EVALCORP
 
Measurement Matters
A Quarterly Newsletter for Clients and Friends of EVALCORP
In This Issue
Getting Quality Data in School Settings
Activating Your Report
EVALCORP Extra
About Us
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Volume 4 - Fall 2010
Greetings from Kristen

Thanks to all of you who have read and responded to our newsletters and enotes over the past year!  We've certainly had fun creating articles that we hope you found both interesting and useful.

 

In this issue, check out the "back to school" article on best practices for gathering data in the school setting.  Then learn from some of our recent experiences on how to translate reports into short, pithy communication pieces.  We know it may not be easy, but it can be done!

 

We hope to see you in Sacramento, San Antonio, or DC in the next few months, where we'll be co-presenting at conferences on some of the great work being done by our clients.

 

Until next time, 


Kristen Donovan
Principal Consultant
EVALCORP

5 Tips for Getting Quality Data in School Settings

It's that time of year again!  School is back in full swing.  For many of us, that means it's "time to collect the data."  If you work with students, accurate data collection is essential to tracking the impact of your program.  Here are five of our favorite things to do when collecting data in schools. ...more


Activating Your Report

Sharing the results of your evaluation or data collection beyond your own staff helps generate support for your work.  Broader audiences typically respond to succinct communications, so we will often turn a comprehensive research report into an evaluation or data "Brief."  A Brief presents the highlights of your research in terms that everyone from staff to funders to clients and the press can understand, and thus activates their interest.  But how do you choose these highlights?  Let's look at a few examples from some recent work we did turning a 68-page Report into a 4-page Brief! ...more

EVALCORP Extra
Upcoming Presentations
EVALCORP staff are very excited to be partnering with our clients in presenting at several upcoming conferences.

California Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) 4th Statewide Training Conference
When:  October 12-14, 2010
Where:  Radisson Hotel, Sacramento, CA
What we're presenting:  (1) findings from Riverside County's MVUSD Breakthrough Student Assistance Program outcome evaluation and (2) lessons learned from Ventura County's Social Host Ordinance Impact Evaluation.
 
American Evaluation Association National Conference
When:  November 10-13, 2010
Where:  Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, TX
What we're presenting:  (1) how to collect high quality data in school-based settings stemming from our work with three multi-site afterschool and other school-based programs in Los Angeles County, San Diego County and Riverside County; (2) impacts achieved to date as a result of social host ordinance implementation and enforcement; and (3) cutting edge information about what factors lead to quality program implementation gleaned from a study we conducted in Los Angeles involving 60 afterschool program sites.

Alcohol Policy 15
When:  December 5-7, 2010
Where:  Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
What we're presenting:  (1) a panel presentation with Lance Segars, Fried Wittman and Rick McGaffigan on Research to Practice: Translating Science-Based Prevention Strategies, where we'll be discussing challenges encountered when implementing science-based community level prevention efforts in real-world situations and how they can be overcome and (2) a poster presentation on evaluating social host ordinances.

What's on Your Mind?

Please email us with any questions or ideas for topics you would like addressed in future issues.


About Us
EVALCORP offers strategic planning, applied research and evaluation services to organizations throughout California and nationwide.  We work with public and private sector organizations in the areas of AOD prevention, HIV prevention, substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, mental health, public health, education, children's services and organization development.  In addition to our methodological expertise, we are known for our pragmatic approach and ability to deliver findings you can use.  Each consulting engagement begins by assessing where our clients are, where they want to go, and how we can help them get there. Learn more...

Contact Information:
 T. 949.271.6437 ·  F. 949.271.6301 ·  info@evalcorp.com ·   www.evalcorp.com

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