Outcome Evaluation is what most people think of when they hear the term evaluation.  It focuses on determining whether a novel program improves one or more targeted results (e.g. health, mental health, quality of life, risk of falling, rehospitalization rates, etc.) for those served.  To be done correctly, outcome evaluation requires that clients are compared to a control group of older adults who are similar to clients in every way except for the fact that they are not exposed to the program being studied.  It is important to note that this type of evaluation is appropriate for only a minority of our grantees.  One reason for this is that many projects submitted for our consideration are for services that we already know work!  Another is that doing outcome evaluation is expensive, time consuming, and requires the involvement of experts with a track record documenting knowledge of and experience with evaluation research and statistics.  Finally, the Foundation feels that outcome studies are worth funding only when the proposed project is likely to be replicable and already has been pilot-tested to document that it is feasible to implement.

RRF asks ALL of its grantees to report to us on how well it has met its objectives. This is considered part of implementation and process evaluation. Formal evaluation of whether a program has positive, neutral or negative outcomes is appropriate for only a very few applicants. Specifically, outcome evaluation is relevant for those applicants proposing to test the effects of programs that are innovative, replicable, and already shown to be feasible.

RRF has developed two sets of guidelines listing the recommended elements for outcome evaluation of model service or training projects.

• Applicants with limited research expertise should use the guidelines for non-researchers. These individuals or groups are encouraged to contact Nancy Zweibel, Ph.D. at RRF for further technical assistance and to plan their evaluation budgets to include expert consultants.
• Applicants with training in evaluation research should refer to the guidelines for experienced researchers.