FER Q & A

Answers to last minute questions you may have about writing Final Evaluation

Reports (FER) for your 2007-2010 project

I have never written a FER – where can I find resources to help me?TCEC website has: Materials from the regional trainings Recorded webinar Sample evaluation reports

http://tobaccoeval.ucdavis.edu 530-752-9951

tobaccoeval@ucdavis.edu

What do I need to get started?

Your plan Rating form in Tell Your Story CX results Evaluation write-ups Progress reports

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Who is my audience?

Project staff Stakeholders Other TC projects TCEC reviewers Other end-users (policymakers, etc.)

What’s a good writing process?

Follow rating form sections A word on “Evaluation Methods” section:

Intro paragraph: explain overall design You may want to separate process and

outcome evaluation Describe sampling, data collection, and

analysis for EACH evaluation activity

How do I report on multi-site evaluation?

Describe overall approach

Wherever approach and results differed by site (intervention and/or data collection activities), briefly describe those differences

http://daveferguson.typepad.com/daveferguson/multisite_church/

What should I do if an activity was in the plan but we didn’t do it? Happens with intervention and evaluation

activities Address it, don’t ignore it Explain situation Discuss deliverables with PC Mention any substitute deliverables

What if we did an additional evaluation activity that was not in the plan?

Report on what you can given your resources Note that it is additional to the original plan Explain reasons why

not fully carried out/ analyzed

How do I report negative results?

Data that showed no or negative change Objective not achieved

Same as positive results – objectively Report the data Provide possible explanations and make

recommendations

What should I do if I lost some data?

Don’t guess or “try” to remember Explain context and steps taken to remedy

the situation Mention under data collection instruments’

and procedures’ limitations

www.agdesktop.com/lost_1.htm

Should I include contact information of people we interviewed or surveyed?

No, FERS are public documents!

Instead, use position/ role of individuals

OK to mention names of events, businesses, venues, organizations that adopt policies

http://www.rncasemanager.com/email_images/privacy_NL0409_1.jpg

Can I write a combined report for all objectives? No, each objective needs

its own report Each report is a

deliverable

http://fuggedaboutit.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/businessman-looking-at-giant-book.jpg

Does the project director need to get involved in the FER writing? Yes, collaboration between project directors

and evaluators is imperative

istockphoto.com

What is the difference between a brief and final evaluation report?

Brief reports: Are not scored Need less detail

Think “essential” Think “to the point” Think “most relevant”

Reports are due June 30!!!

If you still need advice, give us a call

530-752-9951