evaluation plan Archives

Research vs. Evaluation concept with magnifying glass analyzing a document, surrounded by tools for data analysis and decision-making

Research vs. Evaluation: What Every Leader Needs to Know

Leave a Comment / Evaluation, Research / Annette

In today’s data-driven world, leaders across industries – whether in business, healthcare, education, government, or the nonprofit sector – need solid evidence to make informed decisions. But when it comes to gathering and analyzing information, two terms often get confused: research and evaluation. Are they the same? Not quite. Think of research as exploring uncharted […]

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How to build a strong research & evaluation foundation for 2025

Building a Strong Research & Evaluation Foundation: 2025 Blog Series

Leave a Comment / Artificial Intelligence, Evaluation / Annette

Effective leadership hinges on the ability to adapt and make informed decisions. More importantly, research and evaluation are at the forefront of this process, providing essential insights that drive strategic decisions and success. This year, REC blogs will focus on how to support your organization with research and evaluation. Additionally, we will highlight how leaders

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When to Hire an External Evaluator – A Checklist!

Leave a Comment / Evaluation Resources, Strategies to Improve Efficiency / Annette

The Decision Should your organization hire an external evaluator or evaluation firm? The answer is that it depends. When to Work with Internal Staff Some nonprofits are poised to conduct evaluation internally. These organizations have qualified staff who know how to conduct evaluations, design surveys, collect data, analyze findings, and report results. Often,

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EE: What the Experts Say

Leave a Comment / Equitable Evaluation / Annette

In Part One of our two-part series on a new approach to evaluation, we found that defining exactly what equitable evaluation (EE) is has proven to be somewhat complicated. In this post we will highlight what some of the experts in this growing field are saying about the nuances of equity in the evaluation process

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Equitable Evaluation (EE)

Leave a Comment / Equitable Evaluation / Annette

What is Equitable Evaluation? Cultural competence, multi-cultural validity, applying an equity lens, these are all central concepts to a relatively new approach to evaluation—equitable evaluation (EE). So, just what is EE? The answer is, it is complicated. At a base level, EE is evaluation work that strives to limit inequality, bias, and oppression in race,

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Program Evaluation: Nonprofits’ Needs Versus Donor’s Requests, Part 2

Leave a Comment / Program Evaluation / Annette

As discussed in Part 1, there are often differences in the ways that donors view program evaluation when compared to how nonprofits wish to use evaluation (Zinn, 2017). Donors view evaluation as an accountability measure and prefer evaluations that are rigorous, conducted by third-party experts, and focus on long-term outcomes (York, 2005). However, nonprofits prefer

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