Options

General accessibility

• Applied graphic design principles
• One-Three-Twenty-Five (1:3:25) principle: ensuring that research findings are presented in a logical and consistent manner by allowing for a 1 page outline, a 3 page executive summary and 25 pages to present the findings and methodology.
• Plain language: Plain English is a clear and concise writing style that ensures accessibility to the information for all stakeholders.
• Chartjunk elimination: Removing visual elements that don't contribute to the main message.
• Descriptive chart titles: Particularly when graphs must standalone, without the assistance of the evaluation to help interpret them, descriptive subtitles in the chart can point out the key take away points for the reader.
• Emphasis techniques: Visual techniques to draw attention to certain bits of information.
• Headings as summary statements: Engage readers through making headings of the report summary statements. 

Specific accessibility barriers

• Colour blind audience: Difficulty distinguishing between different colour wavelengths.
• Low vision and blind audience: Vision impairments which make reading documents difficult or impossible. 

Download a summary of the tasks, options, and approaches associated with reporting and supporting use of findings.

Some evaluators work closely with cartoonists and commission specific illustrations. Other evaluators use stock images that are available on the web. You can also create your own cartoons using a range of readily available software. Consider how you want to include the right images for your report.

Cartoon images can be used by evaluators to an understanding of program impact, scenes of program implementation, main findings or issues. Advantages of using cartoons are communicating with low-level readers, bridging language barriers, and stimulating dialogue and reflection among stakeholders about the findings illustrated.

Example

Do you have an example of where this option has been used?

Click on Contribute Content or Contact Us to share your example of this option.

Advice

Advice for CHOOSING this option (tips and traps)

• Provide advice to the evaluators on the organizational context and receptivity of your institution to cartoons. 

Advice for USING this option (tips and traps)

• Some audiences may not value cartoons. Ensure that your audience sees this form of communication as credible prior to developing cartoons lest this detracts from the evaluation report and findings. Test the cultural appropriateness of cartoons with your audience.
• Consider keeping a file of images for use in other contexts. 

Resources

Tools

• Toonlet: This web-based application makes it possible to draw cartoons, by creating characters and then placing them into the panels of a cartoon with appropriate text.
• Evaluation cartoons and comics: This website provides a range of 'stock' cartoons on the evaluation theme.

Sources

Torres, R., Preskill, H., & Piontek, M. E. (2005).Evaluation strategies for communicating and reporting, enhancing learning in organizations. (Second ed.). Sage. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book225545

Besides the primary intended users (identified as part of framing the evaluation), your findings can be communicated to others for different reasons. For example, lessons learned from the evaluation can be helpful to other evaluators or project staff working in the same field; or it may be worthwhile remolding some of the findings into articles or stories to attract wider attention to an organisations' work, or to spread news about a particular situation.

You will share the findings of the evaluation with the primary intended users and also other evaluation stakeholders.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking of sharing evaluation findings through a report. Although a final evaluation report is important it is not the only way to distribute findings. Depending on your audience and budget, it may be important to consider different ways of delivering evaluation findings:

• Presenting findings at staff forums and subject matter conferences
• Developing a short video version of findings
• Sharing findings on the organisation intra-net
• Sharing stories, pictures and drawings from the evaluation (depending on what options you have used to gather data)
• Creating large posters or infographics of findings for display
• Producing a series of short memos

Tasks

Tasks related to this component include:

1. Identify Reporting Requirements: 

Identify the primary intended stakeholders and determine their reporting needs, including their decision-making timelines. Develop a communication plan.

2. Develop Reporting Media

Produce the written, visual, and verbal products that represent the program and its evaluation according to the communication plan. Graphic design and data visualization can be applied to emphasize key pieces of content and increase primary intended user engagement.

3. Ensure Accessibility

Review the reporting products to make sure they are accessible for those who are colorblind, low-vision, or reliant on an audio reader.

4. Develop Recommendations

If part of the evaluation brief make recommendations, on the basis of the evaluation findings, about how the program can be improved, how the risk of program failure can be reduced or whether the program should continue.

5. Support Use

Communicate the findings and recommendations but don’t stop there. As primary intended users reflect on the evaluation, facilitate the review to gather their feedback and guide their interpretations. Plan ways and time to check in on progress toward improvement. Look for opportunities to share the unique aspects of the program and its evaluation to external audiences.

You Will Learn

• the role of reporting in good evaluation practice
• 3 principles for effectively communicating your evaluation results
• at least 3 alternatives to writing a final report.

Who Should Take this Webinar

Professional evaluators and individuals tasked with doing program evaluation in their organization. 

