Community Involvement
Engaging the public is essential to community planning.
Collaboration that engages the community is not an easy task.
Competing demands.
Using a variety of techniques to supplement traditional workshops, including social media, websites, and online forums, makes the process more interesting, informative and engaging.
Developing an effective evaluation framework
Help define and clarify the social benefits.
Helps companies collect the types of information, data, and stories that distinguish them from the competition and can be utilized by other departments to achieve business goals and objectives.
This will allow a company to play a more integral role in the business.
Steps
Step 1 - Identify and Engage Key Internal Stakeholders
Determine which departments and businesses can benefit from helping to shape and stay involved.
Does marketing know which constituencies are being reached?
Internal players should be involved upfront to help answer these questions.
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Step 2 - Develop the Logic Model
Once key stakeholders are identified, the group should be convened to assist in the development of a logic model.
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A logic model is a visual representation of the program.
Defines the impact of the program.
Long and short-term outcomes, the outputs, strategies, and inputs and resources.
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Step 3 - Create an Evaluation Plan
Develop a plan that includes evaluation markers important to other business units.
The planning process should be ongoing in nature so other business stakeholders stay invested and connected with the progress of the program.
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Step 4 - Evaluate Your Social and Business Impact
A professional evaluator may be needed to help determine the evaluation approach, methods, tools, and processes.
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​Key stakeholders will play a lead role in the design.
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An outside evaluator needs to collaborate with the key stakeholders, and help determine the most effective process for capturing the data and information needed for the evaluation.
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Step 5 - Make Use of What You're Learning
​Most important step since it provides the "how-to" for each department using the information.
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​The pressure to perform at a higher level, and articulate the value of their work for the community and the business, will only continue to increase.
Society is becoming more knowledgeable and demanding and is expecting companies to play a stronger role in addressing certain social and environmental issues.
Using evaluation as a tool to help focus a company's efforts, and define the long-term outcomes, is an effective way to bring benefits to both society and the business.