Program Design and Evaluation: A Brief Description

I am frequently asked about what I do.  Here are some short answers to common questions that I field.

What is a program?

When organizations set out to make the world a better place, they develop a plan of action.  That plan is a program.

Historically, nonprofit organizations have implemented programs underwritten by foundations and government agencies.  Examples include museums, schools, and social services.  Governmental organizations also implement programs directly.  Education and health are two areas in which government implements programs at the local, state, and federal levels.  Today, a growing number of for-profit corporations are implementing programs to advance their social missions.

Programs are tremendously varied.  They may work with individuals (like an afterschool program) or organizations (like foundations that support afterschool programs).  They may focus on service delivery (like a school district) or policy that gives rise to service delivery (like political advocacy groups).  What they hold in common is this—they are concrete plans of action implemented by organizations with the intention to make the world a better place.

What is program design?

Program design is both a verb and a noun.



The more energy, creativity, and hard work that goes into program design, the greater the chances that a program will succeed.

What is program evaluation?

Program evaluation is an organized effort to understand how effective a program is and how it can be made more effective.  It can be undertaken in a formative manner that supports the program design processes.  Or it can be undertaken in a summative manner that measures the effectiveness of a design as implemented in a given context.  Typically, program evaluation shifts from formative to summative, and from informal to rigorous, as the program design process advances.

7 responses to “Program Design and Evaluation: A Brief Description

  1. Thanks for this blog! I work for a non profit organization and we are about to take inventory on our overall program effectiveness.

  2. Octavio

    I am taking Grant Writing and Proposal now, and I find this blog very helpful. Thanks

  3. bono

    Should there be no difference between a program and project or we leave it simple

    • Some people call one-off efforts projects and ongoing efforts programs. Others use the two words to mean the same thing. Still others use program to mean the large-scale efforts of governments and projects to be local implementations of those larger programs. Very confusing. My definition is broad in an effort to avoid that confusion. Perhaps it is unavoidable?

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