5 Program Evaluation Resources

Here is a list of resources you may find useful if you're evaluating a large program.

1. A basic guide to program evaluation has lots of text but it organised into useful headings. Not too long and is good if you're looking for the rationale for carrying out an evaluation.
2. The Evaluation Cookbook is a splendid resource - apart from having a great title. Comprehensive yet not overwhelming. My favourite resource for evaluation.
3. The Evaluation Handbook from the Kellogg Foundation is a meaty text aimed at program managers on their funded programs - though its useful for similar, large scale programs.
4. A User Friendly Handbook for Evaluations is good if you have a scientific bent to your evaluation process.
5. Taking Stock: A Practical Guide to Evaluating your Own Programs is useful if your focus is on carrying out internal evaluations to assess your project work.

4 Story Telling Toolkits

An important leadership competency is the ability to tell stories - not the pumped up fantasies but rather the real examples of things that have happened. It's these stories that motivate others.

Here are four resources you may find useful in helping you craft your stories.

1. A Story Telling Toolkit from The Education Arcade.  A fairly standarrd guide, though useful as it covers all the bits and pieces you need to think about when writing up a story.
2. If you fancy yourself as a reporter, then check out CNN's guidelines on crafting a story. I like the advice they give as it is focused on how it will attract the reader's attention.
3. My most favourite collection of advice for telling stories is from the Knowledge Sharing Database. It includes a variety of activities you can use n meetings and workshops to gather and analyse stories.
4. If what you're looking for a bullet point version of some advice, then try this one from the United Nations

NEAR:Narrative Evaluation Action Research - Resource Guide

From "down under" we've got a great resource in the form of a toolkit, including all the background information and evidence, on how to gather healthcare stories that are part of an evaluation process.

It includes case studies (from Victoria, Australia) as comprehensive set of resources with guidance for their use.

You can download the document here (it does take a little while)

The list of resources below is from their Contents page:


"Resource A Initial Department of Human Services narrative guidelines 2002–03 ........ 30
Resource B Revised narrative guidelines 2003–2004 and 2004–2006........................ 31
Resource C Project information resource............................................................... 33
Resource D Annotated bibliography of useful readings ............................................ 38
Resource E An agency reflection on ‘first time’ narratives........................................ 44
Resource F Some questions to guide narrative evaluation ....................................... 47
Resource G What makes a good narrative? ........................................................... 49
Resource H A planner or checklist of questions for narrative action evaluation writers . 52
Resource I Extract – A practitioner reflects on the value of narrative action evaluation 54
Resource J Marjorie Oke and the hydrotherapy story (Vale)..................................... 55
Resource K Map of levels, voices and styles .......................................................... 69
Resource L The Northcote Hydrotherapy case study (extract CDIH collection 1st Edition
 Edition 1988) ............................................................................................... 58
Resource M When training your own trainers (DIY) to extend skills in writing narrative     
action evaluation............................................................................................... 64
Resource N Example of plain language description and consent form (ethics)............. 66
Resource O Supporting narrative evaluation in a community health setting................ 68"

WHO Patient Safety Curriculum Guide

More great resources from the World Health Organisation.  To be frank - this curriculum guide is the most comprehensive set of teaching resources on patient safety that I've come across in a decade.  It has been developed by multi-professional groups so avoids the biases that so often occur when courses are developed by a single organisation.  Whilst it's aimed at integrating patient safety into educational curricula, there's no reason why you can't use this within your own organisational setting.

You can access the multi-professional guide here. If you would like the teaching slides for each of the 11 topics then you can download them here, where you will also find background and evaluation information.

And unless I'n missing something - these are free to use - so no there is no excuse in wasting time creating, developing, designing, discussing how to educate and train staff in patient safety. Nor should you be paying anyone to do the creating, designing, developing etc.

Well done WHO!