Evaluation Workshop. The Inaugural Summer Evaluation Workshop was a success. The workshop began with a Senate Citation (double click on citation on left to see detail).

Mayor Carl Redus, Jr., Dr. Johnson, and Dr. Benjamin welcomed the participants. Dr. Fetterman provided an overview about the Arkansas Evaluation Center, the evaluation workshop, and the forthcoming certificate and masters' programs.



Senator Steele highlighted the value of evaluation to inform his own decision making. He also pledged his commitment to the Arkansas Evaluation Center and plans to help support Center efforts.

Representative Flowers also expressed her support for the Center. Senator Henry "Hank" Wilkins, IV sent his letter of support for the workshop (which was included in the workshop program.) They helped draft the bill that was passed by the House and Senate (and signed by the Governor).

Kevin Collins, from the Centers for Disease Control, provided a portrait of CDC best practices - both programmatic and evaluation practices.


Our first set of workshop facilitators, Drs. Stewart Donaldson and Tarek Azzam, from Claremont Graduate University, provided practical program evaluation and technological tools.



Foundation officers, Charles Gasper (Missouri Foundation for Health) and Charlotte Lewellen-Willams (University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service), spoke about the types of evaluation that were appropriate and valuable depending on the purpose for the evaluation effort.



Linda Delaney, chair of the Arkansas Group of Evaluators, facilitated the evening meeting. She introduced our remote speaker Dr. Abraham Wandersman, who spoke about his Getting to Outcomes form of empowerment evaluation.



Linda also provided an overview of the second day of the workshop, highlighting Drs. David Fetterman and Rosalie Torres workshops. Dr. Fetterman provided an empowerment evaluation workshop and Dr. Torres provided a workshop about interviewing.



The workshop concluded with a host of free materials to further facilitate evaluation practices.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Documents

• Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
• Introduction to Process Evaluation in Tobacco Use Prevention and Control
• Introduction to Program Evaluation for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs
• Pathways to Freedom: Winning the Fight Against Tobacco

Arkansas Summer Evaluation Workshop ............. July 10-11, 2008

ARKANSAS SUMMER EVALUATION WORKSHOP

WORKSHOP PROGRAM

1ST DAY SCHEDULE

Thursday, July 10, 2008

8:30-9:00 Welcome

• Dr. Johnson, Dean of Education, UAPB – welcome to UAPB
• Ms. Marian Evans, MISRGO Coordinator– welcome and brief statement about Minority Initiative Sub-Recipient Grant Office
• Dr. Fetterman, Director of Evaluation, School of Medicine, Stanford University and Co-Director, Arkansas Evaluation Center, School of Education, UAPB – overview of the two-day workshop

9:15 to 11:45

Workshop I: Introduction to Practical Program Evaluation (Program Theory)
Dr. Stewart Donaldson, Professor and Chair of Psychology, Director of the Institute of Organizational and Program Evaluation Research, and Dean of the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University

9:15 to 11:45

Workshop II: Introduction to Technology and Evaluation: Focus on the use of Geographic Information Systems and Online Surveys
Dr. Tarek Azzam, Senior Research Associate, School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University

12:00 to 1:15 Lunch

Plenary Luncheon Speakers:

• Tracy Steele, Arkansas Senator and CEO of Stand
• Kevin Collins, Health Education Specialist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Best Practices (program and evaluation practices)

1:30 to 4:30

Workshop I: Introduction to Practical Program Evaluation (Program Theory)
Dr. Stewart Donaldson, Professor and Chair of Psychology, Director of the Institute of Organizational and Program Evaluation Research, and Dean of the School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University

1:30 to 4:30

Workshop II: Introduction to Technology and Evaluation: Focus on the use of Geographic Information Systems and Online Surveys
Dr. Tarek Azzam, Senior Research Associate, School of Behavioral and Organizational Sciences, Claremont Graduate University

NIGHT SCHEDULE

Dinner

Group on Own for Dinner – Consult with Program Staff for Dinner Options in Pine Bluff

