of as many individuals, groups, and other stakeholders as possible throughout the evaluation planning process. Engaging a wide range of stakeholders in each step of the evaluation planning process also provides opportunities to address questions, explore assumptions, and develop a shared understanding of what the evaluation will address and the findings it is expected to produce. Indeed, meaningful engagement of stakeholders can take a variety of forms. Sometimes stakeholder involvement is limited to reviewing or reacting to a draft of the evaluation plan, while in other cases, it is actually developing the evaluation plan alongside states.

Many resources exist related to evaluation. IDC developed A Guide to SSIP Evaluation Planning which includes worksheets to guide users through the evaluation process. Three other key resources that TA staff found useful in understanding all steps of evaluation were:

• The Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation, 2^nd Edition
• We Did It Ourselves: An Evaluation Guidebook
• Taking Stock: A Practical Guide to Evaluating Your Own Programs

Evaluations can be presented in many different ways, with varying terms and components. The following steps show one way to conceptualize the steps involved in developing an evaluation plan.