Arriving at Results Efficiently: Using the Enhanced Evaluability Assessment Approach

Evaluability assessment: An application in a complex community improvement setting

Evaluation is essential to understand whether and how policies and other interventions work, why they sometimes fail, and whether they represent a good use of resources. Evaluability assessment (EA) is a means of collaboratively planning and designing evaluations, seeking to ensure they generate relevant and robust evidence that supports decision-making and contributes to the wider evidence base. This article reports on the context, the process undertaken and evidence from participants in an EA facilitated with public service workers involved in implementing a complex, area-based community improvement initiative. This is a novel context in which to conduct an EA. We show how the process allows practitioners at all levels to identify activities for evaluation and co-produce the theory of change developed through the EA. This enables evaluation recommendations to be developed that are relevant to the implementation of the programme, and which take account of available data and resources for evaluation.

Practice to Evidence: Using Evaluability Assessment to Generate Practice-Based Evidence in Rural South Georgia

Evidence from formal evaluation of real-world practice can address gaps in the public health knowledge base and provide information about feasible, relevant strategies for varied settings. Interest in evaluability assessment (EA) as an approach for generating practice-based evidence has grown. EA has been central to several structured assessment processes that identify and select promising programs and evaluate those most likely to produce useful findings. The Emory Prevention Research Center used EA as part of an initiative to generate practice-based evidence for cancer prevention in southwest Georgia. Our initiative consisted of five steps: (1) environmental scan to identify potential programs, (2) program selection, (3) EA, (4) evaluation, and (5) dissemination. We identified nine programs, four of which completed a formal application, and conducted two EAs. EAs consisted of document review, site visits, and literature reviews. The EA purpose was to assess the program model, data availability, stakeholder interest in evaluation, feasibility of an outcome evaluation, and potential contribution to the literature. We conducted one outcome evaluation and one descriptive qualitative study; both were published in peer-reviewed journals. The outcome evaluation addressed knowledge gaps about strategies to promote colorectal cancer screening. Results led to the program’s inclusion in national resources for practitioners seeking evidence-based practices and helped the community organization expand and strengthen the program. As part of a structured assessment process, EA can identify programs most likely to produce useful results for dissemination and is a viable approach for local initiatives to generate practice-based evidence in rural or low-resource settings.