This page presents a number of evaluation tools that vary in complexity. Some are brief, easy to read and understand, and even people who are new to evaluation will be able to use them. Others are much more complex and require an advanced understanding of evaluation concepts. If you have a question on a tool, please contact us, or the author of the tool, for additional assistance.

Social Policy Research Associates - Time Required for Evaluation
Time Required for Evaluation Worksheet (PDF)
This is a worksheet regarding time requirements for evaluation by SPR for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development adapted from Paul W. Mattisch's The Manager's Guide to Program Evaluation, Wilder Research Center.

Social Policy Research Associates - Taking Stock of Existing Data
Taking Stock of Existing Data Worksheet (PDF)
This is a worksheet developed by SPR for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development to help you understand what data you currently have and what data you will need to collect.

The information in this section was adapted from Social Policy Research Associates' Evaluation and Civic Activism Curriculum, Module 1, created for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Evaluation Planning through the Practitioner Database.

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2: Tools for Vision, Mission, and Values:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiatives. This activity from the tool kit helps organizations verify that activities and outcomes are in line with the organization's stated mission and goals.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Building Community:
A Toolkit for Charting Assets and Creating Change
Visioning and Planning section (PDF)
This tool is for use in community development efforts to create a shared vision of the future among the people of the community. The tool includes content for planning and facilitating a shared vision. While focused on community development efforts, many of the exercises can be adapted for nonprofit organizations. Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org.

The Grantsmanship Center:
How to Write a Mission Statement by Janel M. Radtke
This article offers advice for how to write a new mission statement or revise an exiting mission statement. It also gives examples of organizations that follow the suggested framework for organizations.

Also see http://www.tgci.com.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Vision, Mission, and Values through the Practitioner Database.

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3: Tools and Resources for Developing Theories of Change and Logic Models:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. These pages from the tool kit are from a section designed to help organizations develop, understand, and share their theory of change.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org.

Templates for Creating a Theory of Change and Logic Model
Tutoring Plus PowerPoint
This document provides templates for creating a Theory of Change and Logic Model for your program. Using the Tutoring Plus program of Cambridge as an example, the presentation offers instructions for how to undergo the process with your own program.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation - Logic Model Development Guide
Logic Model Development Guide (PDF)
This 72-page document from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation offers a comprehensive resource for community based organizations interested in creating a theory of change and a logic model. The guide walks users step-by-step through the process and includes a wide variety of examples, practical tools, and checklists for each step of the process.

University of Wisconsin - Extension
Logic Model
This website has an example of a logic model and as well tools for creating a logic model in PDF, Word and Excel formats. These tools, which come with instructions, can be downloaded and used for your organization.

University of Arizona
Developing a Theory-of-Change Logic Model For Your Program (PDF)
This 8 page document from the University of Arizona, based on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation model, has templates and instructions for creating a logic model.

Out of School Time @ Harvard Family Research Project (www.hfrp.org) Resources and Publication: Learning From Logic Models in Out-of-School Time
Learning From Logic Models in Out-of-School Time
The logic model worksheet (PDF)
The first link provides a brief primer on logic models from Harvard Family Research Project while the second link offers a worksheet that youth development organizations can use to create their own logic models. Additional information about evaluation from Harvard Family Research Project can also be gotten by subscribing for free to The Evaluation Exchange at http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/subscribe.html

THEORYOFCHANGE.ORG
THEORYOFCHANGE.ORG
This website from the Aspen Institute has a variety of information about creating theories of change. The websites offers an overview of what a theory of change is, their own method for creating theories of change, information about trainings and technical assistance, and materials for program practitioners.

Blank Logic Model
Blank Logic Model (PDF)
This worksheet developed by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development is a blank logic model that can be filled in by your organization for creating your own logic model.

Generating Evaluation Questions
Introduction to Evaluation (PDF)
This worksheet adapted by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development is a downloadable form for generating evaluation questions regarding context, implementation, and outcomes.

Making Evaluation Integral to Your Asset-Building Initiative: Employing a Theory of Action and Change
http://www.search-institute.org/research/knowledge/MakingEvaluationIntegral.html
This article by William Mesaros, Ph.D., Director of Field Research, Search Institute stresses the importance of a Theory of Change and gives several examples of them.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools and Resources for Developing Theories of Change and Logic Models through the Practitioner Database.