Arkansas Group of Evaluators Networking Social

7:00 to 8:30

Arkansas Group of Evaluators' Networking Social
Chair – Ms. Linda Delaney, Evaluation Consultant


2ND DAY SCHEDULE

Friday, July 11, 2008

8:30-9:00 Welcome

• Ms. Linda Delaney, Assistant Director, Arkansas Evaluation Center, Evaluation Consultant
• Dr. Fetterman, Director of Evaluation, School of Medicine, Stanford University and Co-Director, Arkansas Evaluation Center, School of Education, UAPB

9:15 to 11:45

Workshop III: Interviewing Skills for Evaluators
Dr. Rosalie Torres, Torres Consulting Group

9:15 to 11:45

Workshop IV: Introduction to Empowerment Evaluation
Dr. Fetterman, Director of Evaluation, School of Medicine, Stanford University and Co-Director, Arkansas Evaluation Center, School of Education, UAPB

12:00 to 1:15 Lunch

Plenary Luncheon Speakers:

• Mr. Charles Gasper, Director of Evaluation, Missouri Foundation for Health - A Foundation Perspective about the Significance of Program Evaluation
• Dr. Nacaman Williams, Walton Foundation – A Foundation Perspective about the Significance of Program Evaluation

1:30 to 4:30

Workshop III: Interviewing Skills for Evaluators
Dr. Rosalie Torres, Torres Consulting Group

1:30 to 4:30

Workshop IV: Introduction to Empowerment Evaluation
Dr. David Fetterman, School of Medicine, Stanford University, and Co-Director, Arkansas Evaluation Center, School of Education, UAPB

4:30-5:00 Closure

The Arkansas Evaluation Center 2007 Progress Report. The report provides a portrait of our efforts to-date, in broad strokes.

The report summarizes steps taken to date working with the legislature, developing curriculum, and identifying funding opportunities.


The next steps will focus on additional curricular design issues, the development of individual workshop-specific modules, marketing, and securing funding. For a copy of the report please click here.

It is Official: The Governor Approved The Arkansas Evaluation Center - It is an Act

The Governor of Arkansas approved the bill. The Arkansas Evaluation Center is now an Act. You can track the the Center as a bill through the House and Senate below. (Select the image to bring you to the Arkansas General Assembly.












Dr. Fetterman and Ms. Delaney are creating online courses for a certificate program that is offered through the Center and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.



Enrollment in the program will beginn this summer. Contact Dr. Fetterman for details.

Bill - Presentation to the Arkansas Legislature

Presentation

A proposal for an Arkansas Evaluation Center was presented to the Arkansas Legislature on March 19, 2007. The proposal was prepared and presented by the Minority Initiative Subrecipient Grant Office and Dr. Fetterman's Empowerment Evaluation Team. The Center will be housed in the School of Education at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. Dr. David Fetterman is the Director of the Center and Ms. Linda Delaney is the Associate Director.

Dr. Calvin Johnson, Dean of the School of Education

The idea emerged from the MISRGO evaluation tobacco prevention work. The need for more evaluators and more systematic evaluation training throughout the State became increasingly evident during the project.

(Click on Picture to Display Full Size Poster of Arkansas Evaluation Center.)

Not only are more evaluators needed for tobacco prevention work but for many other programs as well. This was the impetus for the proposal to establish a center to train new evaluators and provide professional development training for working practitioners.

Bill

The bill describes the mission or purpose of the center. Highlights include:

• enhancing the quality of existing services and programs
• ensuring accountability for funds and services used
• “raising the bar” concerning standards and expectations
• increasing the use of data to inform program operation and decision making.

(Click on Picture of Bill to Display Full PDF of the Bill.)

An empowerment evaluation approach and philosophy has been adopted by the Center to shape practice in communities throughout the State. Empowerment evaluation and other collaborative forms of evaluation are particularly useful in complex collaborative endeavors requiring the participation of diverse groups. It is designed to help groups accomplish their objectives using evaluation concepts and tools.

Special thanks are due to all of the MISRGO staff, grantees, and evaluators for helping to identify this need and transform this need into an action step designed to meet the need.