A Report on the Workshop on Evaluation of Public Involvement Activities

Canadian Policy Research Networks. Ottawa, Ontario, 2003.

The purpose of the workshop was to learn more about evaluating public involvement activities and programs. About 20 representatives from the private sector, six federal government departments and four non-governmental organizations presented a diverse perspective of views.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Wkshop_Eval_Public_Invmt.pdf

A Survey for Use in Evaluating Dialogue Programs

Walter Stephan, New Mexico State University. Presented by the Western Justice Center, 1999.

This questionnaire was designed to be used to examine the outcomes of dialogue groups. The intention was to measure attitudes toward racial, ethnic and cultural groups, optimism regarding the future of race relations in this country, willingness to interact with members of other racial and ethnic groups, perceived understanding of other racial and ethnic groups, and racial and ethnic stereotypes.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/walter_stephan.pdf

Advancing Liberal Education: Assessment Practices on Campus

Michael Ferguson. Association of American Colleges & Universities.

This short publication presents the stories of six different colleges and universities that have developed innovative programs to advance and assess key liberal education outcomes. Originally written for AAC&U News, these stories--which focus on writing, information literacy, understanding of diversity, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and civic engagement--offer models for effective assessment practices. Also included is information about finding additional assessment resources.

Resource Link: http://aacu-secure.nisgroup.com/acb/stores/1/product1.cfm?SID=1&Product_ID=95

An Evaluation Tool-Kit for Study Circles

Ratnesh Nagda. Study Circles Resource Center.

The tool-kit is a community-centered and user-friendly guide to evaluation for study circles organizers. It focuses on empowerment evaluation and the logic model.

Assessing Campus Diversity Initiatives: A Guide for Campus Practitioners

Mildred Garcia, Cynthia Hudgins, Caryn McTighe Musil, Michael T. Nettles, William E. Sedlacek, and Daryl G. Smith. Association of American Colleges & Universities, 2002.

This 184-page guide provides tips and tools for designing and developing effective diversity evaluations. Topics addressed include the need for assessment, designing an evaluation plan, institutional context, audience, data collection and analysis, performance indicators, and theoretical models. An appendix also includes sample assessment and evaluation tools from campuses across the country.

Assessing Deliberation: Setting the Agenda, Implementing Policy, and Outcomes

Lisa-Marie Napoli, Ph.D., Becky Nesbit and Lisa Blomgren Bingham. Submitted to the 2006 National Conference on Dialogue & Deliberation, 2006.

This 33-page research report presented at NCDD's 2006 conference examines AmericaSpeaks' 21st Century Town Meeting - one important model for facilitating citizen participation through large scale (100-5,000) dialogue in which citizens come together, listen to each other in a public arena, and make decisions as a collective community. Many researchers ask why there is a gap between scholarship and practice in the field of deliberation; this study responds to the call for empirical testing by examining the AmericaSpeaks model of a 21st Town Meeting. Specifically, this study examines agenda setting, implementation, and outcomes in the context of three different cities where the Town Hall Meetings occurred.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/Bingham-AssessingDelibPaper.doc

Assessing EPA's Federal Advisory Committee Act Committees: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of EPA Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Committees.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_federal_adv_comm_act.doc

Assessing EPA's Listening Sessions: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of public listening sessions and the effectiveness of follow-up after them.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_listening_sessions.doc

Assessing EPA's Public Hearings: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of public hearings and the effectiveness of follow-up after them.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_public_hearings.doc

Assessing EPA's Public Meetings: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of public meetings and the effectiveness of follow-up after them.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_public_meetings.doc

Assessing EPA's Small Discussion Groups: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of small discussion groups.

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_small_disc_grps.doc

Assessing EPA's Sponsored Community Advisory Groups: A User's Guide with Questionnaires

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003.

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of Community Advisory Groups (CAGs).

Resource Link: http://www.thataway.org/exchange/files/docs/EPA_sponsored_comm_adv_grps.doc

Assessing Impacts of Citizen Engagement Through Public Deliberation

Sue Williams, Ph.D., Ron C. Powers, Ph.D., Renee Daugherty, Ph.D. and Wendy Petterson.

