Case Study 2: Evaluating a School-based Alcohol Education Program (continued)

Phase 1: Planning and Inception

The Purpose of Evaluation

This evaluation may have different purposes. For example:

1.       To evaluate the impact of the program on

a.       Knowledge and understanding of alcohol and its impact on the body

b.       Attitudes around drinking

c.       Drinking rates, levels, and patterns

d.       Age when drinking begins

2.       To share the results of the evaluation with key external stakeholders as a demonstration of responsibility and commitment to reducing alcohol-related harm.

3.       To provide funders with evidence of performance and impact.

It is important to decide what the evaluation is intended to achieve so it can be crafted accordingly.

Identifying Stakeholders

The stakeholders are all those who may be involved in some way in the evaluation or be recipients for its results.

External stakeholders may include:

·         The target audience for the program (i.e., young people of secondary school age)

·         Teachers involved in delivering this educational intervention

·         Parents of young people participating in the program

·         Other partners involved in developing and administering the educational tools (e.g., school administrators, Ministry or Department of Education, and local officials)

·         Media

Internal stakeholders may include:

·         Program funders and partners

·         Organization’s Board of Directors or governance bodies

Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation methodology will require the measurement of program outputs, outcomes, and impact (as defined in Section 2: What Is Evaluation?), using specific questions. It should be identified and clearly defined before the campaign is implemented.

The methodology to be used will depend on the resources that are available. This will determine whether the evaluation can be carried out externally or internally, as well as the number of data and time points that can be included.

A more detailed overview of the methodology is offered in Phase 2: Data Collection section below.

Evaluation Plan

Evaluation should be taken into account at all key stages of the program:

1.       Before the program is launched

2.       During its implementation

3.       After the program has been completed

Developing a concrete step-by-step evaluation plan will help guide the process. This plan must be finalized well before the program is launched and should define activities scheduled for each phase of evaluation.

TABLE 1 in ICAP’s A Guide to Evaluating Prevention Programs outlines some of the steps that can be included in the evaluation plan, whereas TABLE 3 of the toolkit offers a sample template.

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