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Evaluation Events and Training

CDC Webinars

CDC has developed educational webinars designed to help individuals further understand evaluations.

Learning to Love Your Logic Model

It’s fun to make fun of logic models. While some of the criticism is justified, much is directed at a caricature of logic models that no model fan would recognize. In this webinar we’ll remind you:

  • why a program description is essential,
  • how drawing a picture is the best way to describe your program, and
  • how a simple and practical logic model is the most effective picture of all. 

Using some simple examples, we’ll show that “form follows function”; not all logic models need to look alike, nor even include all the myriad terms in play. But we’ll also dissect terms like “output”, “input”, and “moderator” so you better understand when to include them and the value they may add to your program description.

Follow these steps, and you’ll create a practical logic model, minimizing eyes-glazing, pain, and logic model fatigue.

Checking Your Strategy: How Simple "Program Roadmaps" Keep You on the Strategic Straight and Narrow

Sometimes, it makes sense to do a full-on, multi-year, outside facilitated strategic planning process. But in-between, we need periodic check-ins to ensure our strategy makes sense and is keeping up with the dynamic outside environment.

Within this webinar, we lay out the FIVE THINGS every program needs to keep in mind to stay on track. We also show how very simplified logic models—“program roadmaps”—help guide you through those five things, and ensure you identify the key areas of your strategy that require some short-term care and feeding.

This process can yield refined goals, objectives, and strategies if you want; or just a set of strategic issues worth paying attention to.

Opportunities

American Evaluation Association (AEA) Summer Evaluation Institute

The Institute, held in Atlanta, runs for 2.5 days and features 26 half-day training sessions. The conference takes place every June and includes 3 keynote addresses, 5 rotations of 3-hour and 40-minute training sessions. The institute has great instructors, a strong CDC presence, networking opportunities, and much more.

Full-day pre-Institute workshops are held, for an additional charge, on the Sunday before the Institute. You can attend pre-conference sessions without registering for the Institute itself. For example, beginners might want to take “Introduction to Evaluation” taught by Tom Chapel, the Chief Evaluation Officer at the CDC. Chapel organizes the workshop around the CDC’s six-step framework for program evaluation.

The Evaluators’ Institute (TEI)

TEI provides of top quality evaluation instruction, housed at Claremont Graduate University. TEI offers a balanced curriculum that emphasizes practical relevance for practicing evaluators. TEI also offers evaluation courses in locations outside of California, such as Washington DC.

Contact Evaluation Program

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