A User's Guide to Advocacy Evaluation Planning

Created by the Harvard Family Research Project, A User's Guide to Advocacy Evaluation Planning was developed for advocates, evaluators, and funders who want guidance on how to evaluate advocacy and policy change efforts. This tool takes users through four basic steps that generate the core elements of an advocacy evaluation plan, including what will be measured and how.

The tool helps users:

1. Identify how the evaluation will be used and who will use it to ensure the evaluation delivers the right kind of information when it is needed.
2. Map the strategy being evaluated to illustrate how activities lead to policy-related outcomes.
3. Prioritize the components that are most essential for the evaluation to make sure the evaluation is resource-efficient and manageable.
4. Identify measures and methods that signal whether advocacy strategy elements have been successfully implemented or achieved. 

Because most users want help determining which outcomes and methods are most relevant or appropriate in an advocacy and policy context, the tool includes a comprehensive list of outcomes, measures, and methods that users can choose from when developing their own evaluation plans. 

The User's Guide also includes a unique pullout worksheet that prompts users to complete each step and records evaluation planning choices. 

Go to A User's Guide to Advocacy Evaluation Planning.

 The guide is also available as a PDF download below.