EVAL 6000 Foundations of Evaluation Dr Chris L

EVAL 6000: Foundations of Evaluation Dr. Chris L. S. Coryn Nick Saxton Fall 2014

Agenda • Budgeting evaluations • Contracting evaluations • Collecting evaluative information

Budgeting evaluations

General types of budgets • Fixed price – Only allows expenditures as ‘projected’ • Grants – Unused funds typically not returned • Cost-reimbursable – Only ‘actual’ expenditures are billed • ‘Other’ budget types – See Table 20. 5 on p. 492

Budgeting tasks 1. Ensure that evaluation design is sufficiently detailed 2. Determine the type of budget agreement 3. Determine the needed level of budget detail 4. Determine pertinent cost factors 5. Determine line items 6. Group line items 7. Determine local contribution, if any 8. Computed all costs and charges 9. Determine costs associated with institutional accountability 10. Clarify requirements for payment

Contracting evaluations

Contracting checklist 1. Basic considerations 2. Information 3. Analysis 4. Synthesis 5. Reports 6. Reporting safeguards 7. Communication protocol 8. Evaluation management 9. Client authority and responsibilities 10. Evaluation budget 11. Review and control of the evaluation

Collecting evaluative information

Major considerations • Gather only necessary information – Documents, interviews, focus groups, observations, site visits, surveys, etc. • Determine (as possible) reliability and validity of gathered information • Conform to relevant legal standards (e. g. , human subjects)