This one-day course will be offered via Zoom. Attendance is required as the course will not be recorded. The workshop begins at 9:00 a.m. and will conclude at 3:00 p.m., with a lunch break.
Course Summary:
This course provides training on evaluating public services and programs. At the end of the course, participants will understand and be able to describe program evaluation, and how it can help you understand the basics of assessing program impact. In addition, participants will be able to identify a variety of program evaluation tools, map out a basic evaluation plan that could be used in their office, and understand how to effectively present evaluation results. At the end of the course, participants will understand and be able to describe what program evaluation is, how it focuses on success understood as outcomes, short-term and long-term impact. Throughout the workshop, we will be referring to your own situation and you will be asked to apply the ideas to the program, policy, or process that you want to evaluate in your own organization. The goal of the workshop is to let you leave with a solid ‘takeaway’ of how to start your evaluation planning.
No prior experience is necessary. This course will not teach specific statistical or qualitative methods, but how to best determine which might be the best for measuring success as you have defined it.
Instructor: Maureen Berner
Maureen Berner first joined the School of Government in 1998. She teaches evaluation and analysis courses for MPA students and provides similar training and advising to state and local government officials throughout North Carolina. Her personal research focuses on the ability of local organizations to address food insecurity, poverty, and income inequality. She has worked with nonprofits, food banks, local governments, and state agencies. Berner was a 2014–2016 UNC Thorp Engaged Faculty Fellow, a Visiting Scholar with the University of Ghent in Belgium in the fall of 2017, and recipient of numerous academic awards. She began her career as an Evaluator for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, serving as a Presidential Management Fellow. She has conducted major evaluations for the Federal government, statewide agencies, non-profits and foundations over the past 30 years. She earned a PhD in public policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin; an MPP from Georgetown University; and a BA in global studies from the University of Iowa.