Evaluation is an integral part of planning and implementing your Move Improve Remove grant program. Effective evaluation consists of engaging the community, writing evaluation questions, collecting data and feedback, and disseminating and utilising the results.
Why do we evaluate falls prevention programs?
Evaluating your program helps to determine whether your program activities have been effective, have reached your target audience, and if your program has made an impact on preventing falls in the community. Good evaluation can help you to identify what did and didn’t work and what needs to be improved for future falls prevention activities or programs in the future. Other benefits of evaluating your program include:
- Assessing whether you achieved your program objectives that were set during the program planning stage.
- Identifying which areas of your program worked well, and which need improvement.
- Using evaluation data and information to seek further funding and support for your program.
- Gaining feedback to determine whether you’re on the right track with your activities.
How do we evaluate community programs?
Before you start planning your program evaluation, you’ll need to have a clear idea of what your program objectives are. Your evaluation measures should link directly to your objectives and what you set out to achieve.
Tip: Refer to your Grant Application Form for guidance around program objectives.
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Process evaluation relates to your grant activity processes and how your program is being delivered. Process evaluation focuses on the implementation of your grant activities as well as community or participant reach. It also looks at program and outputs, i.e what is delivered, which are usually described numerically, such as the number of events held or the number of participants. The table below displays some sample process indicators and evaluation tools you may like to use for your grant program.
Process indicators Evaluation tools - Number of activities delivered e.g. educational sessions.
- Number of program participants or attendees.
- Number of resources distributed.
- Proportion of participants satisfied with grant program activities.
- Attendance registers.
- Feedback sheets.
- Activity tracking documents (e.g. for tracking the distribution of resources).
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Impact evaluation relates to the immediate and short-term effects of your grant program and should align with the measurement of your program objectives. It is important to use a range of impact indicators to evaluate your program, depending on what your program is trying to achieve. The table below displays some sample impact indicators and evaluation tools you may like to use for your grant program.
Program objectives Impact indicators - Increase in participant awareness, knowledge, or skills.
- Increase in participant intention to engage in a certain behaviour e.g. intention to get eyes checked by an Optometrist.
- Increase in participant strength and balance (for Move Your Body grant programs).
- Increased integration of falls prevention practices or interventions in organisational policies and plans.
- Proportion of program participants who increased their awareness, knowledge, or skills.
- Proportion of program participants who increased their intention to engage in a behaviour.
- Proportion of program participants who saw a increase in strength and balance i.e. an improved result on a falls risk assessment tool, such as the 4-Stage Balance Test.
- Proportion of organisational policies and plans that increased their falls prevention practices.
Evaluation tools - Surveys. These may be conducted pre and post (before and after) or just after a grant activity, event, or overall program.
- Interviews or focus groups
- Falls screening and risk assessment tools
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A third type of evaluation, outcome evaluation, relates to the longer-term impact of a program. This usually aligns with the broader program goal, such as reducing the incidence of falls in the community. While outcome evaluation is an important type of evaluation, this falls out of the scope of Move Improve Remove grants due to the short-term grant duration. For further information about evaluation, visit the Know Injury program Evaluation webpage.
Are you unsure about how to create a survey or what questions to ask?
Download our Example Grant Project Survey to get you started or contact Injury Matters on (08) 6166 7688, via [email protected] for further support. These types of surveys can be completed:
- Both before and after your grant activity or program to determine whether the level of your participants’ knowledge, awareness, and intention to change their behaviour has changed as a result of your program.
- After your grant activity or program to assess the self-reported change in knowledge, awareness, and intention to change behaviours among your participants after taking part in your program.
What to do with your evaluation findings
While all Move Improve Remove grant recipients will be required to report on their program impact and evaluation findings via the Grant Acquittal process, there are many other benefits to conducting evaluation. Your grant evaluation findings can assist you to:
- Advocate for or source additional funding to continue the delivery of the program in your community.
- Implement changes to improve the program and activities that you are providing in your community.
- Share you learnings with other stakeholders looking to implement similar programs.
Injury Matters is available to provide grant applicants and recipients with support regarding program evaluation at any point during the Move Improve Remove grant application and delivery process. If you would like support and guidance in this area, please contact Injury Matters on (08) 6166 7688, via [email protected], or complete our online request form for grant coaching or support.
Delve deeper into evaluation
Watch a two-part, 45-minute, webinar series which provides an overview of evaluation for health programs in WA; how to evaluate project activities, data collection and translation methods, how to mitigate any challenges that arise, and practical tips to support your evaluation activities.
