Evaluating your Stairway to Health Program - Sample questions

Process Evaluation¹

Process evaluation documents all aspects of program implementation so that adjustments can be made, if necessary, to keep the program on track. This is the primary type of evaluation used for programs in the implementation stage. Some programs in the maintenance stage also assess process questions. Process questions relate to the inputs and activities outlined in your logic model (i.e., stakeholders may ask about the quantity or quality of inputs or activities). Additionally, questions about the program context (e.g., other initiatives, staff turnover, social norms and conditions, program history, politics) that could affect the inputs or activities can be important, depending on the intended uses of the evaluation.

Sample Process Evaluation questions include:

1. What are we doing? When? Where? How much?
2. Are we delivering the program as planned? If not, why has it varied?
3. Are there external influences that have affected the program inputs or activities
4. Are we on track with time and resources?
5. Are partnerships working effectively? Why or why not?
6. What seems to be working and why?
7. What is not working very well and why?
8. Are we reaching the target audience?
9. Should we be doing anything differently from now on? If so, how do we make adjustments to our approach?

Impact Evaluation²

Impact evaluation (sometimes called outcome or summative evaluation) measures the effects of the program on the short-term, intermediate, or long-term outcomes for which you have planned . Outcome evaluations should be conducted only when a program is mature enough to potentially produce the desired outcomes. Usually, programs in the maintenance stage are the only ones that can realistically expect outcomes. However, you may be able to ask questions about short-term outcomes for a program in the implementation stage.

Sample Impact Evaluation Question include:

1. What did we accomplish? Did we achieve our outcomes? Why or why not?
2. What is different as a result of our Stairway to Health program?
3. What can we learn from the participants who dropped out of the program?
4. How expensive was the program compared with other physical activity interventions we have tried?
5. Is the program as effective as or more effective than similar programs?
6. What went right? What went wrong?
7. What could we do differently next time to achieve better outcomes?
8. Were there any unintended affects of the program?
9. Were there external influences that could have enhanced or hindered the outcomes?

¹Adapted from the Center for Disease Control's "Six Steps for Evaluating Physical Activity Programs"
²Adapted from the Center for Disease Control's "Six Steps for Evaluating Physical Activity Programs"