The program evaluation this writer selected was Kingsbury (2011), which entails evaluation practices for four separate government agencies. I choose this because it encompassed more than one type of program evaluation. Working in a non-profit organization that receives funding from the government and the need to show outcomes it is important to know which questions need to be answered. According to McNamara (2011), the program evaluation is based on what the agency needs to make major decisions. The more focused an organization is about what needs to be examined, the more effective the evaluation.
Strengths and Limitations The findings from this research supported mature agencies had similarities in four areas when selecting evaluations which included strategic priorities, program concerns, critical unanswered questions that created gaps in service, and the likelihood of conducting a valid evaluation …show more content…
McNamara, C (n.d.), process based evaluations are set up to fully understand how the program operates; how it yields results. This type of evaluation is good for long standing agencies that are in transition. Process evaluations focus on deficiencies in operating and give information about mechanics of the agency and how they operate.
Outcome evaluations measure program achievement in relation to outcome-oriented objectives and may scrutinize program process (Kingsbury, 2011). These types of evaluations satisfy funders’ requirements. Outcome based evaluations assess if the programs are providing the right types of activities to meet the needs of the population identified. Outcome based evaluation also include external factors (economic or environmental) that may impact outcomes. These types of outcomes gives knowledge, skills and enhance behavior options (McNamara,