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4: Tools for creating Indicators and Benchmarks:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. This activity is designed to help organizations who have committed to an evaluation plan begin their work on this plan by identifying indicators and standards.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

How to Recognize Quality Youth Programs

How to Recognize Quality Youth Programs

A recent study commissioned by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health recommends benchmarks for quality youth programs. The two-year study, conducted by Public/Private Ventures, assessed one of the Foundation's grantmaking programs, which funds services to promote the emotional and behavioral health of preteens.

Below are tools that you can use for creating indicators and benchmarks for your program as well as websites that offer a wide variety of child, family, and community indicators:

Educator's Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms
Educator's Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms
Designed for use in educational settings, this guide can be expanded for community-based organizations interested in creating their own indicators. It includes a worksheet that you can print in order to develop indicators for your program by walking through the steps of goals, indicators, benchmarks, and measures.

Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension Program Evaluation Tip Sheet #10
Writing Program Objectives (PDF)
This tip sheet offers 6 steps to writing program objectives, from which indicators and measures can be derived. Although geared toward agricultural programs, the tip sheet can be extended to all community-based programs.

Federal Interagency Forum of Child and Family Statistics
ChildStats.gov
This web site of the Federal Interagency Forum of Child and Family Statistics offers access to federal and state indicators on children and their families. Examples of indicators include population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education.

Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count
Kids Count
This website provides national and state by state indicators for the status of child well-being in the United States. The website also includes some international comparisons.

Child Trends DataBank
Child Trends DataBank
This website from Child Trends has over 80 indicators of child well-being including health, social and emotional development, demographics, and family and community. Indicators are offered at the state and local, national, and international levels.

United States Census Bureau
U.S. Census Bureau
The census bureau has a wide variety of national indicators at the national, state, and county levels.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for creating Indicators and Benchmarks through the Practitioner Database.

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5&6: Tools for Data Collection and Methods:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. The resources in this section of the tool kit are designed to help organizations examine various methods for collecting data and, upon determining the questions they wish to answer, help them choose the most appropriate data collection method to use.

Also see http://theinnovationcenter.org

Overview of Methods to Collect Information by Carter McNamara, PhD; last revision Feb 16, 1998)

This table provides an overview of the major methods used for collecting data during evaluation.

List of Survey Methods

This list, created by Gene Shackman, Applied Sociologist and partially supported by the International Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication includes a list of scholarly resources for methods in evaluation and Social Resources.

SPR Tools for Data Collection Methods

These tools offer guidance for collecting data using different methods including document review, interviews, and focus groups. They were created and/or adapted by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development.

Shelterforce Online
Getting at Impact: A Beginners Guide
This article "Getting at Impact: A Beginner's Guide" written by Dr. Paul Clements from Western Michigan University gives information on how to measure program impact as well as a link to information about collecting data.

Observations: An Underused Method to Collect Data
Program Evaluation Tipsheet #37 (PDF)
This Evaluation Tip Sheet created by Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension gives information about conducting observations as an evaluation method.

A Field Guide for Designing Quantitative Instruments to Measure Program Impact
A Field Guide for Designing Quantitative Instruments to Measure Program Impact (PDF)
This guide developed by Dr. Susan Barkman offers guidance for developing quantitative survey instruments for use in evaluation.

On-line Survey Development
Online Survey Tools (PDF)
This document from NPowerNY offers guidance for nonprofits interested in using technology to create surveys. The author reviews 8 different online survey creation tools as well as offering information about what online surveys are and how to use them.

SPR Evaluation Consent Form
The Evaluation Consent Form (PDF)
This worksheet created by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development presents guidelines for developing consent forms for data collection.

Creating Valid Answer Categories
Program Evaluation Tipsheet #59 (PDF)
This evaluation tip sheet created by Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension gives tips and examples for creating answer categories for close-ended survey questions.

Project Star: Data Collection
Common Data Collection Methods (PDF)
Collecting Performance Measurement Data (PDF)
These worksheets from Project STAR, a Corporation for National and Community Service sponsored technical assistance provider in performance measurement, offers information and tips for data collection, including information on various methods for data collection.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook (PDF)
This document from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a guide for non-profit organizations interested in conducing self-evaluations. Information about data collection methods and implementation begins on page 69.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Data Collection and Methods through the Practitioner Database.

