Some may call this a force of habit. Some may call this a final check to view a report’s design layout. I call this giving one last look before it is sent to the client.
A full portrait of a report in a print layout. So many small slides laid out frame-by-frame.
It is a visually satisfying moment.
Over the years, my team and I have completed many evaluation reports. Yes, we tend to kept a count- just for fun.
As of July 17th, MNA has completed 275 evaluation reports.
We are happy and proud.
What does it mean to complete a report for a client?
Technically, as evaluators, completing an evaluation report means that we have fulfilled our contractual obligation(s) to our client by completing a deliverable—generally, an evaluation report.
Does it matter?
Yes. A written report (delivered on) time matters.
An evaluation report Investigates. Informs. Improves.
A report is a testament to the program being evaluated for its fidelity, efficacy, and (intended/perceived) impact(s) on its participants or the system that was studied.
A well-written report presents information of the program that may show promise to affect not only its intended participants but also a larger group or the system, if scaled and/or sustained.
The report also highlights the program’s “good practices,” its ability to directly affect the participants who may have received funds, supports, services, and/or interventions over a period of time.
More so, an evaluation report has data presented accurately in the form of numbers/percentages and narratives collected from multiple sources including interviews, focus groups, surveys, administrative data, and others.
Who reads it?
Primary audience for an evaluation report is almost always the client who hired you/r company. Others may include:
1) the funding source/agency
2) program stakeholders
3) policy makers, and
4) other constituents.
Knowing your target audience (aka reader) is critical before writing an evaluation report. Some basic considerations include:
1) Does the report have to be technical or non-technical? Maybe, mixed?
2) How should the data be presented? (e.g, tables, graphs, figures, use of appendices, etc).
3) How many pages?
4) What should be the general format, design, color scheme, etc?
In my next blog/article (sometime soon), I will present some tips and lessons learned from our reporting skills.
Stay tuned!