Extract

"Importance of Evaluation Reporting to Ensure Use 

There are various aspects of evaluation reporting that can afect how information is used. Stakeholder needs, the evaluation purpose, and target audience should be considered when communicating results. Evaluation reporting should not only identify what, when, how, and to what extent information should be shared but take into account how information might be received and used. 

In a 2006 survey of American Evaluation Association members, 68% self-reported that their evaluation results were not used. Findings such as this suggest a greater need for evaluation results to make it of the bookshelf and into the hands of intended audiences. Similarly in the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation, the “utility evaluation standard” charges evaluators to carry out evaluations that lead to actionable indings for intended users. This commitment to conducting evaluations that improve the lives of participants serves as the inspiration for this guide." (CDC 2013, 2).

Contents

• PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION GUIDES    1
• INTRODUCTION    2
  • Importance of Evaluation Reporting to Ensure Use    2
• KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR EFFECTIVELY REPORTING 
• EVALUATION FINDINGS    3
  • Engage Stakeholders    3
  • Revisit the Evaluation Purpose    4
  • Deine Your Target Audience    6
• MAKING EVALUATION REPORTS WORK FOR YOU    7
  • Types of Evaluation Reports    7
  • The Anatomy of a Report    10
• KEEPING IT OFF THE BOOKSHELF— 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DISSEMINATION    13
  • Step 1: Create a Dissemination Plan    13
  • Step 2: Identify a Person to Oversee the Dissemination Plan    14
  • Step 3: Know the Current Landscape    14
  • Step 4: Consider the Timing and Frequency    14
  • Step 5: Stay Involved    14
• CONCLUSION    15
• RESOURCES    16
• APPENDIX    17
  • Checklist for Evaluation Reporting: A Guide to Help Ensure Use of Evaluation Findings    17
• REFERENCES    18

Details

This eStudy is based upon the Results Based Management (RBM)  approach to programs/projects.  Therefore, it will review the initial needs assessment and program project design that informs the M&E planning, as well as the other stages of the project/program cycle and planning and their corresponding M&E activities (events).

Particular emphasis will be given to planning for data collection and management using an example M&E planning table for indicators and assumptions. The eStudy will walk through how to develop an M&E planning table that builds upon a project/program’s logframe to detail key M&E requirements for each indicator and assumption. Like the logframe, M&E planning tables are becoming common practice in both international and domestic programming – and with good reason. They not only make data collection and reporting more efficient and reliable, but they also help better plan and manage projects/program through careful consideration of what is being implemented and measured.

Course Structure

Class times:

12:30-2:00 EST

6 contact hours total

Day 1: Tuesday, February  17th: 

Identify the purpose and scope of the M&E system; this builds upon the initial assessment and project design (logical framework).

Day 2: Thursday, February 19th   

Plan for data collection.

Day 3: Tuesday, February 24th:   

Plan for data  management and analysis.

Day 4: Thursday, February 26th: 

Plan for data reporting and use, and human and financial resources.

Important Dates

Register before 10am on February 17th (EST)

eStudy Registration Fees

American Evaluation Association Member: $150

Nonmember: $200

Student: $80

Student Nonmember: $110

Key Takeaways:

• Role in evaluation
• Four communication principles
• Common report errors
• Alternatives to a final report
• Selected tips and techniques

As with all infographic tools, while they can offer a helpful way to create your graphics, they are only as powerful as the thought that has gone into the process and design. Take a look at Joitske Hulsebosch's BetterEvaluation guestblog on creating infographics to make your results go viral.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this webinar you will be able to:

• describe the role of reporting in good public health evaluation practice
• list 3 principles for effectively communicating your evaluation results
• state 3 alternatives to writing a final report.

Help us tailor the webinar content even more to your needs by answering a needs assessment survey beforehand.

When

September 22nd and 24th, 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET

This is a three hour webinar conveniently split into two 1.5 hour sessions.

Cost

$95Cdn plus GST

From the very beginning, reporting is an integral part of evaluation which allows you to:

• communicate what you do;
• monitor and track progress;
• demonstrate impact;
• document lessons learned;
• and be accountable and transparent to donors, partners and benefiting communities.

"Evaluation reports may be the only lasting record of a programme or project, including the results achieved and the lessons that were learned from its implementation" (Oxfam Evaluation Guidelines p.11).

Different groups of primary intended users will have varying needs for the evaluation report. When your evaluation plan was developed at the beginning of the process, you should have determined the different groups of primary intended users and begun to ask questions about how the report could be most useful. This information should then be reviewed periodically. Once the reporting deadline nears ensure there is clarity on each of the stakeholder groups’ reporting requirements (what needs to be reported and when).

