Scaling Up Programs

Reflections on the Importance of Process Evaluation

Authors

  • Andria Parrott University of San Diego
  • Joanne Genova Carman University of North Carolina—Charlotte

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.43216

Keywords:

dosage, fidelity, participant responsiveness, process evaluation, quality, scaling

Abstract

For more than a decade, policy makers and funding agencies have been focused on identifying innovative and successful programs and bringing them to scale. Evaluators play an important role in these scaling efforts by helping to document what works and by monitoring program implementation. They can also monitor the replication of taking innovative programs to scale. In this research and practice note, we reflect on our evaluation experiences with a public-private partnership designed to scale up a health and wellness program within a large, urban school district at ten elementary schools. In doing so, we highlight the importance of conducting a process evaluation at the beginning of the program to ensure that the program is being implemented as intended. We also describe how these early evaluation findings helped to improve the program during its second year.

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Published

2019-01-21

How to Cite

Parrott, A., & Genova Carman, J. (2019). Scaling Up Programs: Reflections on the Importance of Process Evaluation. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 34(1), 131–138. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.43216

Issue

Vol. 34 No. 1 (2019): Spring

Section

Research and Practice Notes

License

Copyright (c) 2019 Andria Parrott, Joanne Genova Carman

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