Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of information about program activities, characteristics, and outcomes to reduce uncertainty, improve effectiveness, and make decisions.
A good evaluation can help States and communities become more skillful and exact in describing what they plan to do, monitor what they are doing, and improve. Evaluation results can and should be used to determine what efforts should be sustained and to assist in sustainability planning efforts. Ultimately, good evaluation will help improve not only our own programs but those implemented by others.
Practitioners at the State, Jurisdiction, Tribe, and community levels engage in a variety of evaluation-related activities, including identifying evaluation expertise, designing evaluation plans, and collecting, analyzing, and reporting data.
Many grantees have developed materials related to and/or describing their assessment processes. Links to these materials are contained on their respective state, tribe, or jurisdiction pages.