Evaluation and Program Planning

Language is critical in evaluation. It influences understanding of goal attainment, judgments made about the quality of a program, interactions between stakeholder groups, interpretation of findings, and future actions. This paper reports research on language that unearths complexities related to the agenda of diversifying STEM and the utilization of evaluation in achieving its goal through an examination of STEM education evaluators' conceptualizations of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the implications for their practice...

The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework that identifies the intangible aspects that can be managed and contribute to the value creation for organizations. The theoretical framework was developed based on a systematic review performed according to a protocol that proposes steps to identify the intangible aspects present in the scientific literature. Mendeley software assisted in organizing and reading the 3152 articles identified by the systematic review. The results of the article propose a classification of intangible aspects identified in levels that collaborate with the value creation in organizations...

We conducted a needs assessment evaluation as part of a community effort to plan tailored responses to reduce gun violence in a midwestern town. Various data sources were used to analyze factors leading to gun violence. The results guided the creation of evidence-based response strategies. Study findings demonstrate that even in a small town, the nature and drivers of gun violence vary considerably at the micro level and thus should be examined at this level. In this paper, we present the recommendations that followed from our study, not as solutions for other jurisdictions to adopt on their face, but rather as an example of 1) the types of solutions that follow from a thorough analysis of a local problem, and 2) a plethora of potential responses by social institutions...

Creating sustainable change and fostering collaborative relationships between researchers and stakeholders is a recognized challenge in the field of evaluation. Identifying programme purpose, cultural context, potential challenges, and engaging stakeholders before an evaluation can produce responsive and impactful evaluations. This paper discusses implementing a targeted scoping study within the framework of rapid qualitative research and evaluation. A scoping study enables collaborative decision-making on evaluation priorities, and functions as an evaluability assessment in time-sensitive contexts...

Arts-based evaluation is an effective and fun way to engage people and uncover meaningful, valid results. In this project, an arts-based approach was used to gain an understanding of the effects the Communities ChooseWell Program has had according to the Champions' experiences. We wanted to identify what changes, if any, has Communities ChooseWell fostered through the past 10 years? This evaluation was completed using an arts-based approach which allowed us to explore varied long-term effects in different contexts...

Challenging behaviors (CB) are a frequent co-occurring problem in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and hinder their response to recommended interventions such as early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI). The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for young children (PTR-YC) program was implemented to meet community-based EIBI educators' training and support needs in managing CB in their day-to-day work with families. Although this positive behavior support program has a strong empirical basis, its implementation by community-based educators has yet to be assessed from a systematic and structured program evaluation perspective...

The present study aims at ideating a quantitative protocol to evaluate effectiveness of training programmes especially meant for farmers, farm women, and rural youth. The specific objective was to develop a robust framework for measuring the effectiveness of rural training programmes organized by the Farmers Training Centres (FTCs) of India. Kirkpatrick's training evaluation model provides us the foundation to design a four-dimensional composite framework based on range-based indicator normalization, principal component analysis based indicator weight estimation, and rank correlation based framework sensitivity testing...

Health service need refers to the essential care required to achieve optimal health outcomes within resource constraints. When necessary services to address identified health issues are not received, unmet needs arise. This research focuses on the determinants of unmet healthcare needs across the 34 countries within the European region from 2011 to 2019, focusing on Andersen's Behavioral Model's enabling factors. We employed a static and robust panel regression model using Stata 14.0 software. Key determinants analyzed include GDP per capita, urbanization rate, and physicians per capita...

This longitudinal study evaluated the effectiveness of Korea's 2007 employment protection legislation (EPL), aimed at mitigating labor discrimination against non-regular workers (NRW). Specifically, we use the Korean Workplace Panel Survey data from 2005 to 2013 and adopt a difference-in-difference methodology (DD) to explore whether establishment reduces the gap in training opportunities between NRW and regular workers (RW). Results show that compliance with government regulations depends on how business establishments react to the rules and the characteristics of these stakeholders...

This paper reviews and evaluates four U.S. P3 toll highways, identifying their performance and common challenges. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that federal and state governments should fund highways, this paper argues that users should bear the cost for both efficiency and equity considerations. The shift from government investment and operation of highways to Public-Private Partnerships (P3) was driven by the lack of public funding, more productive competitive business practices, and the government's desire for upfront payments to fund other unrelated public projects...

