Ep 132: Let’s Make Program Evaluation Simpler (with Chari Smith)

by Joan Garry

One of the biggest achilles heels in the nonprofit sector is program evaluation. But it’s critical to funders. Let’s make it simpler.

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One of the biggest Achilles heels in the nonprofit sector is program evaluation.

We’re not good at it – we think it’s too hard, we don’t know how to do it. And our boards don’t hold us accountable to figure it out. Oh yes, and of course funders want to know all about it.

Chari Smith, the author of Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple: Get Your Data. Show Your Impact. Improve Your Programs, insists there is an easy way to make steering your ship fun and exciting with good data.

Learn what fears underlie our reluctance to do program evaluation and how we can overcome them.

About:

Chari Smith believes evaluation should be accessible, practical and usable. She founded Evaluation into Action, located in Portland, Oregon, to help nonprofit professionals create realistic and meaningful program evaluation processes. She has taught several workshops helping nonprofit professionals understand the value and use of program evaluation. Recently, she was the opening keynote speaker at the American Evaluation Conference. Her book Nonprofit Program Evaluation Made Simple: Get Your Data. Show Your Impact. Improve Your Programs. provides step by step instruction on how to do program evaluation.

Links

You can get a discount on Chari’s upcoming workshop on designing outstanding surveys!

Survey Design Made Simple Workshop

Taught by program evaluation expert and author Chari Smith

Thursday, May 13, 2021, 9am – 10am (PST)

Cost: $29

Receive $4 off by doing the following:

  1. Go to the registration page
  2. Enter the promo code “Joan”
  3. Hit ‘apply’
  4. Checkout

Description: Do you feel like you should do a survey, but have no idea what to ask? Do you have a survey, but aren’t sure if the questions are phrased the right way? In this workshop, we’ll dig into how to determine what to ask as well as how to avoid common survey design mistakes. Take the stress out of survey design, and join us for this interactive session so you can get the data you need.

Questions? Contact Chari Smith, chari@evaluationintoaction.com