Steps Involved in most Research and Evaluation Process

• Establish a Steering Committee. Steering committees review or establish goals, objectives, related activities, and performance measures and indicators regarding the program or organization, to ensure their evaluability (Logic Models).
• Determine your informational requirements. What is the scope of the study? What resources are available for this undertaking?
• Develop the Request for Proposal. This is followed by the development of the selection process and criteria for rating proposals.
• Hold preliminary meetings with the consultants to establish study terms of reference and your informational requirements. The development of an Evaluation Framework should follow this step.
• Draft questionnaires are developed, in conjunction with the Steering Committee, and field-tested.
• The steering committee identifies the study sample or a sampling framework, leading to study administration.
• The consultants undertake data verification from completed surveys.
• Quantitative data are entered into a statistical software package, such as SPSS or SAS, for data processing and analysis. Qualitative data are subjected to a content analysis to determine trends, based on responses to open-ended questions.
• The consultants develop a draft report for your review, followed by the final report. Where possible, the Steering Committee is involved in the development of study conclusions and recommendations, based on the study findings.
• Finally, you develop a strategic plan and time-lines to address study findings, conclusions and recommendations.