Once Upon a Time Evaluation Reports That Get Attention

1. Once Upon a TimeEvaluation ReportsThat Get Attention Cynthia OlneyNN/LM Outreach Evaluation Research CenterFebruary 21, 2013

2. About the slide images • Some images in this presentation are not in the public domain and should not be copied from this presentation for use in other documents. You can purchase them from Stockfresh: http://www.stockfresh.com

3. Hoped-for response

4. Typical response • Written evaluation reports are nearly as varied as those who write them, but the great majority share a common characteristic: They make tedious and tiresome reading. -- Fitzpatrick, Sanders, and Worthen, 2011, p. 43

5. Most people get evaluation reports that look like this. Most people get evaluation reports that look like this.

6. People respond better to this

7. The solution: Don’t let data get in the way of a good story

8. The solution: Don’t let data get in the way of a good story. Write your story, then weave the data into it.

9. The Process:5 steps to report writing

10. Step 1Data analysis:graphs, charts, tables, statistics

11. Q2: How often do you use MedlinePlus or MedlinePlus en español?Key findings: Seventy-seven percent of ___ are using MedlinePlus, with more than one-third saying they use it monthly.

12. Step 2Collect all the important findings

13. Step 3Organize and condense You don’t have to tell everything you know -- my grandma

14. Step 4Write a short narrative (a story)

15. Descriptive words for amounts

16. Step 5:Choose statistics, charts, picturesto illustrate or reinforce key points

17. Organizing your findings: Program reports using story book structure

18. Where is your data?

19. The story book structure

20. Example: Cinderella

21. Weaving in data

22. Nancy Duarte’s Sparkline: Advocating for a great idea

23. Duarte’s Sparkline: Comparing “What is” to “What could be”

24. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

25. Vision: Train health care providers to address patients’ health information needs

26. Making your story memorable

27. Images

28. Call outs Report available at http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/2011_PAR.pdf

29. Provocative Headers • Report available at http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/facts/annual_report.asp

30. No publishing software needed!

31. Have a memorable ending Transformation: How the characters move forward Call to action: What needs to be done to move toward the vision

32. Bottom line: Don‘t let data get in the way of a good story

33. References 1. Developing Evaluation Reports that are Useful, User-friendly, and Used . Tamara Walser (AEA coffee break seminar CBD039, February 10, 2011) http://bit.ly/12dmVsT (available to members of AEA only) 2. Resonate. Nancy Duarte (2010, Wiley) 3. The Secret Structure of Great Talks. Nancy Duarte (TEDtalks, February 2012) http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks.html

34. NN/LM Outreach Evaluation Resource Center Web Address: http://nnlm.gov/evaluation/ Contact Information Susan Barnes, Assistant Director sjbarnes@uw.edu 206-221-7425 Cindy Olney, Evaluation Specialist olneyc@uw.edu 678-682-3864