What is program evaluation?
What evaluation is, the questions it answers, the main types, the six steps in CDC's 2024 framework and what to prepare before you start.
Health Programs & Evaluation
Program evaluation for health and community programs
Funders, boards and agencies want to know whether a program works, and program teams want to know what to change. We help you ask the right evaluation questions, collect credible evidence and turn it into findings and recommendations people can act on.
Who this service is for
A good fit if
- A funder, grant or agency contract requires an evaluation plan or an evaluation report.
- You run a health, social or community program and need to show whether it is reaching the intended population.
- Your team collects data but nobody has time to analyze it or turn it into findings.
- You want an outside view of how a program is being delivered before it expands or is renewed.
- You need a logic model or measurement framework for a new program or proposal.
Another approach may suit you better if
- You need a randomized controlled trial or another formal study to prove that a program caused an outcome. That is research, and it needs a research team and ethics approval.
- You want an evaluation that reaches a predetermined conclusion. Credible evaluation reports what the evidence shows.
- You need clinical, legal or accreditation advice. We can work alongside your specialists.
What program evaluation is
Program evaluation is a structured way to find out how well a program is working and how to improve it. It answers practical questions: Is the program being delivered as planned? Is it reaching the people it was designed for? Are participants better off, and in what ways? What should change?
It is different from research. Research aims to produce general knowledge, often through controlled studies. Evaluation serves a specific program and the people who run, fund and use it, and it has to work within the program's real data, budget and timelines.
Who needs it
Evaluation is most often requested by:
- State and local health departments running prevention, outreach or service programs.
- Nonprofits and community organizations reporting to foundations, government funders or their boards.
- Healthcare organizations testing a new care pathway, outreach effort or patient program.
- Grantees whose award requires an evaluation plan, progress measures or a final evaluation report.
- Prime contractors who need an evaluation partner for a bid or a funded program.
What we deliver
We work with your program team rather than around it. You get an evaluation that answers the questions your funders and leaders care about, uses data you can realistically collect, and ends in recommendations your team can act on.
- Planning: evaluation plans, logic models, evaluation questions and measurement frameworks.
- Data collection: surveys, interview and focus group guides, and record review tools, with privacy safeguards agreed first.
- Analysis: descriptive analysis of program data, survey analysis, and themes from interviews, using methods matched to the questions. See our data analysis and reporting service for ongoing reporting.
- Reporting: plain-language reports, executive summaries, funder reports and briefings.
Where a program has not yet defined its population or priorities, a needs assessment is often the better first step. Where the findings point to changes in how services are delivered, quality improvement helps you test and track those changes.
How we keep evaluations credible
- Questions first. We agree what the evaluation must answer before choosing methods.
- Methods that fit. We use the simplest design that can answer the question credibly, and we do not overstate what it can show.
- Clear limits. Every report states its limitations, including data gaps and what the design cannot prove.
- Respect for participants. We collect only the information needed, protect it, and follow your ethics and privacy requirements.
Demonstration, not a client project
Example evaluation questions for a community health worker program
| Type | Question | Possible data |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Are home visits happening at the planned frequency? | Visit logs |
| Process | Which barriers do workers report most often? | Staff interviews |
| Outcome | Do participants report better access to primary care after six months? | Participant survey |
| Outcome | Are referrals completed more often than before the program started? | Referral records |
Getting started
Most evaluations start with a planning session to agree the purpose, the questions and the data you already hold. From there we prepare a written scope with deliverables, responsibilities and costs in US dollars (USD). To see how we work with health departments, nonprofits and partners, visit our health and public sector page.
What is included
The exact list is agreed in writing for each project. These are the usual deliverables and the usual boundaries.
Typical deliverables
- An evaluation plan with the purpose, the people who will use the findings, the evaluation questions and the design.
- A logic model that shows how the program's activities are expected to lead to its outcomes.
- A measurement framework with indicators, definitions, data sources and collection schedules.
- Data collection tools such as surveys, interview guides and record review templates, tested before use.
- Analysis of program records, survey results and interview themes.
