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Reporting and Using
Evaluation Information |
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Purposes of Evaluation Reports
 | Decision making |
| Demonstrate accountability |
| Convince |
| Educate |
| Explore and investigate |
| Document |
| Involve |
| Gain support |
| Promote understanding |
| Promote public relations |
Types of Reports
| Internal vs. external |
| Complete vs. brief |
| Written vs. oral |
| Research vs. lay (language) |
Internal Report Uses
| Supervisors |
| Boards |
| Organizational accountability |
| Grant reports |
| Handout with oral report |
| Basis for a local newspaper article |
External Report Uses
| Internal report uses |
| Budget requests |
| Grant requests |
| Handouts |
| Journal articles |
Report Sections
| Executive Summary |
| Introduction to the Report |
| Focus of the Evaluation |
| Evaluation Plan and Procedures |
| Presentation of Evaluation Results |
| Conclusions and Recommendations |
| Minority Reports or Rejoinders (if any) |
| Appendices |
Writing Style
| Start with the most important information (not only
within the report, but within each section) |
| Highlight the important points |
| Keep the readability level low
 | Use a shorter, more familiar word if it works |
| If you must use a technical term, define it clearly |
| Use active verbs |
| Cut out the deadwood |
| Shorten your sentences |
| Shorten your paragraphs |
| Personalize the text |
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Report Appearance
| Print quality |
| Graphics |
| Color |
| Cover |
| Page appearance
| White space |
| Varied headings |
| Underlining or italics |
| Use of numbered or bulleted lists |
| Insertion of visuals |
| Boxes |
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Minimize Mental Length
| Standard formats |
| Checklists |
| Subheads |
| Paragraphing |
| Sidebars |
Oral Evaluation Reports
| Make the presentation format interesting and varied |
| Develop a presentation that feels natural and comfortable
to you, then practice until you are at ease delivering it |
| Make all visuals large and simple, using only a few words
on each |
| Involve the audience in the presentation through
questions and answers, show of hands or other interaction, providing written issues they
would like you to address, and the like |
Evaluation Uses
| Instrumental or allocative uses |
| Conceptual uses |
| Symbolic uses |
Factors for Use I
| Reputation of evaluator |
| Evaluator’s commitment to evaluation use |
| Interest of decision-makers and community in evaluation |
| Extent to which evaluation focused on local needs |
| Degree to which evaluation was presented in graphic,
nontechnical form |
| Development of procedures that assisted decision-makers
to use information |
Factors for Use II
| Relevance of evaluation to decision-maker’s needs |
| Credibility of evaluation and evaluator |
| Communication of evaluation results |
| Translation of evaluation results into specific
implications |
| Evaluation user involvement and advocacy |
    
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