Evaluation Plan Template
An evaluation plan answers one question: how will anyone know whether this worked. Weak plans promise to measure everything and end up measuring nothing, because the person named to do it also has a full-time job delivering the project. This is what a plan has to specify to be credible.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ The evaluation questions, which come from the objectives rather than from a wish list
- ✓ Indicators for each question, with the data source named
- ✓ The method and the schedule: what is collected, when, and by whom
- ✓ Baseline and target values, so the result can be compared to something
- ✓ How findings will be used and reported, including to the funder
How to use it
- Take each objective and write the one question that would prove it happened.
- For every indicator, name the person who collects it and the system it lives in.
- Cost the evaluation and put it in the budget, since unfunded evaluation is the part that quietly does not happen.
- Check the plan against the reporting the funder requires, so you are not collecting two different sets of numbers.
What funders want from an evaluation section
Funders ask for an evaluation plan for two reasons. They want to know the project will be managed well enough to notice whether it is working, and they need something to report to their own board. A plan that is modest, specific and clearly staffed usually scores better than an ambitious one that nobody could deliver alongside the actual program.
Building the plan one objective at a time
Take each measurable objective from the proposal and turn it into an evaluation question. If the objective says 70% of participants will gain one reading level, the question is did they, and the indicator is the share of participants whose spring assessment is at least one level above their fall assessment. Name the tool, such as a standardized reading assessment the school already uses, because reusing an existing instrument saves money and is easier to defend.
For each indicator, set down four things. Where the baseline comes from, when data will be collected, who is responsible for collecting it, and where it will be stored. The person named should have time for the task written into their job, and if they do not, the budget should pay for it. Process measures, such as attendance and sessions delivered, sit alongside the outcome measures and tell you whether the program ran as designed.
Finally, explain how the results will be used. Say who will review the data during the year, what decisions it could change, and how findings will reach the funder, the board and participants. That paragraph shows the evaluation is a management tool rather than a compliance exercise.
Scaling the plan to the size of the grant
A $5,000 community grant needs a short table and a paragraph. A multi-year federal award may require a formal evaluation design, an external evaluator and a data management plan. Read the notice or guidelines for the level expected, and budget accordingly. Unit 6 of the Professional course builds a proportionate evaluation plan alongside the logic model it measures.
A filled-in example
| Evaluation question | Did participating students improve their reading level? |
|---|---|
| Indicator | Share of students gaining at least one reading level between September and May |
| Baseline and target | September assessment for each student, with a target of 70% improving |
| Data source and collector | School reading assessment, shared by the district liaison under a data agreement |
| Process measure | Attendance logged at every session by the coordinator, reviewed monthly |
| Reporting | Mid-year summary to the board, final report to the funder within 60 days of year end |
Mistakes to avoid
- Measuring everything. Twelve indicators for a one-year project will not be collected well. Choose the few that prove each objective and collect them properly.
- Naming no one to do the work. An evaluation with no named owner rarely happens. Assign each data task to a role with time allocated for it.
- Forgetting the baseline. Without a starting point, an end figure means little. Plan the baseline collection before the first activity begins.
- Leaving evaluation out of the budget. Surveys, assessment tools, staff hours and any external evaluator all cost money. Cost them so the plan is credible.
Evaluation Plan Template FAQs
What is the difference between process and outcome evaluation?
Process evaluation asks whether the project was delivered as planned, and outcome evaluation asks whether it produced the intended change. Most funders want some of both, weighted toward outcomes for anything beyond a small grant.
Do I need an external evaluator?
Only for larger or research-oriented awards, and the guidelines usually say. Where one is required, budget for them from the start, because adding an evaluator to a fixed budget means taking the money from delivery.
What if the project does not achieve its targets?
Report it accurately and explain what you learned. Funders deal with this constantly, and a candid report on a project that fell short does far less damage to a future application than a report that reads as though nothing went wrong.
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