Exploring Different Evaluation Types

Now that we have reviewed evaluation approaches, let’s explore the type(s) of evaluations you may choose to take on. While there are many types of evaluations to choose from, the most common evaluations used by existing community-facing programs are process evaluation, outcome evaluation, impact evaluation, and summative evaluation. Knowing your evaluation type on the front end helps ensure a clear line of focus for what you want to know about your program and the data that needs to be collected throughout the program period to inform your process.

Evaluations can be conducted at different times throughout the lifecycle of your program. They can be used at the start of your program implementation to understand how your program is doing, at the end of a program to understand how your program has gone, or throughout your program to identify areas to strengthen. The table below outlines each of them.

Table (2.6). When to Conduct Different Evaluation Types

	At the Beginning of Program Implementation	Midway Through Program Implementation	At the End of Program Implementation	After the Program has Ended
Process Evaluation	Marked cell for beginning of program.●	Marked cell for midway through program.●	Marked cell for end of program.●	Blank cell for after program.
Outcome Evaluation	Blank cell for beginning of program.	Marked cell for midway through program.●	Marked cell for end of program.●	Blank cell for after program.
Impact Evaluation	Blank cell for beginning of program.	Marked cell for midway through program.●	Marked cell for end of program.●	Marked cell for after program.●
Summative Evaluation	Blank cell for beginning of program.	Blank cell for midway through program.	Blank cell for end of program.	Marked cell for after program.●

Here is a further breakdown of each of the evaluation types:

Table (2.7). Process Evaluation

Program Phase:	Start-Up and Implementation
What is it?	Focuses on whether your harm reduction program activities have been implemented in the way they were intended and resulted in the intended outputs.
When do you do it?	Process evaluations align with the start of your program implementation and can continue throughout the life of the program.
Answers the questions:	What has your program done? When did your program activities take place? What were the barriers to and/or facilitators that supported the implementation of your program activities?

Table (2.8). Outcome Evaluation

Program Phase:	Monitoring
What is it?	Measures the extent your program has influenced changes in behaviors, practices, or knowledge during the program period.
When do you do it?	Outcome evaluations are usually conducted either midway through the program or at the end of the program period.
Answers the questions:	Has the overall program goal been achieved? What, if any, factors outside the program have contributed to or hindered the desired change?

Table (2.9). Impact Evaluation

Program Phase:	Reflection and Program Improvement
What is it?	Assesses why or how a program has been able to influence sustained changes (impact) over time. It can also be used to determine which services help the program to accomplish its goals most effectively. The changes that are observed can be either directly or indirectly related to program activities.
When do you do it?	An impact evaluation can take place midway through a program, after sufficient time has passed, or at the end of a program.
Answers the questions:	What changes in participants' behaviors are the result of your program activities? What would be lost in the community if the program no longer existed as is?

Table (2.10). Summative Evaluation

Program Phase:	Sharing Lessons and Best Practices
What is it?	Summative evaluations are intended to provide an overall synopsis of the effectiveness of the program. Typically, this type of evaluation helps to determine whether a program should be continued, expanded or ended.
When do you do it?	Summative evaluations usually take place after the completion of a program year or funding cycle.
Answers the questions:	Should funding continue for this program? Did the program ultimately accomplish its goal? Should the harm reduction program services expand to other communities?

Now let’s revisit the three scenarios from the beginning of the module and determine the evaluation types that are likely most appropriate for each program, given the current implementation phase.