Frequently Asked Questions

Program evaluation is a systematic process for collecting and analyzing data to determine whether a program is achieving its intended goals and how it can be improved. For nonprofits and grant-funded organizations, evaluation serves two essential purposes: it provides funders, boards, and stakeholders with credible evidence of your impact, and it gives your team actionable insights to strengthen programming over time. Rather than being a compliance exercise, a well-designed evaluation turns your program data into a strategic tool for learning, continuous improvement, and securing future funding.

An internal evaluator is a staff member within your organization who conducts evaluation activities, while an external evaluator is an independent consultant brought in from outside. External evaluators offer objectivity and credibility that funders and reviewers value. Many federal grants, including SAMHSA awards, require or strongly prefer an independent external evaluation. At EvalNetwork, we serve as your external evaluator while working collaboratively with your team, so you get both the rigor of independence and the responsiveness of a true partner.

We work primarily with nonprofits, community-based organizations, government agencies, universities, and coalitions operating in the health, human services, education, and justice sectors. Our clients range from small grassroots organizations launching their first grant-funded program to established agencies managing multi-site federal awards. Whether you are running a behavioral health initiative, a youth development program, or a criminal justice diversion project, we tailor our approach to fit your organization's size, capacity, and goals.

Over the past 25+ years, Dr. Pann and the EvalNetwork team have led evaluation projects funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Education (DoE), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and private foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We have deep expertise in SAMHSA's GPRA/NOMS reporting requirements and understand the evaluation expectations of federal reviewers across multiple agencies.

Absolutely. Crafting a strong evaluation section is one of the most impactful ways we support our clients. We develop clear, reviewer-friendly evaluation plans that align with the funder's priorities and scoring criteria, including research design, data collection methods, outcome measures, timelines, and evaluation budgets. Many organizations bring us in during the proposal stage so the evaluation plan is fully integrated with the program design from the start. When reviewers score your proposal, a well-written evaluation section ensures you don't leave points on the table. It strengthens your entire application and signals to reviewers that your organization is serious about accountability and results.

We offer a comprehensive range of program evaluation services, including formative and summative evaluations, needs assessments, process and implementation evaluations, outcome and effectiveness evaluations, impact evaluations, and economic evaluations such as cost-effectiveness and return-on-investment analyses. We also provide grant proposal evaluation planning, evaluation capacity building and training for your staff, and technical assistance with federal reporting requirements like SAMHSA's GPRA/NOMS. Each engagement is customized to your program's stage, funder requirements, and organizational needs.

Every engagement begins with a free discovery call where we learn about your program, goals, and evaluation needs. From there, we typically develop an evaluation plan that outlines your key questions, design, data collection methods, timeline, and deliverables. During implementation, we work alongside your team to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, and we provide regular feedback so findings are useful in real time, not just at the end. We deliver clear, visual reports that translate your data into evidence funders trust and your team can act on.

The cost of program evaluation varies significantly depending on the scope, complexity, and duration of your project. Factors that influence pricing include the number of program sites, the size of your participant population, the types of data collection required (surveys, interviews, focus groups, administrative data), funder reporting requirements, and whether you need support from the proposal stage through closeout or for a specific phase only. We work with organizations across a wide range of budgets and are happy to discuss options during a free consultation. Contact us to schedule a call, and we'll provide a tailored estimate based on your specific needs.

Yes. In fact, we believe strong evaluation starts before a program launches. We work with organizations to develop logic models that clearly map the relationships between your resources, activities, outputs, and intended outcomes. A well-constructed logic model serves as the foundation for both your program design and your evaluation plan, ensuring that every activity is aligned with measurable goals. This strategic planning work is especially valuable during the grant proposal stage, when a clear logic model can significantly strengthen your application for funders like SAMHSA, DOJ, and NSF.

Getting started is simple. Book a free discovery call and tell us about your program, your funding source, and what you're hoping evaluation can help you accomplish. Whether you're in the proposal-writing stage, mid-grant, or planning your next funding cycle, we'll help you identify the right evaluation approach and next steps. There's no obligation, just a conversation about how we can support your work.