The first component of your course project is a 6–10 page needs assessment (not including title page, abstract, quotations, references, or appendix). While such an assessment can be used to identify the need for community services, this one will focus on convincing decision makers of the need for evaluation of the program you have chosen for your project.
Instructions
Appendix: Program Stakeholder Analysis
To prepare a successful proposal for a program evaluation, it is necessary to determine who has interests in the program, what they desire for its outcomes, and any concerns they may have. A detailed stakeholder analysis helps the evaluator understand the audience for the proposal and how to best communicate with them. While not all of this information should be included within the body of the needs assessment document, this detail can be provided in an appendix. This is the first task to complete as you prepare this assignment.
Drawing from your discussion posts in Unit 2 and the responses you received, create Appendix: Program Stakeholder Analysis before beginning the rest of the assignment:
- Describe all program participants and other stakeholders. Include all who could be involved at any level, including direct participants, administrators, and other program stakeholders. What are their roles and functions?
- Detail how you would plan to facilitate communication and collaboration with stakeholders.
- Describe what you think the answers to the following would be for each of the stakeholders you identified. Note: While actually talking to stakeholders is beyond the scope of this assignment, in an actual program evaluation it would extremely important for you consult with them.
- What are their desired outcomes from the program?
- What risks or unfavorable outcomes might they be concerned about?
- Might there be any possible conflicts of interest among different types of stakeholders?
- Describe the interpersonal or political considerations you would take into account to ensure that your program evaluation would be effective and appreciated by your stakeholders.
Needs Assessment Document
Use the template linked in Resources to help you format your assignment.
Title Page: The following information should be included on the title page: Heading with page number, Needs Analysis for Proposed Evaluation of [Program Name], Author, Capella University, PSY8763: Program Evaluation, Date, Instructor.
- Follow current APA format per the template. Additional APA support can be found on the Capella Writing Center (links in Resources).
Introduction: Enter the title at the top of the first page, and begin your introduction two spaces beneath your title. (In APA format, the word Introduction is not used as a heading.) In your own words, generally summarize the program, its history, and the need for the evaluation that you propose. Keep in mind that this brief section will create your readers’ first impression of your proposal, so it should be as readable and compelling as possible.
Under the heading Program Participants:
- Describe all the direct participants in the program. What are their roles and functions?
Under the heading Program Outcomes:
- Describe the needs that the program was created to address. (If need be, infer plausible details.)
- Analyze what the desired benefits of the program would be for each type of program participant. How could each of these outcomes be measured?
- Describe any risks or possible unfavorable outcomes that might result from the program. How could the importance or likelihood of these be assessed?
Under the heading Program Procedures:
- Analyze the procedures that you think would be required to run this program. You may elect to use a logic model diagram to clarify the processes. (Note that while you have latitude in this assignment to make educated guesses about program details, in actual professional practice you must be rigorous in only including verifiable facts.)
Under the heading Proposed Program Evaluation:
- Drawing from your previous analysis of the program and all its stakeholders, determine what should be the focus and desired outcomes of your proposed evaluation. In other words, what questions do you seek to answer about the program, and how do you think these answers can be used to justify or improve the program?
Under the heading Cost-Benefit Analysis of Proposed Program Evaluation:
- Project reasonable costs and benefits of the proposed program evaluation.
Under the heading Ethical Considerations:
- Analyze any ethical concerns that should be considered in the proposed needs analysis or in the program itself. Relate these concerns to the ethical standards and information on the IRB provided in Unit 4 studies.
Under the heading Conclusion:
- Summarize your proposal and make a compelling appeal for its implementation.
Attach the Appendix: Program Stakeholder Analysis.
Throughout this assignment, make use of specific concepts, ideas, and program evaluation terminology presented in the course. Support your ideas with relevant references, citations, and empirical research. Be sure to conform to APA style and formatting guidelines and include a list of references.
Avoid use of direct quotations—these are not counted in the length of your assignment. Paraphrasing is much preferred because it demonstrates your mastery of the subject.
It is recommended that you read the scoring guide for this assignment to understand how your work will be assessed.
Assignment Requirements
- References: Use a minimum of three recent (within the last six years) sources.
- Length: 6–10 double-spaced content pages excluding cover page, references, and any quotations.
- Font: 12-point Times New Roman.
- Format: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.
