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Getting Feedback

The following sections provide guidance for evaluating EPO plans.

Why is project evaluation important?
Evaluation Steps
Evaluation Resources

Why is project evalution important?

Evaluation, however simple or sophisticated, involves the collection of information that allows one to assess the value or usefulness of a product, service, or experience. Think of it as a way to get feedback before, during, and after you conduct your EPO. You may be quite familiar with evaluation through your experiences giving and taking exams, with course evaluation forms completed by university students, and with the peer-review process by which colleagues weigh in about the merits of proposed research and the quality of manuscripts submitted for publication.

With a level of care comparable to that taken in designing a research program, a plan should be developed for getting from “where you are” to “where you want to be” in your EPO project. A good evaluation plan provides a structure for clearly understanding the need for your contribution to EPO, the desired outcomes of your project, and how the resources invested will address particular needs of the audience.

Soliciting feedback or collecting data from your intended audience at various stages in the implementation of a project is an essential component of project evaluation. Evaluation can help address questions such as:

How likely is it that this EPO plan will succeed?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the EPO approach and execution?

To what extent have the stated goals and objectives been met?

Asking such questions and devising a plan to answer them are hallmarks of high-quality EPO. The answers may prompt mid-course corrections, influence the design of future projects, and help justify the expenditure of resources to funders, colleagues, and the participating institutions.

We suggest you consult an expert, unbiased evaluator to guide you through this important process. Whether you partner with a professional or conduct your own assessment, we recommend a three-step approach for EPO product or program development.

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Evalution Steps

Evaluate before, during, and after.

Step 1: Analyze Audience
Begin with an analysis of the audience so that the project can be tailored to best suit users’ needs. The objective is to understand users’ interest in, familiarity with, and preconceptions about a subject area and product(s) to be developed. Reading the appropriate educational literature, or conducting surveys or focus groups, are some of the ways to solicit feedback and ground-truth an EPO project idea.
Typical questions asked during this phase, (called front-end evaluation) are:

What is the intended audience’s current state of awareness, knowledge, or skill?
What product/program are they already using? Do they need a new, different product/program? Do they have the capabilities/skills to use the proposed product/program?
What are their preferences for such products/programs?
What would enable them to use and what would prevent them from using the proposed product/program?

Step 2: Design, Develop, and Launch
During these phases, formative assessment is used to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of what is being designed/developed/launched to ensure it works for the users. Users are often presented with design criteria, storyboards, and/or prototypes for review and asked to provide feedback on the usability of product(s). This phase may be iterative until you get the desired feedback from your user group.

Step 3: Final (Summative) Evaluation
This phase involves reflecting on and accounting for the resources that went into a project, the activities undertaken, and the changes or benefits that have resulted.
Typical questions include:

Whom (number of people and their demographics) has this project reached or benefited?
How profound, deep, lasting were these benefits?
What were the most valuable/successful elements of the project?
What elements of the project were less successful/valuable?
What, if any, understanding or action did the project inspire?
How does this project/product/service compare with others like it in terms of effectiveness, reach, cost:benefit ratio?
To what extent were the stated goals and objectives met?

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Evaluation Resources

While it is beyond the scope of this guide to provide a comprehensive discussion about evaluation, we recommend that scientists engaging in EPO activities consider and discuss with their educator-collaborators the benefits of and options for professional evaluation. Useful links:

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