The last session before we talk about the course itself on Dec 10 is on evaluation:
 
It is mostly nuts and bolts and is in 3 parts:
 
The main segment is on evaluating social programs (pptx) in general.
 
The second segement called : "So you want to do an evaluation (pptx)" is all about how government ( 3 levels) , the private and the non-profit sectors go about evaluation - all different
 
The third is a case study (pptx) of a large scale high visibility, high stakes  evaluation of a public social program where evaluability was very hard.
 
How Prairie Research Associates (and Principal Greg Mason.......)
http://www.pra.ca/en/home - one of the big evaluation houses that does lots of work for the federal government ---- went about the task--- is interesting.
 
We will cover the first two sets of slides in the class - the case study is for your information.
 
These three powerpoints could constitute a course in itself but two good hours on evalauation can be useful  - just hitting the high points and the things you really need to know. Happy reading.....
 
Please let me know if you need any of the three powerpoints in an earlier version or in pdf. Thanks//js