Evaluating Educational and Social Programs, 1987 Guidelines for Proposal Review, Onsite Evaluation, Evaluation Contracts, and Technical Assistance Evaluation in Education and Human Services Series, Vol. 15

During the past two decades, evaluation has come to play an increasingly important role in the operation of educational and social programs by national, state, and local agencies. Mandates by federal funding agencies that programs they sponsored be evaluated gave impetus to use of evaluation. Realization that evaluation plays a pivotal role in assuring program quality and effectiveness has maintained the use of evaluation even where mandates have been relaxed. With increased use --indeed institutionalization --of evaluation in many community, state, and national agencies, evaluation has matured as a profession, and new evaluation approaches have been developed to aid in program planning, implementation, monitoring, and improvement. Much has been written about various philosophical and theoretical orientations to evaluation, its relationship to program management, appropriate roles evaluation might play, new and sometimes esoteric evaluation methods, and particular evaluation techniques. Useful as these writings are, relatively little has been written about simple but enormously important activities which comprise much of the day-to-day work of the program evaluator. This book is focused on some of these more practical aspects that largely determine the extent to which evaluation will prove helpful.

1: Introduction.- Purpose and Organization of This Book.- Description of Programs Upon Which This Book is Based.- Relevance of the Examples Used in This Book to Other Programs.- Section I: Proposal Review Guidelines and Instruments.- 2: Strategies for Eliciting High-Quality Proposals.- The Proposal Solicitation.- Model Proposals.- Exhibits for Chapter 2.- 3: Preparing for the Proposal Review.- Selection of Reviewers.- Structuring Review Panels.- Assigning Proposals to Review Teams.- Professional Standards for Reviewers.- Controlling Bias.- Preparation of Proposals for Review.- Development of Review Instruments and Materials.- Exhibits for Chapter 3.- 4: Conducting the Proposal Review Process and Presenting the Results.- Coordination and Support.- Individual Rating of Proposals.- Team Ratings of Proposals.- Presentation of Proposal Review Results.- Exhibits for Chapter 4.- Section II: Onsite Evaluation Guidelines and Procedures.- 5: Uses and Functions of Onsite Evaluations.- Using Onsite Evaluation to Improve Educational Programs.- Mandated Onsite Evaluations.- Formative versus Summative Onsite Evaluations.- Program and Financial Onsite Audits.- Considerations in Using Onsite Evaluations.- 6: Considerations and Activities Preceding the Onsite Visit.- Focusing the Onsite Evaluation.- Developing Evaluation Questions.- Development of Onsite Evaluation Instruments.- Selection of the Onsite Team Leader.- Selection of Onsite Team Members.- Composition and Balance of the Onsite Team.- Recruiting Persons to Serve on Onsite Teams.- Pre-visit Arrangements.- Exhibits for Chapter 6.- 7: Conducting, Reporting and Evaluating Onsite Evaluation Activities.- Conducting Onsite Evaluations.- Reporting the Results of Onsite Evaluation Visits.- Evaluation of Onsite Evaluations.- Stipend and Expense Considerations.- Exhibits for Chapter 7.- Section III: Technical Assistance for Funded Projects.- 8: Organizing a Technical Assistance System.- Alternative Arrangements for Obtaining Technical Assistance Services.- Developing Guidelines for Technical Assistance Services.- Identifying and Maintaining a Pool of Qualified Technical Assistance Personnel.- Exhibits for Chapter 8.- 9: Providing Technical Assistance.- Encouraging the Use of Available Technical Assistance.- Keeping Track of Requests for Assistance.- Technical Assistance Delivery.- Using Model Materials to Support Technical Assistance.- Evaluation of Technical Assistance Services and Systems.- Exhibits for Chapter 9.- Section IV: Establishing Evaluation Agreements and Contracts.- 10: Basic Considerations in Establishing Evaluation Contracts and Agreements.- Beneficiaries of Evaluation Contracts and Agreements.- Choosing Among Different Types of Evaluation Agreements.- Selecting the Issues and Items to be Included in an Evaluation Agreement or Contract.- 11: Negotiating and Monitoring Evaluation Contracts and Agreements.- Negotiating an Evaluation Agreement.- Monitoring the Implementation of an Evaluation Contract.- Exhibits for Chapter 11.- References.