| Roundtable: Starting Out Right: Laying the Foundation for Knowledge Management Program Implementation and Subsequent Evaluation With a Well-Designed Needs Assessment |
| Roundtable Presentation 666 to be held in the Quartz Room Section B on Friday, Nov 7, 3:25 PM to 4:10 PM |
| Sponsored by the Government Evaluation TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Thomas Ward, Paradox Research, Development, and Evaluation, tewardii@aol.com |
| Abstract: A common lament among evaluators is that they are all too often called in quite late in a Program’s life cycle. Expectations vary at this point, but it is not uncommon to find that the evaluator is expected to identify “fixes” for programs that were poorly designed to begin with or are expected to provide “proof” that continued or additional funding is wise stewardship of resources. Being able to participate in a front end analysis (in this case a “knowledge needs analysis”) provides a rare opportunity to design a program – including its evaluation – truly from the ground up. How do we make the most of the opportunity to do this right, and to set up the organization for clear, consistent, and meaningful evaluation of its program? The foundation of this roundtable discussion is built on best practices developed during an in-process project for a large government organization. |