7 Pitfalls to Avoid in Evaluation (#5 Irrelevance)

Are you asking the right questions?

Have you ever worked with an external consultant to evaluate your programs? If so, did they produce a lengthy report? How much of the report did you end up using?

If the report was highly useful (and most nonprofit leaders report that they are ), then congratulations! You had a great evaluation coach/consultant. If however, you feel that the report was useful for the donors and no one else, then there were probably some missing pieces.

Tips for Making Your Evaluation Relevant

1. Engage your staff and major stakeholders in the planning process. For more on this, go to the post on avoiding isolation.
2. Talk with your evaluator about the final product and what your donor actually wants in terms of reports. Do your donors want the full technical report? An executive summary that is 6-8 pages long? Or do they prefer a 4-page snapshot report that contains a few photos and stories?
3. Be focused on what you evaluate and make sure that what you measure lines up with your strategic goals. Tools such as one-page strategic snapshots, a theory of change diagram, and logic models are really helpful with this!

 For examples of what Puffin Strategies has done for our other nonprofit heroes, contact us today!