Program and Project Evaluation Resources
Monitoring and evaluating programs and projects is important for understanding effectiveness and potential areas for improvement, communicating successes, transparently managing resources, and prioritizing support for priority populations. Information collected through evaluations can also help inform future design of California Climate Investments programs and guidance. Agencies administering California Climate Investments programs should engage in in-house and/or third-party evaluation activities, as feasible and appropriate, that result in program and/or project evaluation reports.
Definitions
Per the Funding Guidelines for Agencies Administering California Climate Investments:
Program evaluation refers to determining how well a given California Climate Investments program is achieving its pre-defined goals to achieve certain outcomes or benefits and how to improve performance with respect to program implementation, effectiveness, efficiency, and resources.
Program evaluation may include a combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection as part of or in addition to existing measurement and verification activities of funded projects, and/or may include a standalone assessment of all aspects of a program.
Program evaluations should also include consideration of program-related processes to evaluate whether an agency’s internal activities, and the applicants’ access to and experience with the program, have been established and implemented as intended to achieve expected and desirable outcomes. This aspect of program evaluation is focused on the experience of applying for and using program funding rather than any environmental, economic, or public health metrics and outcomes. For example, this may include assessment of major barriers for applicants, equity concerns, and/or other systemic issues around funded and/or unfunded applicants.
Program evaluations may be done once per appropriation, every few fiscal years, for each solicitation, and/or when the program has undergone a significant change, as appropriate.
Project evaluation refers to determining how well projects are achieving certain results or outcomes.
The projects that make up a program will likely share similar characteristics and, therefore, share a common process for evaluation.
Project evaluations may be done for each appropriation or solicitation, and may include evaluation of a single, multiple, or all projects, as appropriate.
At a minimum, administering agencies should evaluate a random and statistically-valid selection of projects when evaluating only a subset of total funded (or unfunded) projects.
Evaluation Resources and Examples
Evaluations may look different across programs and projects. Explore examples of completed California Climate Investments program evaluations and key considerations for evaluating programs.