Some questions that may arise include:

• What do you need to include in different kinds of reports?
• At what point do you need to get feedback on your findings - and from whom?
• Will your findings be presented in draft form?
• Are you willing to share draft findings?
• Will you have any influence over the way the findings are re-presented?

Reporting timelines often present a major constraint on the evaluation plan. In particular, the need to report findings in time to inform funding decisions for the next phase of a program often means that reports are needed before impacts can be observed. In these situations, it will be necessary to report on interim outcomes, and to present any research evidence that shows how these are important predictors or pre-requisites to the final impacts.  (See the tasks Develop Program Theory/Logic Model and Collect and/or Retrieve Data for more information on this).

Work with the intended users to determine key points in their own reporting and project cycle. For example, the evaluation may be a necessary part of their legislative requirement for an annual review. If that is the case, you need to know their time and internal pressures. Alternatively, they may be presenting at a major conference and want an update from the evaluation team.

With the primary intended users, their learning needs, and their timelines in mind, develop a communication plan to guide the evaluation reporting process. A communication plan can be as simple as a table that organizes this information. Use the communication plan to align data collection activities with reporting needs and to prioritize the time spent on reporting. (Consider the full range of reporting mediums before finalizing the plan. Not everyone will want a full technical report. For ideas on how to make your report more creative, go to the Develop Reporting Media task page.)

Options

• Communication plan: developing a plan that outlines the strategies which will be used to communicate the results of your evaluation.
• Reporting needs analysis: working with your client to determine their reporting needs

Resources

Guides

• Designing and conducting health systems research projects – Volume 2: demonstrates aspects of data analysis and report writing in a module which includes information on layout and design (IDRC)
• Evaluation strategies for communicating and reporting: provides support for incorporating creative techniques in the design, conduct, communication and reporting of evaluation findings.

Sources

Oxfam GB (nd) Oxfam GB Evaluation Guidelines, Oxfam, London. Retrieved from http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/~/media/Files/policy_and_practice/methods_approaches/monitoring_evaluation/ogb_evaluation_guidelines.ashx

Download a summary of the tasks, options, and approaches associated with reporting and supporting use of findings.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course the students will:

• Understand the key preparatory elements needed for an effective evaluation report
• Learn the best principles for evaluation structure, content and design
• Learn how to present evaluation data in diverse manners and formats
• Develop writing skills specific to evaluation reports.

Course Content

Module 1. Before your write; Preparing the evaluation report.
Module 2. Structure and content of the evaluation report.
Module 3. Deep dive into specific sections: Executive summary, conclusions and recommendations.
Module 4. Design of the evaluation report; beyond the written word.
Module 5. Promoting the evaluation report.

Course Methodology

This online self-paced course comprises of reading materials, video- lectures and practical exercises to ensure practicality of the knowledge acquired. Case studies throughout the course are used to ensure the hands-on approach and development of practical skills in report writing. Checklists, tips and templates are provided to the students for usage in their own report writing.
 

Target Audience

• Field and HQ staff of humanitarian organisations, government agencies and the private sector;
• Evaluation consultants, researchers and support staff;
• Teaching and research staff working in the evaluation field;
• Communication and information specialists.

Some evaluators work closely with cartoonists and commission specific illustrations. Other evaluators use stock images that are available on the web. You can also create your own cartoons using a range of readily available software. Consider how you want to include the right images for your report.

Cartoon images can be used by evaluators to an understanding of program impact, scenes of program implementation, main findings or issues. Advantages of using cartoons are communicating with low-level readers, bridging language barriers, and stimulating dialogue and reflection among stakeholders about the findings illustrated.

Example

Do you have an example of where this option has been used?

Click on Contribute Content or Contact Us to share your example of this option.

Advice

Advice for CHOOSING this option (tips and traps)

• Provide advice to the evaluators on the organizational context and receptivity of your institution to cartoons. 

Advice for USING this option (tips and traps)

• Some audiences may not value cartoons. Ensure that your audience sees this form of communication as credible prior to developing cartoons lest this detracts from the evaluation report and findings. Test the cultural appropriateness of cartoons with your audience.
• Consider keeping a file of images for use in other contexts. 

Resources

Tools

• Toonlet: This web-based application makes it possible to draw cartoons, by creating characters and then placing them into the panels of a cartoon with appropriate text.
• Evaluation cartoons and comics: This website provides a range of 'stock' cartoons on the evaluation theme.

