Evaluation proposal about ( Pacific Community)
Order Description
: Evaluation proposal ( Pacific Community)
Word limit: 2,000 words
This research assignment requires you to develop an evaluation proposal for a program.
The purpose of this assignment is to make you able to enter the field (relatively) confident that you are able to undertake at least small scale evaluations. This assignment is designed to give you those skills.
In week 8, we will meet with PHD , who is a Project Officer for the Department of Family and Community Services. PHD presents some current projects/programs. This assignment is to write an evaluation proposal for one of those (so don’t miss this week). The assignment will be explained in more detail following PHD visit.
There are two components to this assignment:
10%: A preliminary presentation/consultation with PHD and UNI staff:
In week 13, PHD will again visit us. This is your chance to engage and consult with PHD. You will be able to present up to 6 A4 pages with your preliminary outline/considerations.
30%: The proposal:
You should organise the proposal so that it includes the elements outlined in the table below.
Note: The sections shaded grey on Table 1 (summary, research timetable, budget, personnel, appendices) normally feature in research proposals and grant applications, but due to the word limit for this task they do not have to be included here (and will not count toward your task). References (which are compulsory) do not have to count toward your word limit. Also, please make sure that you make linkages between the different sections of this report where appropriate.
A marking rubric will be provided later in the course.
Table 1: Evaluation Proposal
Cover letter You should include a cover letter and address the evaluation proposal to PHD
Title The title should indicate the topic of the study in 1- 15 words
Summary 100 to 200 word summary of the entire project Background/ Significance This section should outline the program that you will be evaluating in the proposed research and indicate why evaluation is needed. For instance, are there controversies about the program or the social issue it responds to? Why is there a need for further information about this program? When outlining the program, you should present the program logic in diagrammatic form and explain how the key elements of the program relate to each other. When indicating why the evaluation is needed, you should discuss the program, the social issue that it responds to and what the evaluation will contribute to our knowledge. Literature Review A concise summary of the main references relevant to evaluating the selected program. Make sure that you review the findings of other studies and discuss their methodology. At the end of this review, draw out the important messages for the evaluation and the methodology in particular. It is imperative that multiple sources with a range of authors are consulted to allow for a diversity of views to be explored and identification of controversies about the program (or similar types of programs). Please do not take any sources at face value – be critical but reasonable. Aims and
Objectives
Make it clear who the evaluation is being commissioned by. Identify the study’s main objective and the key research questions that will guide the evaluation. After identifying the main objective, it might help to consider whether you need information on the effectiveness, appropriateness, and efficiency and so on of the program.
Approach Discuss the suggested approach and justify why you have chosen that approach. It is good practice to discuss (briefly) the merits of the main alternative approaches. Use references if appropriate. What methods will you use? What will be the outcome of using these methods? Which stakeholders will be involved? It is imperative that you explain the links between the evaluation question(s), the evaluation approach, the methods and how these will be operationalised in this particular case. Ethical and
Political Issues
Identify any specific issues arising from the research. Pay careful attention also to generic ethical issues in research with human subjects – Respect for Persons: Informed Consent; confidentiality; possible risks for subjects and any possible benefits. State whether Ethics
approval has, or will be sought, and if so, from whom. Also, consider the political dimensions of this report – are there controversies about the program or social issue? Are there any conflicts of interest (i.e. as internal or external evaluators)? And, consider the ethical issues that are likely to arise because this is evaluation research.
Research
Timetable
Set out the best information available on the time needed for the various stages of the research: preparation, data collection, analysis, write up, publication/dissemination.
Personnel
Where appropriate, identify the main people (including yourself as primary researcher) are likely to be involved and summarise the experience and expertise they would need to bring in order to produce high quality data.
Budget
This is required for many grant applications, consultancies, etc. It is often useful to complete in other cases as well.
References List any books, articles, reports, web sites etc. you have cited in the proposal.
Appendices