ECUR 809 Assignment 3: Evaluation Assessment: A Literacy Organization

Context
Organization A is a volunteer literacy organization that provides free literacy services to individuals, families, workplaces and the community.
Their vision: To support create a community that values literacy.
Their mission: To provide literacy services for adults and families.
This non-profit organization offers many programs to adults through 4 focus areas:
1. One-to-one tutoring program
2. Family literacy programs and services
3. Facilitator trainings
4. Workplace programs
The management is undertaking the development of an Accountability Framework to provide a roadmap for their agency (for all 4 focus areas offered), to meet the needs of major funders and to share the framework with four other agencies once the framework is completed.
Stakeholders Involved
The audience for the information from the evaluation is management and staff in the initial phase and funders and 4 other organizations at a later stage. The approach taken to the evaluation would be participatory, especially when examining outcomes and measures, not only to ensure the information is relevant and that commitment would likely be stronger, but also to enable staff to conduct and use their own evaluation that is realistic, relevant and doable in their practice after the evaluation is completed.

Purpose of Evaluation
The purpose is to improve the measurement of program outcomes in order to enhance and verify the impact of Literacy programs/services in order to:
· improve program effectiveness
· guide future program development
· prepare and justify budgets
· focus board members’ attention to program issues and values
· improve and promote clarity and collaboration with funders by employing a common set of terms and language
· show funders that benefits produced merit continued support
· prove that informal education is not only valuable, but also valid and measureable
· reinforce the positive impact staff and volunteers make as a result of their dedication and hard work.

Type of Evaluation
The evaluation would be outcomes-based. It is a long term project (2 years) that will require an examination and identification of the current outcomes for the 4 main focus areas and the services and programs found within each area. Identification, enhancement &/or development of measures and efficient methods to collect information would follow. It is important to note that many participants have low literacy levels, so creative and non-print based techniques to collect data will be required.
Within the One-to-one tutoring focus area (and possibly the Family Literacy focus area), Adult Literacy Benchmarks will be integrated with the existing program outcomes and measures will need to be developed to address them. This will require close collaboration and planning with management and coordinators throughout all phases of the project. Since this project has yet to begin, these are preliminary plans that will change as more information and details develop.

Data Collection
· Program documents (program evaluations, anecdotal records)
· Funding proposals for programs (& other documents that list inputs, outputs, activities and outcomes for Organization A)
· Past and current reports, both external (to funders and board members) and internal (staff monthly reports)
· Staff and management interviews and/or surveys
· Observing program participants (re: the program evaluations)
· Conducting focus groups