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What can it tell you?
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Which sources should you consult?
Follow the related sources for background and more detailed information.
View sources and editorial policyStart with the work in front of you.
Choose the resource that fits your purpose.
Build an evaluation plan
Organize your questions and data in six steps to create a plan that fits your setting.
Find methods
Search by purpose or keyword across 79 methods and 8 categories.
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Completed examples for 79 worksheets to fill in, save, and print.
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Explore evaluation procedures and key decisions through concrete examples and the reasoning behind them.
Learn the concepts
Explore core evaluation concepts and common topics.
Build an evaluation plan for your project
Clarify your project’s conditions and connect evaluation questions, judgment criteria, and data collection.
Outputs and outcomes
Understand the ideas and key distinctions used to describe the changes that activities bring about.
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Six ways to get started.
Read the purpose, procedure, and conditions of use, then open the worksheet you need.
Design & theory
Logic Model
Logic Model
A diagram that links a program’s resources, activities, direct outputs and changes for participants, setting out the assumptions about how outcomes will occur and what needs to be checked. Completing the diagram does not, by itself, demonstrate a causal effect.
Read moreDesign & theory
Evaluation Design Matrix
Evaluation Design Matrix
A table linking evaluation questions, judgment criteria, required information and collection and analysis methods row by row. It reveals items that cannot answer the questions and information that would be collected but not used.
Read moreDesign & theory
Learning Agenda
Learning Agenda
A framework for prioritizing questions needed for decisions and planning evidence collection and use to answer them. It links what to learn, decision timing and responsibility.
Read more
Evaluation frameworks
Rapid Evaluation
Rapid Evaluation
An evaluation that focuses questions, populations and methods around a short decision deadline, iterating collection and analysis to produce actionable findings. State the limitations accompanying speed.
Read more
Causal inference & experiments
Natural Experiment
Natural Experiment
A research framework evaluating effects through intervention differences produced by policy changes or institutional events whose assignment researchers do not control. Assignment processes and valid comparisons are central.
Read more
Reporting, use & meta-evaluation
Implementation Fidelity Assessment
Implementation Fidelity Assessment
Checks how far an intervention was delivered as planned in content, frequency, duration and reach. Delivery quality and participant responses also inform outcome interpretation.
Read moreBrowse by evaluation area.
From design, data collection, and causal inference to reporting and use.
Design & theory
Design & Theory
Develop a blueprint for the program and its evaluation. Methods such as logic models and theories of change provide starting points for evaluation.
10 methods →Evaluation frameworks
Evaluation Frameworks
Approaches that guide how the whole evaluation proceeds. Frameworks such as the DAC criteria, CIPP and utilization-focused evaluation shape the evaluation approach.
12 methods →
Data collection
Data Collection
Obtain high-quality data from practice. Collection techniques include questionnaires, interviews, observation and case studies.
10 methods →Causal inference & experiments
Causal Inference
Rigorously investigate whether there was an effect. Core impact evaluation methods include RCTs, difference-in-differences and contribution analysis.
10 methods →
Participatory & qualitative approaches
Participatory & Qualitative
Understand change with stakeholders. Methods such as MSC and outcome harvesting emphasize dialogue and stories.
10 methods →
Analysis & synthesis
Analysis & Synthesis
Draw meaning from collected data. Analytical techniques include statistical and qualitative analysis, mixed methods and meta-analysis.
12 methods →
Economic evaluation
Economic Evaluation
Ask whether value justifies costs. Methods such as cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and SROI support resource allocation decisions.
5 methods →Reporting, use & meta-evaluation
Reporting & Use
Connect evaluation to decisions and learning. Includes evaluation reporting, performance measurement, management responses and evaluation of evaluation.
10 methods →Check the evidence before using a method.
We consult public agencies and standards bodies and describe the assumptions and limitations of each method. Sources, check dates, and editorial policies are disclosed.
View sources and editorial policy- Evaluation design and useHM Treasury · Magenta Book2026 edition checked
- A framework for evaluation practiceCDC · Program Evaluation Framework2024 edition checked
- Analyze social value and use it to improveSocial Value International · Standards2026 integrated standards checked
Start from a worked example
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Start with a practical guideHow to cite this page
EvalCompass Editorial Team. “Check the evidence.Move your evaluation forward.”. EvalCompass, updated 2026-10-07. https://evalcompass.jun-nakatani.com/en/
Add the date you accessed the page. Text created by this site is available under CC BY 4.0. Quotations, external materials, and bundled fonts have their own terms of use. When reusing content, credit the source, link to the license, and indicate any changes.
Change history
- — Added a homepage connecting evaluation questions to decisions, an evaluation-plan workspace, and links to source materials.
- — Generated the guide count and method cards from the authoritative data, and updated method-selection guidance and duration labels.
- — Added a link to the “What is an outcome?” guide and updated the guide index to 21 guides.
- — Added links to practical examples and references, along with citation information.