Evaluation is often seen as a pile of paperwork in research funding or reporting, but systematic evaluation can clarify program plans, improve communication, and incorporate feedback for more adaptive, resilient projects. Ecologists are well positioned as systems-thinkers to identify the relationships between research or teaching activities and long-term outcomes at both local and global scales. Program evaluation provides a wide range of additional tools to measure progress, success, and learning to clearly communicate the impacts of ecological work with funders, partners, practitioners, and the general public.

This workshop will briefly describe several types of evaluation approaches and demonstrate their use in research proposals and reporting, project decision-making, adaptive practices, and engagement with different audiences. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss and apply these approaches through a set of hands-on activities. We will practice identifying the links between activities and goals with tools like outcome maps and theories of change. We will discuss inclusive, mixed methods for evaluation data collection and analysis, and go over approaches to increase organizational interest in evaluation processes and utilization of findings. We will conclude with a set of resources on program evaluation tailored to ecological research, education, and practice, and discuss ways to use the ‘data revolution’ to improve overall project design, implementation, and impact.