Writing an Evaluation Plan

An evaluation plan is an integral part of a grant proposal that provides information to improve a project during development and implementation.

For small projects, the Office of the Vice President for Research can help you develop a simple evaluation plan. If you are writing a proposal for larger center grant, using a professional external evaluator is recommended. We can provide recommendations of external evaluators; please contact [email protected] ; for BioMed faculty visit the BioMed Evaluation Services webpage.

Do all grant proposals require an evaluation plan?

Not all grant proposals require an evaluation plan; however, many program announcements and funding opportunities stipulate and evaluation strategy with specific milestones are important elements that should be considered. If an evaluation plan is required, it will generally be listed in the program announcement. Most often, larger, more involved grant proposals will require an evaluation plan, while a smaller, single-investigator proposals will not. If you are unsure whether your proposal requires an evaluation plan, please contact us.

It is worth noting there is a difference between evaluation and research although there are several commonalities. Most simply:

• Research generalizes; Evaluation particularizes,
• Research is designed to prove something; Evaluation is designed to improve something
• Research provides the basis for drawing conclusions; Evaluation provides a basis for decision making
• Research--how it works; Evaluation--how well it works
• Research is about what is; Evaluation is about what is valuable

There are two types of evaluation typically requested by funders--formative and summative—and which you use is largely dictated by the purpose of the evaluation. Do you want to prove that you achieved the outcomes as intended (summative) or are you doing evaluation to monitor if you are doing what you said you would in your grant application (formative)? Or both? We can help you prepare and review both types of evaluations outlined below.

Formative or Process Evaluation does the following:

• Assesses initial and ongoing project activities
• Begins during project development and continues through implementation
• Provides new and sometimes unanticipated insights into improving the outcomes of the project
• Involves review by the principal investigator, the steering or governance committee, and either an internal or external evaluator (depending on grant requirements)

Summative or Outcomes Evaluation does the following:

• Assesses the quality and success of a project in reaching stated goals
• Presents the information collected for project activities and outcomes
• Takes place after the completion of the project
• Involves review by the principal investigator, the steering or governance committee, either an internal or external evaluator, and the program director of the funding agency
• All evaluation plans should identify both participants (those directly involved in the project) and stakeholders (those otherwise invested by credibility, control or other capital), and should include the relevant items developed in the evaluation process.

What does the evaluation process entail?

The evaluation process can be broken down into a series of steps, from preparation to implementation and interpretation.

• Develop a conceptual model of the project and identify key evaluation points. This ensures that all participants and stakeholders understand the project's structure and expected outcomes, and helps focus on the project’s most important elements.
• Create evaluation questions and define measurable outcomes. Outcomes may be divided into short-term and long-term, or defined by the more immediate number of people affected by the project versus the overall changes that might not occur until after the project’s completion.
• Develop an appropriate evaluation design. A successful evaluation both highlights the most useful information about the project’s objectives and addresses its shortcomings. In developing an evaluation design, you should first determine who will be studied and when, and then select a methodological approach and data collection instruments. The NSF-sponsored Online Evaluation Resource Library provides step-by-step instructions for developing an evaluation plan.
• Collect data.
• Analyze data and present to interested audiences.

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