Using your
evaluation:
Communicating,
reporting,
1.
improving
2.
3.
4.
Who
What (Content)
How (Format)
When
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Why communicate?
Success is judged by how much
our evaluations and the findings
are USED. We don’t conduct evaluations for
them to sit on the shelf. Evaluation provides
opportunity for learning and we are educators!
“The proper function of evaluation is to speed up the learning
process by communicating what might otherwise be overlooked
or wrongly perceived. The evaluator, then, is an educator. His
success is to be judged by his success in communication; that is
by what he leads others to understand and believe. Payoff comes
from the insight that the evaluator’s work generates in others.”
- L. J. Cronbach
Cronbach, L.J. (1982). Designing evaluations of educational and social programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 8.
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Myths
• One report is enough.
• People read written reports.
• Complex analysis and big words impress people.
• Oral reports have the same effect as written
reports.
• Describing limitations weakens report.
• Everything should be reported.
• The audience knows why they are getting the
report.
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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There are lots of ways to communicate
our evaluation results.
Which have you used?
• Written report - long,
short, summary
• Success story
• Impact statement;
spotlight
• Elevator story
• Press release
• Media appearance
• At a public meeting
• Memo, email, fax,
postcard
• Newsletter
• Personal discussion
• Bulletin, brochure
• Display/exhibit
• Audio/video
presentation
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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“Start with the end in mind”
Hopefully, you had a plan for using your information
when you started your evaluation.
It would include:
WHO? do you
want to reach
WHAT? will you
report
HOW? will you do
it
WHEN? will you
report
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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# 1 WHO do you want to reach?
Potential Users
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•
Program staff
Youth participants
Parents
Volunteers
Your tenure committee
Funders
Program Committee
Collaborating agencies;
partners
• Schools boards, parentteacher organizations
• County board/City council
(elected and appointed
officials)
• Community at large
• Church organizations
• State legislators
• Professional organizations
• The Extension and
research community
• Businesses; business
groups
• Police – law enforcement
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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#2 WHAT
will you say, share, report, communicate??
• What does the target audience care about?
• What do you want the audience to learn –
understand?
• What type of information resonates with the
audience: numbers, quotes, stories?
• What data will the target audience find
compelling, trustworthy?
• What is your story?
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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# 3 HOW will you communicate –
what format(s) will you use?
•
•
•
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•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Report
Impact statement
Executive summary
Email, memo
Personal discussion
Display, exhibit
Press release
Newsletter, bulletin
Poster
Slide presentation
Published article
??????
University of Wisconsin-Extension programs serving the
98th Assembly District
Overview
Cooperative Extension
- 72 county offices
- Family Living Programs
- 4-H Youth Development
- Community, Natural
Resources and
Economic Development
- Agriculture and Natural
Resources Education
- Geologic and Natural
History Survey
- 1.4 million educational
contacts per year
Continuing Education
- Partnerships with 26
UW System campuses
- UW-Learning
Innovations
- School for Workers
- 162,000 enrollments per
year
Broadcasting & Media
Innovations
- Wisconsin Public
Television
- Wisconsin Public Radio
- Instructional
Communications
Systems
- Nearly 1 million viewers
and listeners per week
Representative Marc Duff
Waukesha County Extension — The Waukesha County UW-Extension
Cooperative Extension office has developed partnerships with numerous
organizations to deliver educational programs addressing local needs.

The Waukesha County Extension office developed a Hunger in Waukesha
County Nutrition Survey for area communities. These communities also
receive nutrition education services through the Waukesha County Nutrition
Education Program at sites like the WIC clinics, elderly nutrition sites and
food pantries.

For the past two years, budgeting, nutrition and food safety have been taught
through Waukesha County Extension’s Nutrition Education Program at the
Waukesha County Jail. The program also links inmates to resources that will
be available to them once they are released.
The Nutritional Education Program also works with individuals with drug and
alcohol abuse problems who are living at the Waukesha County Huber
Facility. The program focuses on healthy eating and the effects of drugs and
alcohol on the body, food safety and budgeting.


The Waukesha County Extension office provided leadership to a collaboration
of 14 agencies/organizations serving children and families to conduct a twoto-three-year program to disseminate research and conduct comprehensive
training about early learning and brain development of infants and children.

Waukesha County Extension offers a Grant Opportunities Newsletter, which
identifies grants available to the community from a variety of state and federal
agencies as well as local foundations. The list includes federal agencies, such
as the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Department of Labor and Employment and Training
Administration, and state entities including the Department of Workforce
Development, Department of Administration - Division of Housing, TEACH,
Department of Transportation, Department of Natural Resources and the
Wisconsin Advanced Telecommunications Foundation.