Sources

Torres, R., Preskill, H., & Piontek, M. E. (2005).Evaluation strategies for communicating and reporting, enhancing learning in organizations. (Second ed.). Sage. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book225545

Besides the primary intended users (identified as part of framing the evaluation), your findings can be communicated to others for different reasons. For example, lessons learned from the evaluation can be helpful to other evaluators or project staff working in the same field; or it may be worthwhile remolding some of the findings into articles or stories to attract wider attention to an organisations' work, or to spread news about a particular situation.

You will share the findings of the evaluation with the primary intended users and also other evaluation stakeholders.

Don’t limit yourself to thinking of sharing evaluation findings through a report. Although a final evaluation report is important it is not the only way to distribute findings. Depending on your audience and budget, it may be important to consider different ways of delivering evaluation findings:

• Presenting findings at staff forums and subject matter conferences
• Developing a short video version of findings
• Sharing findings on the organisation intra-net
• Sharing stories, pictures and drawings from the evaluation (depending on what options you have used to gather data)
• Creating large posters or infographics of findings for display
• Producing a series of short memos

Tasks

Tasks related to this component include:

1. Identify Reporting Requirements: 

Identify the primary intended stakeholders and determine their reporting needs, including their decision-making timelines. Develop a communication plan.

2. Develop Reporting Media

Produce the written, visual, and verbal products that represent the program and its evaluation according to the communication plan. Graphic design and data visualization can be applied to emphasize key pieces of content and increase primary intended user engagement.

3. Ensure Accessibility

Review the reporting products to make sure they are accessible for those who are colorblind, low-vision, or reliant on an audio reader.

4. Develop Recommendations

If part of the evaluation brief make recommendations, on the basis of the evaluation findings, about how the program can be improved, how the risk of program failure can be reduced or whether the program should continue.

5. Support Use

Communicate the findings and recommendations but don’t stop there. As primary intended users reflect on the evaluation, facilitate the review to gather their feedback and guide their interpretations. Plan ways and time to check in on progress toward improvement. Look for opportunities to share the unique aspects of the program and its evaluation to external audiences.

From the very beginning, reporting is an integral part of evaluation which allows you to:

• communicate what you do;
• monitor and track progress;
• demonstrate impact;
• document lessons learned;
• and be accountable and transparent to donors, partners and benefiting communities.

"Evaluation reports may be the only lasting record of a programme or project, including the results achieved and the lessons that were learned from its implementation" (Oxfam Evaluation Guidelines p.11).

Different groups of primary intended users will have varying needs for the evaluation report. When your evaluation plan was developed at the beginning of the process, you should have determined the different groups of primary intended users and begun to ask questions about how the report could be most useful. This information should then be reviewed periodically. Once the reporting deadline nears ensure there is clarity on each of the stakeholder groups’ reporting requirements (what needs to be reported and when).

Some questions that may arise include:

• What do you need to include in different kinds of reports?
• At what point do you need to get feedback on your findings - and from whom?
• Will your findings be presented in draft form?
• Are you willing to share draft findings?
• Will you have any influence over the way the findings are re-presented?

Reporting timelines often present a major constraint on the evaluation plan. In particular, the need to report findings in time to inform funding decisions for the next phase of a program often means that reports are needed before impacts can be observed. In these situations, it will be necessary to report on interim outcomes, and to present any research evidence that shows how these are important predictors or pre-requisites to the final impacts.  (See the tasks Develop Program Theory/Logic Model and Collect and/or Retrieve Data for more information on this).

Work with the intended users to determine key points in their own reporting and project cycle. For example, the evaluation may be a necessary part of their legislative requirement for an annual review. If that is the case, you need to know their time and internal pressures. Alternatively, they may be presenting at a major conference and want an update from the evaluation team.

With the primary intended users, their learning needs, and their timelines in mind, develop a communication plan to guide the evaluation reporting process. A communication plan can be as simple as a table that organizes this information. Use the communication plan to align data collection activities with reporting needs and to prioritize the time spent on reporting. (Consider the full range of reporting mediums before finalizing the plan. Not everyone will want a full technical report. For ideas on how to make your report more creative, go to the Develop Reporting Media task page.)

Options

• Communication plan: developing a plan that outlines the strategies which will be used to communicate the results of your evaluation.
• Reporting needs analysis: working with your client to determine their reporting needs

Resources

Guides

• Designing and conducting health systems research projects – Volume 2: demonstrates aspects of data analysis and report writing in a module which includes information on layout and design (IDRC)
• Evaluation strategies for communicating and reporting: provides support for incorporating creative techniques in the design, conduct, communication and reporting of evaluation findings.

