Reporting and Using Evaluation Results

Reviewing Evaluation Findings With Stakeholders

Communicating and disseminating the evaluation findings is a critical step in building support for a program. Evaluators should plan the reporting process as carefully as the evaluation itself, and build in opportunities to share findings with key stakeholders, such as program managers and staff, prior to the final report.

While evaluation findings must be reported objectively, interpreting those findings and reaching conclusions can be a challenging process. The evaluator should include key stakeholders in this process by reviewing findings and preliminary conclusions with them prior to writing a formal report. Circulating an interim or draft report and meeting to discuss it provides a means of obtaining feedback. Discussions with staff can provide new perspectives on the meaning and interpretation of the findings. These perspectives can then be included in the final report.

Briefings on the findings of the evaluation may be more useful for stakeholders outside the program that do not have time to read an interim report. The briefing can be used to generate ideas and feedback in much the same way as an interim or draft report. It can also be used to obtain feedback on how findings should be presented.

Learn More...

Using Evaluations: Audiences and Products (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)

Using Evaluation Findings for Decision Making (National Institute of Justice)

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