Community Crime Prevention Guide
Printable Version (PDF/1.4MB)
How to Evaluate
Evaluation is a process that determines whether a project's activities are meeting the project's goals and objectives in the manner expected. The evaluation results can help you revamp your project or plan a new one.
A well-developed evaluation plan shows prospective sponsors that your project is well thought out and offers potential benefits. It also indicates your group is committed to assessing the impact of the project on the community.
The basic steps of project evaluation are:
- identify the goals and objectives;
- describe the project activities;
- identify what you want to know – anticipated results or outcomes;
- identify data sources and data collection tools that will give you actual results and outcomes;
- collect, organize and analyze the data and conclusions; and
- report the results and identify next steps.
Community groups often think evaluation requires the services of an expert outsider. While expert help is sometimes needed, it's not always required.
You could consider using an outside evaluator in the following situations:
- when complex statistics are needed to analyze the results of your evaluation;
- when you plan to use a wide variety of information-gathering methods, requiring detailed comparison and analysis;
- when you are unsure what information is needed to answer your evaluation questions;
- when you want an objective viewpoint; and
- when your evaluation involves experimental and comparison groups, requiring different levels of statistical comparison.
Reporting the results of your evaluation is an important final step. For key partners and funders, it ensures accountability. At a practical level, the evaluation may lead to additional funding for future projects. Dissemination of the evaluation report also contributes to the evidence base and assists other communities in their future planning and in identifying opportunities for improvement.
Your local college or university may be able to assist with designing and carrying out an evaluation.
Resources
Evaluation of Crime Prevention through Social Development Projects: Handbook for Community Groups (March 2006)
(PDF/910KB): This 173-page handbook is organized into seven chapters that correspond to seven modules of a training package for crime prevention through social development developed by the National Crime Prevention Centre. Each chapter provides a glossary of terms used in the chapter and a list of resources relevant to the topics covered. Worksheets used in the training session sections are provided at the close of each chapter.
The handbook is based on a logic model, which is a way of describing a project. A logic model provides a simple picture of what programs do and what they plan to accomplish. Logic models are useful tools for visioning and priority setting. They are also a good way to bring project staff, managers and partners together to identify what they hope to accomplish and what activities they will undertake. The logic model helps ensure all players communicate the same message when describing the project and its purpose to senior managers, participants, potential funders and media. Their use in a grant application shows the funder the project has taken the first steps to putting an accountability structure in place.
Splash and Ripple: Using Outcomes to Design and Guide Community Justice Work – Safe Communities, published by the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
Outcome measurement is the primary focus in the "splash-and-ripple" approach, a term used to describe the effects, or outcomes, of putting human resources into crime prevention activities. Outcome measurement is described as a cyclical process. A group can get started by:
- brainstorming the things your project is doing;
- categorizing the results;
- refining the information in each category;
- developing indicators; and
- brainstorming different ways of gathering information.
Appendix I of Splash and Ripple provides an outcome measurement framework for a fictitious community crime prevention project.