Benefiting from low repetition and dropout rates, as well as their excellent employability rate of their students, the Higher Institutes of Technological Studies (ISETs) have acquired a strategic position in the Tunisian higher education system. This paper aims to use the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method to measure the efficiency of Tunisian Higher Institutes of Technological Studies (ISETs) and to determine the factors that cause performance differences. The results indicate that ISETs appear well managed, although some of them warrant a more detailed analysis (below-average efficiency)...

Curriculum is the core element of talent cultivation in universities, and its quality directly determines that of the talent cultivation. However, the efficiency of online course resource allocation in universities of China is unacceptable, and the corresponding driving mechanisms are unclear. Based on the data of iCourses platform for a top university (H University) of China, this paper develops the DEA-Malmquist index and Tobit regression model to evaluate the efficiency of university online course resource allocation and explore its main influencing factors...

BACKGROUND: The second phase of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) transitioned from scaling up HIV prevention and treatment to promoting sustainability and capacity building for programs monitoring performance and evaluating key program indicators. We assessed the success of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) curriculum designed to build capacity in three PEPFAR-supported countries. METHODS: We customized M&E trainings based on country-specific epidemic control priorities in Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Cameroon...

The study aimed to ascertain a relationship between agricultural status, socioeconomic factors, and nutrition of farm families. The study was conducted in selected villages in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, using Stratified Random Sampling (St. RS). Using pretested interview schedules, we collected primary data from respondents in 2020 and 2021, focusing on socioeconomic variables, body mass index, and income from agriculture and related sectors. The data was analysed using correlation analyses and separate combined regression estimates for each year and month were obtained...

This paper examines graduate research assistants' informal applied learning experiences on the evaluation team at a university-based agricultural safety and health research center. The case study aims to identify the specific learning outcomes derived from the experience, as described by students, and the factors that facilitated them. The research team used a semi-structured focus group tool, and the focus group participants conducted their own analysis and interpretation of the data. An inductive qualitative analysis revealed that students had new perspectives on evaluation, greater evaluation knowledge, and comfort using evaluative tools...

In this article, we estimate a series of models to evaluate the effects of a short program in a context where randomization is not feasible but the program follows a cyclical pattern. We will focus empirically on a case study involving parenting skills courses, which have become increasingly popular. In order to evaluate the impact of the program on parents' and children outcomes, we employ two different methods. The first method compares the outcomes of families who have just finished the program with those who are about to start it; the second compares the outcomes of the same families over time...

BACKGROUND: Nearly 400 million Indians (30 % of the total population) lack any financial protection for health which leads to very high out of pocket expenditure. In India more than 90 million people spend 10-25 % of household expenses on healthcare. This is a serious threat to Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims at providing universal health coverage along with protection from catastrophic spending on health. AIM: The aim of this paper is to estimate the efficiency and determinants of public health in India at subnational level...

This study aims to evaluate the technical efficiency levels of healthcare systems in underdeveloped countries and to reveal the impact of COVID-19 along with some other factors on the efficiency levels via a two-stage data envelopment analysis. The study covers panel data from 2013 to 2020. The results show that technical efficiency scores decreased during the pandemic period. It is also understood from the results that immunization and the ratio of population ages 65 and above have significant and negative effects on inefficiency scores while carbon dioxide emissions have significant and positive effects...

This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test the Faculty Online Teaching Effectiveness Scale (FOTES) based upon both student and faculty perspectives of online teaching and learning in higher education. Online teaching effectiveness is a crucial component of quality education, but it has not been well-defined conceptually, and few studies have been conducted, using relevant domains, to accurately measure online teaching effectiveness. The impact of online course delivery on teaching effectiveness remains unclear...

This paper delves into the utility of Outcome Harvesting as an effective methodology for evaluating development projects that seek to cultivate and advance social enterprises within intricate and multifaceted contexts. Amidst the ever-evolving socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics characterizing complex environments, traditional evaluation approaches often fall short in capturing the nuanced outcomes of such projects. By adopting Outcome Harvesting, this study argues that evaluators gain a robust tool to systematically collect, analyze, and interpret the intended and unintended impacts of development initiatives in complex and changing contexts...