Evaluation Planning – 3.09 Implementation Plan and Timeline
The goal of this step is to develop the Timeline (schedule) for the evaluation and key implementation milestones. The measures, sampling, design, analysis and reporting efforts should all be covered in this section. For instance, if a measure is still “in development”, the timeline section should include the date by which the measures will be either located and/or developed internally. If these measures are not put into place at the beginning of the evaluation cycle, program staff will be missing data from a significant portion of the year described by the evaluation plan. If existing measures are used in “waves” periodically throughout a season or within a workshop series, those time periods should also be listed in the timeline section. Either program-specific time periods (week one of our six week series) or external times and dates (the start/stop dates of the local school year) are acceptable.
Here are some questions to ask when creating an evaluation timeline:
- Does the timeline indicate the entire time period with a start date AND end date?
- If relevant, are there dates associated with each measure listed in the design section?
- Does the timeline include time for sample identification and development of contact information, if needed?
- Has it been specified when data entry and analysis will be performed?
- Are specific times for reports included?
- Is the timeline appropriate and practically feasible?
See also: