The Federal Evaluation ToolkitBETA

Randomized evaluations, also known as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), are one of the most rigorous evaluation methods used to conduct impact evaluations to determine the extent to which your program, policy, or initiative caused the outcomes you see. They use random assignment of people/organizations/communities affected by the program or policy to rule out other factors that might have caused the changes your program or policy was designed to achieve. This in-depth resource introduces randomized evaluations in a non-technical way, provides examples of RCTs in practice, describes when RCTs might be the right approach, and offers a thorough FAQ about RCTs.

Rapid Cycle Evaluation (RCE) can be used to efficiently assess implementation and inform program improvement. This brief provides an introduction to RCE, describing what it is, how it compares to other methods, when and how to use it, and includes more in-depth resources. Use this brief to help you figure out whether RCE makes sense for your program.

Formative evaluation can help determine whether an intervention or program is being implemented as intended and producing the expected outputs and short-term outcomes. This toolkit outlines the steps involved in conducting a formative evaluation and includes multiple planning tools, references, and a glossary. Check out the overview to learn more about how this resource can help you.

Building evidence is not one-size-fits all, and different questions require different methods and approaches. The Administration for Children & Families Common Framework for Research and Evaluation describes, in detail, six different types of research and evaluation approaches – foundational descriptive studies, exploratory descriptive studies, design and development studies, efficacy studies, effectiveness studies, and scale-up studies – and can help you understand which type of evaluation might be most useful for you and your information needs.

This slide show describes four steps to develop evaluation questions: create a logic model, define the evaluation purpose and scope, select the evaluation type, and produce evaluation questions. It includes exercises and templates for developing research questions for process, outcome, and impact evaluations.

Use this checklist to assess your program’s readiness for a rigorous evaluation to measure impacts. It highlights elements that are needed to evaluate the impacts of a program, and helps the user consider organizational, program, and evaluation readiness. It may also be helpful for evaluation planning and communication.