About Evaluation
Some people think that evaluation is complex, hard to understand,
and all about hard-to-decipher statistics. It’s not.
Some people think that evaluation is something we do once, and then
move on. Nope. It’s not that either.
And some people think that evaluation is about getting a grade -
about passing or failing. You’re right. It’s not that either.
Evaluation is pretty simple, really. It’s about asking important
questions about the work we do, and finding accurate and useful
information with which to answer those questions.
Evaluation is:
- Disciplined
- Systematic
- Data-based
- Information about programs
- Used to make decisions
- Focused on improving effectiveness
At QED, we believe that evaluation is:
- A means, not an end. It's a means to help people learn
important things about their programs and services.
- A process, not an episode. It's a process about asking
good, important questions, gathering the kind of information that
can answer them and using the information to make decisions. It
should be an ongoing, regular part of every organization's work.
QED can train your staff to make use of the data you already have,
to collect meaningful data in a cost-effective way, and to use that
information to make better decisions. QED can do evaluation for you.
Either way, we can provide you with disciplined, systematic information
to help you make judgments, improve your programs and make decisions.
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