Getting started in the Netway

The goal of the Netway is to help program administrators track all the programs they are responsible for, and to help program managers manage and evaluate their programs. The Netway is intended to be a companion to the Systems Evaluation Protocol (even though someone may use the Protocol without using the Netway, or even use the Netway without using the Protocol). In our experience, however,  the combination of following the Protocol, and using the Netway as a tool to accomplish and document the tasks will provide consistency across an organization, result in stronger programs and grounded evaluation, and build smarter organizations.

 1. Read the  Evaluation Protocol which offers a step-by-step guide to program evaluation.

Phase I of the Protocol begins with program modeling, which must be done before completing your evaluation plan. Phase II will address evaluation implementation, and Phase III will address evaluation utilization. Also in the Protocol you will find sections on the systems theories behind the Protocol.

The Protocol should be used as your key guide to conducting evaluation, and any time you’re feeling lost or confused returning to the Protocol will help you to orient yourself and get back on track. You can easily return to the steps of the Protocol by clicking on the “Protocol” link in the main Netway navigation bar. Click on the links to the left to expand the menu of pages.

If you are a program manager, continue with the steps below. If you are an evaluation facilitator, we highly recommend you address the issues in the Preparation stage of the Protocol.

2. Create a program in the Netway.

• From “My Netway” click on “Create New Program”.
• Give it a name (This can be edited later).
• Optionally, enter your office name, and enter a brief description and/or mission (you will likely edit these later), and add it to a playlist (use the default if you don’t yet understand playlists).
• Save your program.
• From “My Netway” click on your program name. From within the program page you can edit the information, logic model, and evaluation plan for that program.

3. Develop/Edit your program information.

• We recommend following the guidelines in the Protocol for Program Model Development. We generally follow these steps in order, but they are also iterative, and build upon each other. You are strongly encouraged to get your work team together to work on your program boundaries and definitions. 
• At the bottom of the Program page there is a section where you can authorize others to be able to edit the program with you (authorize with discretion, as they could also delete the program).
• Use the “Share” link to bring the program to the attention of your teammates or administrators.  They may want to add the program to one of their playlists.
• Click on the “Information” section heading to expand the section.
• To edit these sections, click on the edit button.
• Follow the help text in the book icons to the right of each heading (or click on the book icon to access resources (worksheets, videos) to help you with each item). These resources are based on the Protocol. (see image below)

4. Develop your program model.

• We recommend following the guidelines in the Protocol for Program Model Development.
• From your program page, click on the Logic Model heading to expand the section
• Follow the help text in the book icons to the right of each heading (or click on the book icon to open the the guidance resources to help you with each task, or to access Netway specific help).

5. Create and edit evaluation plans:

• We recommend following the guidelines in the Protocol for Evaluation Plan Creation.
• Click on the Evaluation Plan heading to expand the section
• Follow the help text in the book icons to the right of each heading (or click on the book icon to open the the guidance resources to help you with each task, or to access Netway specific help).
• After your model is done, you may wish to go back to your logic model and associate measures with the appropriate outcomes.

6. Create program reports.

• At the top of the program page there is a link to “Build a Report” 
• If you use Playlists, you can also use “Build a Report” to run the same report type on multiple programs.

7. Implement your evaluation, using the Evaluation Implementation Protocol for guidance.