Evaluation Systems for Organizations

Torres Consulting Group works with organizations to design overall evaluation systems. This work can build from an already-developed strategic plan and indicators of success or can begin with working to establish and refine these.


Principles


Our approach to designing an organization’s evaluation system is based on the following premises:


  1. The evaluation function should be linked to an organization's mission and strategic plan.

  2. Evaluation should not be undertaken without clear intention and planning for use of findings.

  3. Collaborative and participatory evaluation systems should be a catalyst for learning, decision-making, and action.

  4. In this process stakeholders may learn as much about themselves and evaluation practice as they do about the evaluation’s findings.

  5. An evaluation system must consider the organization’s infrastructure during its design and implementation. This infrastructure includes the organization’s culture, leadership, systems and structures, as well as the ways in which information is communicated.

  6. Organizations are dynamic and constantly changing. Evaluation systems must respond to where the organization is and wants to go. No one evaluation system design fits all.

Processes


The following outlines a basic set of steps for working with organizations to develop their evaluation systems. These steps are refined based on each organization’s needs and circumstances.


  1. Gain thorough understanding of the organization’s strategic plan, operations and staffing, organizational culture, and current stage of transformation in realization of strategic intentions.

  2. Collaboratively codify and reach shared understanding on the organization’s overall theory of change and logic models for each of its functional areas.

  3. Gain thorough understanding of planned and existing evaluation measures (current availability of data and its use, proposed indicators of success, relationship of measures to overall theory of change and logic models for each focus area).

  4. Use diagnostic tool (Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation Instrument1, ROLE) to understand status of organization’s infrastructure (leadership, culture, systems and structures, communication) critical to organizational learning and design of the evaluation system.

  5. Design and document the evaluation system.

  6. Design and conduct trainings with organization staff and other stakeholders as appropriate on implementation of the evaluation system.

  7. Provide follow-up consultation and support to assure success.


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1The Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation Instrument, © 2000 Hallie Preskill, Claremont Graduate University and Rosalie T. Torres, Torres Consulting Group.