The Waukesha County Extension-Urban Initiative Program in Sussex will
address neighborhood revitalization, building a sense of community, crime
and public safety. In 2001 the program received a $10,000 Community
Development Block Grant which will allow expansion of the partnership and
implementation of an action plan in at-risk, troubled neighborhoods.
Small Business
Development Centers
- 13 campus-based
centers
- Wisconsin Innovation
Service Center
- 15,000 hours of
counseling per year
www.uwex.edu
info@uwex.edu
(608) 262-3786
The Parenting the First Year newsletter is distributed through Community
Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls with funding from the local Kiwanis
club. The Parenting the Second and Third Year newsletter is distributed
through Community Memorial under a grant from the Child Abuse
Prevention Fund (CAP). The project currently is being evaluated in order to
measure the value to parents. As a result of this partnership, parenting
education programs such as Home Alone, Parenting Your Teen and
Discipline vs. Punishment are also offered.
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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# 4 When will you communicate?
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Monthly?
Quarterly?
Annually
Whenever I have a chance
When requested?
???
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Be prepared with an “Elevator story”
A succinct, attention grabbing story that can
be communicated in a short elevator ride.
Be armed and ready with your best 30-second
story! Your story is important. Your job is to
make sure decision makers know it. You
never know when opportunity might knock!
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Success stories and annual
accomplishment reports are ways we
report in UWEX
They demonstrate that we are responsible
and accountable for our public dollars.
See the guidelines and samples that are
posted on this web site.
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Success story and reporting outlines tie
back to the logic
model
: SRRE
Components
of a Success
Story
University of Wisconsin-Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Success Story
SRRE
Situation:
Situation
What is the situation – the problem,
concern, issue that needed to be
addressed? Local, regional or state
information about the issue. Succinct
and compelling.
Response:
Response
INPUTS and OUTPUTS: What did
Extension do? What did we contribute?
Who participated/benefited? #s of key
demographics of participants
Results:
Results
Evidence:
Evidence
OUTCOMES: What changed? For whom?
What is the value of the change? What
does this mean? What was learned?
What evaluation did you conduct – how
do you know that the results are
accurate and credible?
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Ingredients of a Good Success Story
• Captures attention of reader
• Provides a compelling, convincing story
• Gives specific outcomes
(e.g., money saved, skills increased,
practices changed, actions taken)
• Includes numbers and narrative
• Based on reliable, credible information
• Presents balanced, fair assessment
• Uses succinct, clear writing
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Use graphics and design to
make the information interesting
and easy to understand
•
•
•
•
Charts and graphs
Overheads
Pamphlets
Reports
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Discuss limitations of the evaluation
Written reports:
• Be explicit about your limitations
Oral reports:
• Be prepared to discuss limitations
• Be honest about limitations
• Know the claims you cannot make
– Do not claim causation without a true
experimental design
– Do not generalize to the population
without random sample and quality
administration
(e.g., <60% response rate on a survey)
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Formal evaluation reports typically
include… • Abstract/executive summary
• Introduction
– Purpose of the evaluation; key questions
– Program background, description
• Methods/procedures
– Data sources
– Data collection procedures
– Sampling
– Limitations
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions/recommendations
• References
• Appendices
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Reporting results to the media
All Media:
• Avoid using too many statistics.
• Focus on the key points.
• For quotes, speak more globally about the
issue.
• Always give the source and timeliness of
your stats. It’s the “news peg.”
Steve Busalacchi
Director, News & Information
Wisconsin Medical Society
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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Reporting results to the media
Radio and TV:
• Do not offer exact statistics
– ear cannot track.
“73.6% of respondents”
vs.
“Nearly three quarters of those surveyed”
• Don’t go into great detail. Have backup info
ready.
Steve Busalacchi
Director, News & Information
Wisconsin Medical Society
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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As you write and talk, remember these
tips for effective communications
• Tailor the message to the topic
and the audience
• Avoid jargon and technical terms
• Be clear, concise
• Use active voice
• Eliminate wordiness
• Check writing, grammar
• Be accurate, balanced, impartial
• Be timely
• Use graphics, quotes, photos, real stories
• Consult a communications specialist
• Write-rewrite-rewrite
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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You’ve spent time and resources
doing your evaluation…
make sure it isn’t ignored
Here are some tips:
•
•
•
•
•
Engage stakeholders in doing the evaluation (in the design, data
collection, in analysis, interpretation of results), then they “own” the
evaluation and are more likely to use it and share it with others.
Get the information to the right people – target people who should
care about the evaluation
Address issues that people think are important – while you may
think everything in the evaluation is interesting and important, your
audience may not. Customize your communications to each
audience.
Keep it in front of people; keep talking about the evaluation and
what was learned
Be timely: Share information when it is most likely to be used;
when the ‘time is right’ and people are ‘ready to listen’.
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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And, remember…
“Think like a wise man,
but communicate in the language of the people.”
− William Butler Yeats
© 2009 University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension, Program Development and Evaluation
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