By Scot Kersgaard, JVA Consulting 

…Don’t let the name scare you.

The two-day Evaluation Intensive is held in a JVA training room with appropriate heating and air conditioning, restrooms, coffee, lunch, etc. It may sound like a white-knuckle reality show, but it is really just a chance to learn everything you need to know about program evaluation.

If you like being scared­–and some of us do–then stay away. Sit back and wait for one of your funders to ask you about your evaluation strategy or how you know your programs are effective. If you’ve been to JVA’s Evaluation Intensive that won’t be scary at all. You’ll be able to not only speak the language but you’ll know why it’s important.

Like so many things in this world, there are multiple ways to look at evaluation. You can see it as a cost to be avoided, believing your funders and clients are best served by putting as much money as possible into programs and services. This may also be why you avoid spending money on marketing or technology or employee benefits. Everyone knows it is prudent to keep a tight rein on costs.

On the other hand, if effective, efficient evaluation gives your organization a competitive advantage, then it could be time and money well spent.

If understanding the outcomes of your work (not just the outputs) could make your organization more effective, then you should pursue such understanding, should you not?

Confused about the difference between outputs and outcomes? Let’s say you run a homeless shelter. The outputs are the number of person nights of housing provided, the number of meals served etc. The outcomes are what difference it made. How many of the people you served used your services as a springboard to getting a job or an apartment and living a self-sufficient life?

And, while this is not a blog about homeless policy, yes, I understand that not everyone can take the step from a homeless shelter to a condo in the burbs. If you are serving the most vulnerable, your metrics of success need to reflect that.

Regardless, evaluation can be an important tool for any organization that serves the public in any way. Understanding what works and why can only make your organization more successful. Showing funders and supporters that you are on top of it, can only help in fundraising. Demonstrating to staff and volunteers that what they do makes a difference can only help morale.

Evaluation makes up a big part of our business, so we might be crazy to teach you how to do it yourself. While we need to make a living, the reason JVA exists at all is to help you do better work.

This class may teach you everything you need to know to design and implement your own evaluations, or it may teach you everything you need to know to make a good decision when hiring someone else to evaluate your work.

How many people come to this class is an output. We do count outputs. We keep track. What you do with what you learn is an outcome. We are able to count the first pretty easily. It is the second, though, that jazzes us up and keeps us coming to work.

Together, we can make a difference.

To register or learn more about Evaluation Intensive, August 27-28, you’ve come to the right place.