Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation - (Essential Texts for Nonprofit and Public Leadership and Mana) 4th Edition (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation provides tools for managers and evaluators to address questions about the performance of public and nonprofit programs. Neatly integrating authoritative, high-level information with practicality and readability, this guide gives you the tools and processes you need to analyze your program's operations and outcomes more accurately. This new fourth edition has been thoroughly updated and revised, with new coverage of the latest evaluation methods, including:

• Culturally responsive evaluation
• Adopting designs and tools to evaluate multi-service community change programs
• Using role playing to collect data
• Using cognitive interviewing to pre-test surveys
• Coding qualitative data

You'll discover robust analysis methods that produce a more accurate picture of program results, and learn how to trace causality back to the source to see how much of the outcome can be directly attributed to the program. Written by award-winning experts at the top of the field, this book also contains contributions from the leading evaluation authorities among academics and practitioners to provide the most comprehensive, up-to-date reference on the topic.

Valid and reliable data constitute the bedrock of accurate analysis, and since funding relies more heavily on program analysis than ever before, you cannot afford to rely on weak or outdated methods. This book gives you expert insight and leading edge tools that help you paint a more accurate picture of your program's processes and results, including:

• Obtaining valid, reliable, and credible performance data
• Engaging and working with stakeholders to design valuable evaluations and performance monitoring systems
• Assessing program outcomes and tracing desired outcomes to program activities
• Providing robust analyses of both quantitative and qualitative data

Governmental bodies, foundations, individual donors, and other funding bodies are increasingly demanding information on the use of program funds and program results. The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation shows you how to collect and present valid and reliable data about programs.

From the Back Cover

THE LEADING PROGRAM EVALUATION REFERENCE, UPDATED WITH THE LATEST TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

"The fourth edition of The Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation has raised the bar again. This new revised and expanded volume is a must read for evaluation practitioners and scholars alike. The transdiscipline practice of evaluation is evolving rapidly, and this volume is an excellent resource to keep you on the cutting edge."
--Stewart I. Donaldson, President, American Evaluation Association and Dean & Professor, Claremont Graduate University

"Designs, methods, tools and uses of evaluation in U.S. government and nonprofit organizations are concretely presented with no jargon, and buzzwords. It should be a required reading for international students of evaluation as well, as it is readable and relevant for anyone interested in embarking on an evaluation journey."
--Mita Marra, President of the Italian Evaluation Association

"The fourth edition of this indispensable guide for the evaluation research student and professional alike covers the field's full range of core tasks while keeping the reader up to date on the latest techniques needed to address them."
--Alan Werner, Principal Associate, Abt Associates

"This isn't a Handbook -- it's a search engine on a shelf. Anytime I need the current hinking on a practical evaluation topic, I just reach for this book, and very soon I'm up-to-date. A must-have book, in my opinion."
--Michael Hendricks, Independent Evaluation Consultant

"The emphasis of this book is on 'practical.' It doesn't just cover the design issues common in many other texts, but also how to get action taken on the results of an evaluation. It doesn't belong on a reference shelf, but on evaluators' desks!"
--John M. Kamensky, senior fellow, IBM Center for The Business of Government

"I've been using the Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation in my program evaluation course for years, and truly appreciate the editors' efforts to keep it current and dynamic. My students are government managers for whom my course is an introduction to what program evaluation is and how it might be useful to them in managing and improving their program. Many students have told me how useful that is!"
--Nancy Kingsbury, Adjunct Faculty, Key Executive Leadership Program, School of Public Affairs, American University.

About the Author

KATHRYN E. NEWCOMER is the Director of the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy Administration at the George Washington University.

HARRY P. HATRY is a Distinguished Fellow and director of the Public Management Program at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

JOSEPH S. WHOLEY is a Professor Emeritus of the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.