1 LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION Technology Initiative Grant Program Developing and Submitting TIG Project Evaluation Plans Bristow Hardin, LSC, Glenn Rawdon, LSC,

2 What Well Cover Today TIG Evaluation Plan Requirements Plan Development and Approval Processes Evaluation Plan Contents Use Of Evaluation Plan Automated Form

3 TIG Evaluation Plan Requirements Plan required for all non-website grants. Grantees cannot receive a second grant payment until their evaluation plan is approved. Must be in specified format and include all required information.

4 TIG Evaluation Plan Webpage TIG Evaluation Plan Webpage: Information about evaluation plan requirements and approval processes Links to all instructional and guidance information Link to automated evaluation plan form on the LawHelp Interactive server : Activated Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

5 The Evaluation Plan: An Essential Management Tool for Maximizing Project Effectiveness Specifies projects: Goals and objectives Activities and strategies that will be implemented to achieve the goals and objectives Methodologies and data sets that will be used to assess and document the projects accomplishments. Provides framework for monitoring project implementation and results Identifies and facilitates collection of data required for the TIG Final Report (and other fundraising).

6 TIG Evaluation Plan Submission & Approval Process Automated form produces Word document. Plan submitted in Word format to Bristow Hardin ( If changes are required for plan approval, LSC staff will notify the grantee via of the needed changes. Grantee then submits revised plan to Bristow Hardin for review and approval. LSC notifies grantee via when plan approved and provides copy of the approved plan. Grantee uploads approved plan to milestone reporting system

7 Evaluation Plan Contents: Administrative Information Grantee Name TIG Grant Number Submission Date: Date evaluation plan submitted to LSC. Approval Date: LSC will enter; this is the date plan is formally approved by LSC. Contact Person: Individuals LSC should contact with questions, etc., about the plan. (Not grantee executive director unless they helped develop plan.) address(s) & Phone number(s): for contact person(s)

8 Evaluation Plan Contents: Substantive Elements Goal Statement Objectives Strategies and activities implemented to achieve each objective Evaluation methodologies/data sets to assess & document progress toward each objective

9 Evaluation Plan Contents: Goals and Objectives Goals and objectives both articulate what project managers hope to achieve, but … Goals specify projects broad and long term intended results for (or impact on) a specified target population. vs. Objectives more specific, concrete, short-term and measurable – identify the project deliverables and provide measures to assess a projects achievements.

10 Evaluation Plan: Differences between Goals & Objectives GoalsObjectives BroadNarrow and Specific Long-termShort-term AbstractConcrete General intentionsPrecise Difficult to QuantifyMeasurable

11 Evaluation Plan Contents: Goals TIG evaluation plan should contain a single goal statement. Goal statement identifies the technolog(ies) or technology system(s) that the grantee proposes to develop Identifies in broad terms how the system(s) will increase the quality/quantity of client services and/or enhance the grantees operational effectiveness/efficiency.

12 Evaluation Plan Contents: Objectives Plan will have multiple objectives. Objectives Specify the extent to which and ways the project technology(ies) or technology system(s) will enhance client services and/or program operations. Provide the measurable criteria project managers will use to assess and document a projects accomplishments.

13 Evaluation Plan Contents: Strategies and Activities Evaluation Plan must identify the one or more major strategies and activities that will be undertaken to achieve each of the project objectives. Typically, multiple strategies and activities for each objective. Activities flow logically from and be directly related to the objectives. Some strategies or activities can correspond to more than one objective. If so, place these in field(s) for each of the objectives to which they correspond.

14 Evaluation Plan Contents: Evaluation Methodologies and Data Plan should identify the evaluation method(s) and specific data set(s) used to assess and document the projects progress in achieving each objective (or significant activities/strategies). Three broad types of evaluation data: Administrative Surveys Interviews and other qualitative data The most effective evaluations will use a combination of these data types.

15 Evaluation Methodologies and Data Sets: Administrative Data – Benefits Critical quantitative or qualitative data regarding program operations Easy and inexpensive to obtain – generated and compiled as part of routine program operations Readily available from a variety of sources.

16 Evaluation Methodologies and Data Sets: Administrative Data – Examples Case management or intake system data re: number, demographic characteristics, residence of clients served Data re: outreach activities conducted, number and types of training provided, number of persons trained. Information from partners or other data bases 1. Law Help Interactive data re: use of HotDocs automated forms 2. WebTrends or similar data re: document downloads 3. Court information from courts re: number of pro se filings

17 Evaluation Methodologies and Data Sets: Surveys Relatively quick and easy way to collect uniform data Can be tailored to different groups, e.g., clients, advocates, other program staff Low demands on respondents – brief, focused question formats Provide quantitative data easy to compile and analyze On-line survey tools (e.g., Poverty Law Survey Tool, SurveyMonkey) for survey design, administration and data compilation and analysis

18 Evaluation Methodologies and Data Sets: Interviews and other Qualitative Data Data from in-depth interviews complement data from other data sources Provide more in-depth and specific information than surveys Direct observation also valuable. Example: Observing clients attempts to find information on a website reveals ways to improve a websites usability.

19 Use of the Automated Form Link to the form from the TIG website:

20 Saving and Editing the Form After You Complete the form save as answer file Can return to edit, add information, etc. Submit completed form to LSC