Activity: Peer Evaluation Plan Brainstorm
One of the best ways to come up with an appropriate, creative and efficient evaluation plan strategy is to brainstorm as many strategies as possible and then narrow them down based on your priorities. Often, peers and stakeholders outside of the working group can provide a useful and creative contribution to this brainstorming process.
First, the working group will need to identify peer program implementers and/or stakeholders who are willing to participate in a plan brainstorming session. Then, using the “Identifying Key Constructs and Measurement Options Worksheet”, the working group should fill in the left-most column with each of their final evaluation questions. Each peer or stakeholder is then asked to fill out the remaining columns of the table, offering ideas about constructs, their definitions, measurement strategies and tools.
If the working group chooses to conduct this activity later in the planning process, they may also include columns for sampling, design and analysis strategies. With these columns included, the working group can also use the brainstorm guide to develop a “practice” evaluation plan for an imagined or well-known program. Brainstorming an evaluation strategy for a neutral program will help working group members better understand the importance and the challenges of developing an aligned strategy.