This PowerPoint Presentation provides an overview of a study to determine the impact of Public Policy Institutes (PPI's) and subsequent local issues forums on fostering citizen engagement through public deliberation.

Resource Link: http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/commdev/pubdelib/REPORTS/powersetal.ppt

Assessing the Effectiveness of Project-Based Public Involvement Processes: A Self-Assessment Tool for Practitioners

The Transportation Research Board, Committee on Public Involvement in Transportation, 1999.

This 17-page document is an adaptable and practical guide which produces output in a 'scorecard' format. It is intended to provide the practitioner with a means of conducting a self-assessment of the effectiveness of a specific public involvement campaign for a specific planning or project development activity (e.g., the development of a long range plan or a specific capital improvement). It is not intended to evaluate the overall public involvement processes or procedures guiding all public involvement activities such as a State department of transportation or Metropolitan Planning Organization would develop under ISTEA regulations.

Resource Link: http://www.trbpi.com/publications/assessmenttool.pdf

Assessing Your Collaboration: A Self-Evaluation Tool

Lynne M. Borden and Daniel F. Perkins. Journal of Extension [On-line], 37 (2)., 1999.

This tool offers a self-assessment exercise which allows groups to rate their collaboration on key factors including goals, communication, sustainability, evaluation, political climate, resources, catalysts, policies/laws/regulations, history, connectedness, leadership, community development, and understanding community. The tool helps groups identify the factors that need to be worked on so groups can develop strategies to address these issues, thus allowing the group to move forward and accomplish their goals.

Resource Link: http://www.joe.org/joe/1999april/tt1.html

Auditing Community Participation

Mark Randell.

The central issue in any community development activity is that of participation. Without community participation, there are obviously no partnerships, no developments, no programmes. This 5-page paper looks at a way in which the success or failure of community participation programmes may be measured in a principled and inclusive manner, befitting the spirit and ethos of community development. Along the way, some comments are made concerning 'social capital' and trust, and how these concepts - if married with knowledge from psychology - may point the way to better participation programmes.

Resource Link: http://www.humansciences.com.au/presentations/auditing_participation.pdf

Auditing Community Participation: An Assessment Handbook

Danny Burns and Marilyn Taylor. Bristol, UK: The Policy Press, 2000.

Auditing community participation looks at ways of assessing levels of community involvement in area regeneration initiatives. Through an audit of participation, communities themselves can positively facilitate learning and dialogue for partners and partnerships. The report provides tools and appraisal exercises for measuring the history and patterns of participation; the quality of participation strategies adopted by partners and partnerships; the capacity within partner organisations to support community participation; the capacity within communities to participate effectively; and the impact of participation and its outcomes.

Resource Link: http://www.hammicksbma.com

Beyond the 'Up or Down' Vote

AmericaSpeaks.

An evaluation of AmericaSpeaks' first national project, Americans Discuss Social Security.

Resource Link: http://www.americaspeaks.org/library/social_sec.pdf

Building Community Capacity in Evaluating IT Projects: Outcomes of the LEARNERS Project

June Lennie, Greg Hearn, Lyn Simspon, Emma da Silva, Megan Kimber, and Mary Hanrahan. Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre and Service Leadership and Innovation Research Program, Queensland University of Technology, QLD, Australia, 2004.

This report details case studies, findings and outcomes from the LEARNERS project (Learning, Evaluation, Action & Reflection for New technologies, Empowerment and Rural Sustainability), which was conducted from 2001-2004. The project was undertaken in collaboration with two communities in rural Queensland - the Tara and Stanthorpe Shires - and five industry partners. It involved implementing and conducting an ongoing evaluation of a participatory process for evaluating community-based communication and information technology.

Resource Link: http://www.creativeindustries.qut.edu.au/research/documents/learners-report.pdf

Changing the Conversation on Education in Connecticut

Will Friedman. Public Agenda, 2004.

A report on 10 years of public engagement on public education topics in over 75 communities across Connecticut. Supported by the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, the report serves as a comprehensive case study of how public engagement can work in communities across America and discusses the specific accomplishments in Connecticut.

Resource Link: http://www.publicagenda.org/pubengage/pdfs/connecticut_public_engagement_2005.pdf