- An evaluation report written in plain language, with an executive summary and recommendations.
- A short briefing or presentation for your board, funder or program team.
Not included unless agreed separately
- Institutional review board (IRB) or other ethics approvals, which your organization or its partners obtain where they are needed.
- Recruiting or paying participants, unless agreed in writing.
- Clinical judgments about care, or legal opinions about program requirements.
- Any promise about what the findings will show, or about funding or renewal decisions.
What we will need from you
Most delays in this kind of work come from access and decisions, not from the technical build. Knowing these early keeps the project predictable.
- A program lead who can explain how the program works and who it serves.
- Access to program documents, existing data and reports, shared under a written data agreement.
- Introductions to staff, partners or participants we need to hear from.
- Your funder's evaluation requirements, templates and deadlines.
Delivery
How the work is delivered
Each stage ends with something you can review before the next one starts.
Assess the context
Agree why the evaluation is needed, who will use it, the program's stage and the constraints on time, budget and data.
Output: A short scoping note and agreed timeline.
Describe the program
Work with your team to map activities, the population served and expected outcomes in a logic model.
Output: A logic model your team agrees reflects the program.
Focus the questions and design
Choose the evaluation questions, the indicators and the methods that can answer them credibly within your resources.
Output: An evaluation plan and measurement framework.
Gather evidence
Collect and check data from records, surveys, interviews or focus groups, with privacy safeguards agreed in advance.
Output: Clean, documented data sets and interview notes.
Analyze and conclude
Analyze the data, test findings with your team and separate what the evidence shows from what it cannot show.
Output: Draft findings for review.
Report and act
Deliver a report and briefing, and agree which recommendations to act on and how progress will be tracked.
Output: Final report, briefing and recommendations.
Testing and handover
- Every finding in the report traces back to the data and method that support it.
- Limitations are stated plainly, including what the evaluation could not measure.
- Recommendations are specific enough to assign to someone and track.
- Data collection tools and analysis files are handed over so the work can be repeated.
- Any personal information collected is retained, returned or deleted as agreed.
What affects the cost
We do not publish package prices. Each estimate is based on an agreed scope, in US dollars, with taxes shown separately. These are the things that move the number most:
- The number of evaluation questions and program sites.
- Whether usable data already exists or new data must be collected.
- The number of surveys, interviews or focus groups.
- Reporting requirements set by your funder or agency.
- Timelines, including fixed grant or contract deadlines.
Questions buyers usually ask
What is the difference between process and outcome evaluation?
A process evaluation looks at how a program is delivered, for example whether activities happen as planned, who takes part and what gets in the way. An outcome evaluation looks at what changes for participants or communities, such as knowledge, behavior or access to services. Many evaluations combine both.
Can you prove that our program caused the results?
Proving cause usually needs a comparison group and a formal study design, which most programs do not have. We say clearly what the evidence can support, such as changes observed among participants, and what it cannot.
Do you follow a recognized framework?
Yes, when it helps. We can structure the work around the CDC Program Evaluation Framework, 2024, which many public health funders and agencies recognize, or around the framework your funder specifies.
Do you need participants' health information?
Usually not. Most questions can be answered with de-identified or summary data. If identifiable health information is unavoidable, we agree in writing how it is handled before any is shared, including a business associate agreement where HIPAA requires one.
Can you write the evaluation section of our grant proposal?
We can draft the evaluation plan, logic model and measures for a proposal. Your organization remains responsible for the application and for any commitments it makes to the funder.
Related
Needs assessments for health programs and organizations
Understand what a population or organization needs, where services fall short, and which priorities deserve investment first.
Data analysis and reporting for programs and operations
Turn program and operational data into accurate, regular reports and dashboards that funders, boards and managers can trust.
Evaluation, data and technology for health programs and public agencies
Program evaluation, needs assessments, data analysis, quality improvement and health technology for agencies, health organizations, nonprofits and primes.
Need an evaluation plan or report?
Tell us about the program, its funder and the questions you need answered. We will reply to arrange a conversation about scope and timing.