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7: Tools for Analyzing Data:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. These resources are designed to help an organization overcome the "analysis roadblock" that keeps large quantitiesof collected data from being fully analyzed.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

Analyzing and Interpreting Information (Carter McNamara, PHD; last revision: Feb 16, 1998)

Analyzing and Interpreting Information (Carter McNamara, PHD; last revision: Feb 16, 1998)

This list from Carter McNamara, PhD explores certain basics which can help to make sense of reams of data.

Analyzing Knowledge Gain Using Excel
Analyzing Knowledge Gain Using Excel (PDF)
Analyzing Before-After Data Using Excel (PDF)
These Evaluation Tip Sheets created by Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension gives detailed information and examples about using Excel to analyze data.

Calculating Frequency and Percent Distribution
The Calculation Worksheet (PDF)
This worksheet developed by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development gives a sample for how to calculate frequencies and percent distributions based on evaluation data.

Project Star: Data Analysis
Analyzing Performance Measurement Data (PDF)
This report from Project STAR, a Corporation for National and Community Service sponsored technical assistance provider in performance measurement, offers information and tips for data analysis, including tips for data planning, cleaning, and analysis.

Making Sense of Answers to Open-Ended Questions
10 Steps to Make Sense of Answers to Open-Ended Questions (PDF)
This tip sheet from University of Wisconsin Extension offers tips for analyzing data from open-ended, qualitative questions.

There is also a wide range of websites for more advanced statistical analysis programs. These programs all require some knowledge of basic statistics, and others are more advanced. They are listed here for people who are very comfortable with statistics.

General Data Analysis Programs:
SPSS
http://www.spss.com

SYSTAT
http://www.systat.com

SAS
http://www.sas.com

S-PLUS
http://www.insightful.com/products/splus

Additional Software Packages:
http://www.statsci.org/free.html

UCLA Academic Technology Services
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/mult_pkg/whatstat/default.htm
For those with advanced statistical knowledge, this webpage offers advice on what statistical test to run and gives instructions for using various software packages for

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Analyzing Data through the Practitioner Database.

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8: Tools for Sharing Findings:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. This section is designed to help an organization in considering the appropriate communication plan for an evaluation project.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

Creating Charts in Excel
How Can I Make a Pie Chart in Excel to Report Data? (PDF)
This Evaluation Tip Sheet created by Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension gives instructions for creating charts in Excel, for use in presenting evaluation data.

Writing Impact Statements
How to Use Evaluation Data to Write Different Types of Impact Statements (PDF)
This Evaluation Tip Sheet created by Pennsylvania State Cooperative Extension offers guidance for writing impact statements depending on the audience. Examples are given for impact statements useful to modifying the program, and others useful for presenting to stakeholders.

Project Star: Writing a Good Success Story
Writing a Good Success Story (PDF)
Reporting Checklist (PDF)
These worksheets from Project STAR, a Corporation for National and Community Service sponsored technical assistance provider in performance measurement, offers tips for writing your evaluation results completely and effectively.

Basics of Good Evaluation Reporting
Basics of Good Evaluation Reporting (PDF)
This tip sheet from the University of Wisconsin - Extension offers tips for creating effective evaluation reports.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Sharing Findings through the Practitioner Database.

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9: Tools for Modifying Practice:

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development - Reflect and Improve: A Toolkit for Engaging Youth and Adults as Partners in Program Evaluation

The Reflect and Improve tool kit is a resource for community-based organizations looking to engage youth and adults in the evaluation of community and youth development initiative. This activity is designed to help stakeholder groups set targets, create action plans, and identify time frames for reaching goals.

Also see http://www.theinnovationcenter.org

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development- Building Community:
A Toolkit for Charting Assets amd Creating Change- Turning Vision into Action section (PDF)
This part of the Building Community Toolkit will help your organization through visioning and planning for the future.

SPR Modify Practice Tool
SPR Modify Practice PowerPoint
This tool that was created and/or adapted by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development offers some tips for setting program targets and commitments as well as a worksheet that your organization can fill out.

SPR Strategic Planning Table
SPR Planning Worksheet (PDF)
This worksheet developed by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development offers your program the opportunity to fill-in goals and next steps for modifying practice based on evaluation results.

SPR Action Plan
Action Plan worksheet (PDF)
This is a blank worksheet developed by Social Policy Research Associates for Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development which allows you to fill in commitments to changing practice based on evaluation results, as well as the resources you will need to enact those changes.

Connect with others

Talk with others in the field who are doing similar work or who have experiences to share. Share your experiences in Tools for Modifying Practice through the Practioner Database

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