The dog days of summer, oftentimes, for program evaluators means cranking up evaluation reports for our clients. This also means writing and editing pages of reports that oh so often don’t get read or reviewed completely. Over the years, after having just completed 180 technical reports, we have learned that writing a lengthy report does not necessarily mean writing an effective one.
At MNA, we are all about producing quality work that has an impact on learning. Communicating the right message to the right audience in effective ways is one of our primary goals.
We are doing this by following a few rules: 1) limit reports to under 25 pages, 2) use infographics to communicate data findings, 3) use less text and fewer tables with numbers, 4) use images/ graphs to reach a wider audience, 6) use less jargon, and 7) for reports that tend to be technical, include a short narrative in the body of the report and include a separate technical section with statistics in the Appendix.
A few examples of our work:
- Developed an interactive report in an online format (e.g., digital report) to tell a story about Summer Arts Learning Academy (SALA) run by Young Audiences of MD
https://tinyurl.com/yc43vfp9
2. Presented data on teacher diversity disparity in the U.S. in a map using data mining techniques
https://tinyurl.com/ycab2947
3. Presented formative evaluation data findings in an online format for easy access and dissemination to a wider audience
https://tinyurl.com/y92hdr3s
4. Generated an interactive data dashboard to present performance indicators for multiple program objectives across several college campuses
https://tinyurl.com/ycm8xpkc
5. Presented site-wide main program effects/impact findings in an infographic
