February 17, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation, Second Edition
edited by Joseph S. Wholey, Harry P. Hatry, and Kathryn E. Newcomer
As citizens, politicians, and the news media increasingly demand accountability in programs carried out by nonprofit groups and the government, gauging the success of those efforts has become more difficult and more public. This guide is designed to provide people who evaluate, finance, and operate programs with advice on how to assess their efficiency and effectiveness.
Written by individuals in academe, government, and the nonprofit world, the handbook is divided into four sections that discuss how to design program evaluations, collect information about programs, analyze those data, and manage evaluation projects. It presents a variety of options and approaches for assessing a program’s effectiveness and offers advice on how to avoid investing too much money or time in the evaluation process.
Now in its second edition, the book includes new chapters on measuring performance, how small nonprofit organizations can use evaluations to their best advantage, and other topics. It also discusses selecting and training evaluators, using standards and ethics in evaluation work, and creating incentives for conducting evaluations.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (317) 572-3986 or (800) 956-7739; fax (317) 572-4002; http://www.josseybass.com; 720 pages; $65; ISBN 0-7879-6713-0.