Sources

Oxfam GB (nd) Oxfam GB Evaluation Guidelines, Oxfam, London. Retrieved from http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/~/media/Files/policy_and_practice/methods_approaches/monitoring_evaluation/ogb_evaluation_guidelines.ashx

Download a summary of the tasks, options, and approaches associated with reporting and supporting use of findings.

You Will Learn

• the role of reporting in good evaluation practice
• 3 principles for effectively communicating your evaluation results
• at least 3 alternatives to writing a final report.

Who Should Take this Webinar

Professional evaluators and individuals tasked with doing program evaluation in their organization. 

Extract

"Importance of Evaluation Reporting to Ensure Use 

There are various aspects of evaluation reporting that can afect how information is used. Stakeholder needs, the evaluation purpose, and target audience should be considered when communicating results. Evaluation reporting should not only identify what, when, how, and to what extent information should be shared but take into account how information might be received and used. 

In a 2006 survey of American Evaluation Association members, 68% self-reported that their evaluation results were not used. Findings such as this suggest a greater need for evaluation results to make it of the bookshelf and into the hands of intended audiences. Similarly in the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation, the “utility evaluation standard” charges evaluators to carry out evaluations that lead to actionable indings for intended users. This commitment to conducting evaluations that improve the lives of participants serves as the inspiration for this guide." (CDC 2013, 2).

Contents

• PURPOSE OF THE EVALUATION GUIDES    1
• INTRODUCTION    2
  • Importance of Evaluation Reporting to Ensure Use    2
• KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR EFFECTIVELY REPORTING 
• EVALUATION FINDINGS    3
  • Engage Stakeholders    3
  • Revisit the Evaluation Purpose    4
  • Deine Your Target Audience    6
• MAKING EVALUATION REPORTS WORK FOR YOU    7
  • Types of Evaluation Reports    7
  • The Anatomy of a Report    10
• KEEPING IT OFF THE BOOKSHELF— 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DISSEMINATION    13
  • Step 1: Create a Dissemination Plan    13
  • Step 2: Identify a Person to Oversee the Dissemination Plan    14
  • Step 3: Know the Current Landscape    14
  • Step 4: Consider the Timing and Frequency    14
  • Step 5: Stay Involved    14
• CONCLUSION    15
• RESOURCES    16
• APPENDIX    17
  • Checklist for Evaluation Reporting: A Guide to Help Ensure Use of Evaluation Findings    17
• REFERENCES    18

Details

This eStudy is based upon the Results Based Management (RBM)  approach to programs/projects.  Therefore, it will review the initial needs assessment and program project design that informs the M&E planning, as well as the other stages of the project/program cycle and planning and their corresponding M&E activities (events).

Particular emphasis will be given to planning for data collection and management using an example M&E planning table for indicators and assumptions. The eStudy will walk through how to develop an M&E planning table that builds upon a project/program’s logframe to detail key M&E requirements for each indicator and assumption. Like the logframe, M&E planning tables are becoming common practice in both international and domestic programming – and with good reason. They not only make data collection and reporting more efficient and reliable, but they also help better plan and manage projects/program through careful consideration of what is being implemented and measured.

Course Structure

Class times:

12:30-2:00 EST

6 contact hours total

Day 1: Tuesday, February  17th: 

Identify the purpose and scope of the M&E system; this builds upon the initial assessment and project design (logical framework).

Day 2: Thursday, February 19th   

Plan for data collection.

Day 3: Tuesday, February 24th:   

Plan for data  management and analysis.

Day 4: Thursday, February 26th: 

Plan for data reporting and use, and human and financial resources.

Important Dates

Register before 10am on February 17th (EST)

eStudy Registration Fees

American Evaluation Association Member: $150

Nonmember: $200

Student: $80

Student Nonmember: $110

Key Takeaways:

• Role in evaluation
• Four communication principles
• Common report errors
• Alternatives to a final report
• Selected tips and techniques

As with all infographic tools, while they can offer a helpful way to create your graphics, they are only as powerful as the thought that has gone into the process and design. Take a look at Joitske Hulsebosch's BetterEvaluation guestblog on creating infographics to make your results go viral.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this webinar you will be able to:

• describe the role of reporting in good public health evaluation practice
• list 3 principles for effectively communicating your evaluation results
• state 3 alternatives to writing a final report.

Help us tailor the webinar content even more to your needs by answering a needs assessment survey beforehand.

When

September 22nd and 24th, 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET

This is a three hour webinar conveniently split into two 1.5 hour sessions.

Cost

$95Cdn plus GST