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 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 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: 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

Civic Index: Measuring Your Community's Civic Health

National Civic League. The National Civic League, 1999.

This revised edition of the Civic Index is a 12-point community self-evaluation tool. The Civic Index assesses what the National Civic League calls civic infrastructure (the characteristics that communities possess to effectively solve problems). Whether the challenges being faced are economic development, low-income housing, transportation planning or any other, the healthy functioning of the 12 components of the Civic Index is vital for success.

Resource Link: http://www.ncl.org

Community Organizations and Social Capital: A Guide to Program Evaluation (Draft)

Tom Sander. Saguaro Seminar, JFK School of Government, Harvard University, 2006.

Freely downloadable from the NCDD website, this guide measures social trust, political participation, civic leadership and associational involvement, giving and volunteering, faith-based involvement, informal social ties, diversity of friendship, and equality of civic engagement.

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

Consensus Statement and Survey for Wise Democracy Victoria II

The statements in this survey were formulated by local residents who agreed to meet as a Wisdom Council for Victoria on June 22-23, 2007. Wisdom Councils create consensus statements which are presented to the public or an institution in a public meeting. The public meeting starts a discussion that engages the broader community. In order to gauge the public's level of agreement with the Wisdom Council's statements, an online Opinionnaire® (a tool being demonstrated for this event by the Forum Foundation) is being used to reveal degrees of consensus for those who participate. We are posting the contents of the survey as a great example of two dialogue and deliberation organizations combining their assets to help promote, evaluate, and further a D&D program.

Resource Link: http://opn.forumfoundation.org/index.php?pid=30

Deliberation Thermometers

Jim Knauer. Democracy Lab.

This document is used by student monitors (not moderators) to rate the performance of groups involved in online Democracy Lab Forums. The document represents an effort to identify some of the at least partially independent dimensions of effective dialogue.

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

Deliberative Democracy Evaluation Checklist

Ernest R. House and Kenneth R. Howe.

The purpose of this checklist is to guide evaluations from a deliberative democratic perspective. Such evaluation incorporates democratic processes within the evaluation to secure better conclusions. The aspiration is to construct valid conclusions where there are conflicting views. The approach extends impartiality by including relevant interests, values, and views so that conclusions can be unbiased in value as well as factual aspects.

Resource Link: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists/dd_checklist.htm

Democracy On Line: An Evaluation on the National Dialogue on Public Involvement in EPA Decisions

Thomas Beierle. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002.

This tool is a case study of electronic public participation - dynamics of process, participants attitudes about process, quality of communication and results of process.

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

Designing for Results: Integrating Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Transformation Programs

Cheyanne Church and Mark Rogers. Search for Common Ground, in partnership with the United States Institute for Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding, 2006.

This manual is the first of its kind to focus on the particular needs of the conflict transformation field. It addresses the many challenges faced by conflict transformation practitioners in their attempts to measure and increase the effectiveness of their work. Includes practical tips and examples from around the world.

Resource Link: http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/ilr/ilt_manualpage.html