Planning and Carrying out your Evaluation
Every organization is different, and requires a different process, and the method of evaluation you choose will guide you in different ways.  However, there are several general steps which apply to every evaluation:

• Identification- Identify the processes, goals, outcomes, and programs you will evaluate.
• Preparation- Formulate a plan for your assessment.  Answer important questions that will define your process, assign clear responsibilities, allocate funding (consider applying for a grant), choose a method, etc.
• Select indicators- decide what information you’ll need to measure your progress, and then identify data sources and methods of data collection.
• Data collection- Perform interviews, surveys, documentation review, etc.
• Analysis and reporting- Analyze your findings, reflect on how they show progress, identify and make suggestions for areas of improvement, and formulate a report for your targeted audience.