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When and how to use evaluators
This short guide can help new grant makers think through working with external evaluators for the first time. It offers key questions to keep in mind when hiring and managing evaluation consultants, and talks about how to work with them to shape evaluations into something more than a grantee report card. It also suggests realistic expectations and timeframes for each stage of evaluation.
External evaluators are increasingly being used to help foundation staff set program goals, identify lessons, make midcourse adjustments, and measure program effectiveness. The success of their endeavours, however, relies in part upon how well the consulting engagement has been framed and whether the consultant is the right match for the project at hand. This material serves as a resource to program officers to inform decisions about their allocation of resources and use of external consultants for program evaluations. It outlines key questions for various evaluation audiences, tips for selecting and engaging an evaluator, including key questions to ask and evaluator, and suggested elements for a standard contract.
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