Rural Communities Evaluation (RUCOME)

Project Description/Summary

The purpose of this project is to implement an evaluation plan that will begin the process of assessing the effectiveness of three grant programs carried out by the OCS. The three programs are rural community facilities (RF), community economic development (CED) and job opportunities for low income individuals (JOLI). Program effectiveness will be measured by examining the program's purpose and design, strategic planning, program management, and program results and accountability.

Each of the three programs will be assessed using qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods that capture key information about program and grantee-level performance in four general areas: (1) program purpose and design; (2) strategic planning; (3) program management; and (4) program results. The evaluation activities will build on the initial year's findings and methods, with the goal of expanding data collection and analysis to improve the validity and generalizability of findings.

During the first year of project implementation, AED learned several key lessons.

• There is limited communication between OCS and the grantees
• Reporting and data requirements are non-uniform
• Current Management Information System has limited utility
• There is an opportunity for building OCS staff's knowledge of technical, evaluation and PART-related concepts
• There are constraints on data collection at the grantee level

As a result of this project, OCS staff, AED staff, and other participating evaluators have created an online learning community to share ideas, information, best practices, and tools about building the capacity for evaluation in nonprofit organizations. This online site can be accessed at: www.ocsevalinitiative.com

Rose Ann Rentería
Email: rrenteria@smtp.aed.org

Laurine Thomas
Ida Rademacher
Jesse Gelwicks
Janine Jackson