The Community Evaluation and Research Center (CERC) at Michigan State University is pleased to announce The Evaluation Circle, a series of workshops on evaluation theory and practice for the MSU and broader Michigan community. As part of The Evaluation Circle, we plan to offer two workshops each semester, beginning in the fall of 2009. These workshops are designed to cover evaluation topics that are often not addressed in the typical graduate curriculum. The workshops are free and open to all members of the MSU community.
Evaluation: Background and Theories
Presenter: Miles McNall, Ph.D.
- Friday, October 30, 2009
- Kellogg Center | Room 6
- 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Evaluation is sometimes viewed as simply one form of applied social science. However, evaluation has a set of unique theoretical and practical concerns that make it much more than this, including the role of evaluation in social problem solving, values that undergird criteria of merit or worth, and methods for facilitating the use of evaluation findings. This session will focus on the development of evaluation as a discipline and the evolution of its major theoretical approaches. No prior knowledge of evaluation is expected of participants.
» View the Presentation: Evaluation Theory: The Enduring Issues (PDF, 542 KB)
Using Logics Models to Represent Program Theories
Presenter: Celeste Sturdevant Reed, Ph.D. and Laurie Van Egeren, Ph.D.
- Friday, November 6, 2009
- Kellogg Center | Room 6
- 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Program theories refer to the assumptions held by program managers and staff regarding how program resources and activities operate to produce intended program effects. Logic models are graphical representations of program theories and are useful tools in helping uncover underlying assumptions about program logic. They also serve as a framework for identifying major evaluation questions and key process and outcome measures. This session will focus on how to work with program stakeholders to explicate underlying program theories using logic models.
» View the Presentation: Using Logic Models to Represent Program Theories (PDF, 517 KB)
The Nuts and Bolts of Evaluation
Project Planning and Budgeting
Presenter: Laurie Van Egeren, Ph.D.
- Friday, January 15, 2010
- Kellogg Center | Room 6
- 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Evaluation planning and budgeting are essential skills for conducting high quality evaluations. This session will focus on how to successfully navigate the journey from responding to an evaluation request for proposals, through identifying the resources required to conduct an evaluation, to creating a realistic evaluation budget.
Community Faciliation
Engaging Communities in Evaluations
Presenter: Pennie Foster-Fishman, Ph.D.
- Friday, April 23, 2010
- Kellogg Center | Room 6
- 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Session description TBA.
Download The Evaluation Circle Workshop Flyer
