Recap: Summit’s Intro to Program Evaluation Workshop

Last week, the Summit Program Evaluation Directorate hosted a half-day training, “Introduction to Program Evaluation: Measuring Impacts and Identifying Gaps,” here at our Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Our free and open-to-the-public event was attended by a wide range of individuals, including employees from the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Living Cities, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The four-hour training included speakers from Summit’s Program Evaluation team as well as Daniela Pineda from Living Cities.

•         Dr. Ed Dieterle provided an overview of program evaluation by introducing topics such as logic models, treatment and control groups, and causation vs. correlation.
•         Natalie Patten and Balint Peto helped attendees understand the steps involved with an evaluability assessment to determine whether an evaluation of their program is possible to conduct. It also gave an overview of what changes to make to the program if it is not possible to evaluate in its current state.
•         Dr. China Layne discussed about administrative data. During her presentation, attendees learned what administrative data are, how to use these data and combine them with other data sources to enrich evaluations, as well as the benefits and challenges associated with administrative data.
•         Dr. Shane Thompson introduced attendees to various types of evaluation including: randomized controlled trials, difference-in-differences, propensity score matching, regression discontinuity, and cost-benefit analyses.
•         Daniela Pineda presented experiences and lessons she learned in her role as program officer. She gave advice for all stages of evaluation, from the deciding to evaluate to selecting a partner to completing the process.

During the last session of the day, Dr. George Cave, Summit’s Senior Research Fellow, walked the audience through a net impact analysis flowchart to help attendees understand how such evaluations are set up and how impacts can be measured. He outlined the necessary data needed at each step along with potential deliverables that could be generated throughout the process.

The day wrapped up with a tour of Summit’s office and the rooftop led by Ed Dieterle.

Summit’s Program Evaluation team would like to thank everyone who attended. If you are interested in learning more about program evaluation and how Summit conducts evaluations, please contact Dr. Dieterle at ed.dieterle@summitllc.us or 202.412.8040.