Facilitating Evaluation


Book Description

Michael Quinn Patton’s Facilitating Evaluation: Principles in Practice is the first book of its kind to explain in depth and detail how to facilitate evaluation processes with stakeholders. Using the author’s own stories of his experiences as an evaluation facilitator, the book illustrates the five evaluation facilitation principles that are the organizing framework for addressing how to work with stakeholders to generate evaluation questions, make decisions among methods, interpret findings, and participate in all aspects of evaluation. Ultimately, this book will help readers perform facilitation to enhance the relevance, credibility, meaningfulness, and utility of evaluations. "A must-read for anyone considering a high-impact evaluation!" –Margaret Lombe, Boston College




Evaluation and Facilitation


Book Description

Join the conversation between evaluation and facilitation. This issue explores the interplay between the two and how one practice can inform the other. The authors represent both the evaluation and facilitation fields, describing underlying concepts that inform their practices, the competencies they seek to develop, the choices they make about facilitation in the work they do, and how they gauge success. This issue brings together topics meant to stimulate the curiosity of evaluators and facilitators and encourage reflection on their work and the skills needed to carry it out. This is the 149th issue in the New Directions for Evaluation series from Jossey-Bass. It is an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.




Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in Development Organisations


Book Description

Effective planning, monitoring and evaluation (PME) is essential for organisational survival and for sustainable development, but remains a challenge for many development organisations, in spite of countless workshops, manuals and intervention of experts. This book presents ‘real-life’ experiences of 20 PME trainers and facilitators from Africa, Asia and Europe and offers suggestions for effective PME support processes, with a focus on civil society organisations. The authors seek to embrace a ‘total organisation’ approach to PME, one that looks at an organisation in its entirety, including its financial dimension, its environment, its collaborators and competitors, in a context informed by local and national cultures.




Participatory Workshops


Book Description

This sourcebook is for all who work with others on participatory learning and change. Written in a spirit of critical reflection and serious fun, it provides 21 sets of ideas and options for facilitators, trainers, teachers and presenters, and anyone who organises and manages workshops, courses, classes and other events for sharing and learning ideas. It covers topics such as getting started, seating arrangements, forming groups, managing large numbers, helping each other learn, analysis and feedback, dealing with dominators, evaluation and ending, coping with horrors, and common mistakes.




Facilitating In-Service Teacher Training for Professional Development


Book Description

As new trends emerge in the realm of education, instructors are faced with the task of continuing development in order to stay up to date on the latest teaching methodologies for both virtual and face-to-face education. Facilitating In-Service Teacher Training for Professional Development is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on the scenarios faced by in-service educators, uncovering models, recent trends, and perceptions of in-service teacher training. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives, such as teacher identity, collaborative teacher development, and exploratory practice, this book is ideally designed for researchers, practitioners, and professionals seeking current research on the need for continuing development in teacher education.




Mastering Facilitation


Book Description

With business and organisations moving at an ever-faster pace and facing evermore demanding challenges, the need for efficient, succinct and productive interaction between individuals of those businesses and organisations is more important than ever. With the bounds of communication restrictions abandoned through technological advances (we can now see and hear anyone across any manner of virtual platforms anywhere around the globe) and with a greater understanding of the underlying dynamics of human interaction, unprecedented pressure has been thrust upon the individual or individuals who, often, enable these dynamic interactions: the facilitator. Many of us have, at one time or other, been responsible for a meeting – whether between a small number of individuals or an entire organisation of hundreds, or possibly thousands, of businessmen and women. Or, perhaps, we’ve had to be the mediator in a family dispute closer to home or managed a discussion between two feuding friends or colleagues. One way or another, chances are, all of us have been a facilitator at some point in our lives. With the ever-growing demands placed on facilitators, this book delivers a methodical and structured approach to facilitation. This book is the definitive guide to instruct and assist facilitators – both new and experienced – with a set of guidelines and underlying theory that will benefit any facilitator, whether as a mediator between two individuals, single-handedly facilitating a group of 100 or working as part of a facilitation team in a multinational corporation. The first part of the book develops the core basic skills of those new to the art of facilitating. There are many examples and exercises to show the reader how to apply them in different situations. The second part of the book is for more experienced facilitators as it focuses on more advanced skills and tackling difficult situations. Specific tools and techniques are illustrated for the reader. Essentially, this book is aimed at developing and mastering the art of facilitation. Facilitation is the art of getting the best out of groups of people to brainstorm, solve problems and gain consensus. Based on 30 years’ experience of the author and running multiple facilitation training courses across the globe, this book is aimed at upskilling people, managers and leaders to drive change and consensus with groups through running workshops and meetings.




Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making


Book Description

"The best book on collaboration ever written!" —Diane Flannery, founding CEO, Juma Ventures And now this classic book is even better—much better. Completely revised and updated, the second edition is loaded with new tools and techniques. Two powerful new chapters on agenda design A full section devoted to reaching closure More than twice as many tools for handling difficult dynamics 70 brand-new pages and over 100 pages significantly improved




Interactive Evaluation Practice


Book Description

You′re about to start your first evaluation project. Where do you begin? Or you′re a practicing evaluator faced with a challenging situation. How do you proceed? How do you handle the interactive components and processes inherent in evaluation practice? Use Interactive Evaluation Practice to bridge the gap between the theory of evaluation and its practice. Taking an applied approach, this book provides readers with specific interactive skills needed in different evaluation settings and contexts. The authors illustrate multiple options for developing skills and choosing strategies, systematically highlighting the evaluator′s three roles as decision maker, actor, and reflective practitioner. Case studies and interactive examples stimulate thinking about how to apply interactive skills across a variety of evaluation situations. "From beginning to end, this book is an indispensable resource for those responsible for the evaluation process. In essence, here′s a chance to learn from masters about acquiring mastery. What could be more useful?" Michael Quinn Patton, Author of Utilization-Focused Evaluation "At long last, a book that explicitly addresses the importance of interpersonal dynamics in evaluation practice!" Hallie Preskill, Executive Director, Strategic Learning and Evaluation Center, FSG "As an evaluator who frequently interacts with a variety of stakeholders and who provides graduate-level evaluation training, I find Interactive Evaluation Practice to be an exceptional addition to the evaluation literature and a useful guide to interacting with various stakeholder groups." Chris L. S. Coryn, Western Michigan University




Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare


Book Description

The successful implementation of evidence into practice is dependent on aligning the available evidence to the particular context through the active ingredient of facilitation. Designed to support the widely recognised PARIHS framework, which works as a guide to plan, action and evaluate the implementation of evidence into practice, this book provides a very practical ‘how-to’ guide for facilitating the whole process. This text discusses: undertaking an initial diagnosis of the context and reaching a consensus on the evidence to be implemented; how to link the research evidence with clinical and patients’ experience and local information in the form of audit data or patient and staff feedback; the range of diagnostic, consensus building and stakeholder consultation methods that can be helpful; a description of facilitator roles and facilitation methods, tools and techniques; some of theories that underpin the PARIHS framework and how these have been integrated to inform a revised version of PARIHS Including internationally-sourced case study examples to illustrate how the facilitation role and facilitation skills have been applied in a range of different health care settings, this is the ideal text for those interested in leading or facilitating evidence based implementation projects, from the planning stage through to evaluation.




Being an Evaluator


Book Description

Demystifying the evaluation journey, this is the first evaluation mentoring book that addresses the choices, roles, and challenges that evaluators must navigate in the real world. Experienced evaluator and trainer Donna R. Podems covers both conceptual and technical aspects of practice in a friendly, conversational style. She focuses not just on how to do evaluations but how to think like an evaluator, fostering reflective, ethical, and culturally sensitive practice. Extensive case examples illustrate the process of conceptualizing and implementing an evaluation--clarifying interventions, identifying beneficiaries, gathering data, discussing results, valuing, and developing recommendations. The differences (and connections) between research, evaluation, and monitoring are explored. Handy icons identify instructive features including self-study exercises, group activities, clarifying questions, facilitation and negotiation techniques, insider tips, advice, and resources. Purchasers can access a companion website to download and print reproducible materials for some of the activities and games described in the book.