Using the Evaluation to Tell Your HPOG Story

1. Using the Evaluation to Tell Your HPOG Story Molly Irwin, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, ACF Building Pathways to a Brighter Future

2. Where does the evaluation fit into the story?

3. The evaluation as the muse: the inspiration for the story • Qualitative and quantitative data to understand implementation, systems change, outputs, outcomes and impact • PRS - management reports & query tool • Evaluation findings • Evaluation planning and background documents to understand the context, importance, and process • Literature reviews • Evaluation design documents • Evaluation reports and briefs • EDIPs • Evaluation surveys

4. The evaluation as the plot or ingredients: what story can you tell? • Why is this important (e.g., why career pathways? what do we know? what do we still need to learn?) • How these programs are implemented • How participants flow through the program • If/how the program benefits participants • What program components work for whom • If/how the program benefits the community or strengthens the system • If/how the program benefits the employers • How can our success be sustained and replicated (e.g., to build the evidence on CP programs, to build support and funding, to scale up, to keep story going)

5. How can we put this together to… • tell a compelling story? • for different purposes? • for different audiences?

6. Fitting it into a compelling story • Who is your audience? • What is the message you are trying to convey? (What problem or need are you trying to address for your audience? What’s the bit of information that will be compelling to them? ) • Why do (or should) they care? What’s the so what? • How can (or is) HPOG addressing the need or problem?

7. Examples • How ACF might tell the story • A story for decision makers • A story for community members • A story for employers • A story for program operators • A story for participants