After reading the chapter, analyze the role of an evaluation in providing support for a grant application.

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The Answer is Evaluation data can help an organization, program, or initiative to be competitive for grant funding. Rigorous evaluation data are viewed positively by funding entities, preliminary data can help demonstrate promise, and a well-designed evaluation plan can convey the value placed on data-guided decision-making, accountability, and a culture of learning and improvement. Unfortunately, many applications submitted for program or initiative funding tend to frame evaluation as an afterthought, with underdeveloped plans or underfunded evaluations. In an optimal circumstance, the plan for evaluation would be developed hand-in-hand with the program's plan. Doing so--with an understanding of program objectives and how specific components are designed or intended to support program goals--would ensure targeted collection of process and outcome data and, more generally, access to the information necessary to answer questions of interest to the program or initiative leadership as well as key stakeholders or partners. The development of a rigorous evaluation plan can help establish trust with stakeholders, demonstrating an investment in quality programming, thorough understanding, and fiscal stewardship. It can also help improve the program planning from the outset, by encouraging program planners to think in some detail about the ways they would detect changes, and the theory of change that would be expected to lead to those changes.

After Reading the Chapter, Analyze the Role of an Evaluation