Evaluation Planning – 1.03 Internal Stakeholders
An important first step in the launch of the EP is to bring together the internal stakeholders of the organization and its programs in an introductory meeting. This typically goes beyond the working group to include directors, administrative staff, and staff from the target and other programs in the organization. The introductory meeting will help the organization understand the process, and what to expect as a result of participation. Not all of the people attending this meeting will participate in each and every step of the process, but it is particularly important that this first meeting be inclusive. One of the most common challenges of implementing the SEP is working with organizations and staff who hold inaccurate expectations about the process. Though the MOU does address many of these on paper, we have found that it is essential to talk directly with stakeholders and participants, either in person or over the phone. This way, the Evaluation Champion has the opportunity to address any questions that may arise early in the process. One way of addressing these issues and allowing expectations, questions and concerns to be expressed is to use an activity such as the “Evaluation Café” .
Q&A
Q: How will my stakeholder analysis affect my evaluation plan?
Identifying and considering stakeholders is important throughout almost every step of the evaluation planning process. Considering the perspective of diverse stakeholders will help you with program definition and boundary issues, with the creation or revision of logic and pathway models, with the selection of the evaluation scope, and with the articulation of the evaluation’s purpose. Explicitly or implicitly, stakeholders will have different ideas about what types of evaluation questions, measurement strategies, evaluation designs, and analysis and reporting plans are credible or useful. For example, a funder might be enamored with experimental or quasi-experimental designs, while program participants are interested in telling their stories, and program implementers want to know if participants enjoyed the program and learned something. Thus, by taking all of these (divergent) perspectives into account, your evaluation plan will more likely be well received by key stakeholders. Going further to actually involve some of them in the evaluation process makes it more likely that the evaluation results will eventually be used; if stakeholders have had no input in and relation to the evaluation plan, they may not see the results as relevant, and might simply ignore them.