As a criminal justice professional, you may be required to perform a program evaluation or conduct policy research and analysis and deliver actionable conclusions. Familiarity with evaluation strategies will help you design an effective assessment and collect meaningful information on programs and policies.
This week you will synthesize what you have learned about policy analysis and program evaluation to develop an evaluation proposal.
Preparation
Review your Weeks 1 and 2 assignments.
Assessment Deliverable
Create a 1,050- to 1,400-word proposal in which you present your plan for a program evaluation for your selected criminal justice program. Develop your proposal from the perspective of a criminal justice professional proposing an evaluation plan and strategies to a supervisor.
Use the following headings in your proposal and address the following prompts:
Program Evaluation Planning: Model and Methods Selection
- Briefly summarize the criminal justice program (e.g., mission, goals, objectives) you selected in Week 1.
- Explain which program evaluation model (i.e., embedded evaluation model or the SARA model) you will use to conduct the evaluation. Justify your choice by explaining why the model is most suitable for the program evaluation.
- Explain the program evaluation method(s) (e.g., formative, summative, qualitative, quantitative, mixed method) you will use to analyze the program. Justify your choice by explaining why your selected method is most suitable for the program evaluation.
Program Evaluation Planning: Evaluation Questions Creation
- Create 2 or 3 evaluation questions you intend to answer as a result of conducting the program evaluation. Provide rationale for each question.
Program Evaluation Planning: Survey Tool Creation
- Design a 3- or 4-question survey to collect data related to the evaluation questions you created. Note: Refer to Exhibit III-4, “Tips for Developing Surveys and Survey Questions,” on p. 62 of “Measuring Excellence: Planning and Managing Evaluations of Law Enforcement Initiatives” from the U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
- Explain who will take the survey.
- Explain what you hope to discover as a result of administering the survey.
- Identify challenges you may face in conducting the survey or reviewing survey results.
Policy Evaluation Explanation
- Briefly summarize the criminal justice policy that you selected in Week 1 that is related to the program outcomes. Explain how research or analysis of your selected criminal justice policy is related to your proposed program evaluation.
Call To Action/Collaborative Approach to Evaluation
- Recommend 1 or 2 action steps the supervisor should take after reviewing your evaluation plan.
