Value for Money: How the ROI Methodology Shows the Value for Money for All Types of Projects and Programs

Led by the Washington Evaluators, June 9, 1:00 - 2:00pm ET

Initially created for use in business, the ROI Methodology® has migrated to the non-business sector in the last two decades. Implemented in more than 6,000 organizations, it is now one of the most-used evaluation systems globally. This process delivers five levels of outcomes and always addresses the attribution issue. The methodology, implemented across 70 countries, is user-friendly, supported by senior executives and chief financial officers, and supported by professional evaluators and professors. In addition, more than 75 books—translated into 38 languages—and hundreds of published case studies support its use and implementation.

In this session, Jack Phillips from the ROI Institute will describe how the ROI Methodology works to demonstrate the value it brings to all types of evaluation situations.

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

1. Explain the need for an improved logic model.
2. Identify the key characteristics of the ROI Methodology.
3. List the advantages of using the ROI Methodology.
4. Describe different applications of the ROI Methodology.

Each participant in this session will receive an ROI Methodology Application Guide, and a chapter from the book, Value For Money: How to Show the Value for Money For All Types of Project and Programs In: Governments, Nongovernmental Organizations, Nonprofits, and Businesses (Wiley-Scrivener, 2019).

This event is open to WE members. If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Recognizing and Preventing Racial, Gender, and Age Biases in Cost-Inclusive Evaluations

Led by the Washington Evaluators, July 7, 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET

Working from a model of cost-inclusive evaluation (CIE) that includes program
activities and processes, rather than just contrasting resources used by and outcomes produced by programs, this talk and discussion provides strategies for recognizing and reducing racial, gender, and age discrimination in CIE.

Brief description of the Resources → Activities → Processes → Outcomes model of CIE reveals the potential for CIE to reveal inequities and discrimination in program funding, access to services, and non-monetary as well as monetary outcomes. Assumptions and practices that can foster biased CIE are illustrated with examples. Some methods of reducing or avoiding biased CIEs can be found in time-tested methods of program evaluation, particularly involvement of multiple interest group perspectives throughout the evaluation.

Inclusion of program participants, consumers as well as providers, is essential to reducing biases in CIE. Without consumer involvement, CIE can result in economic and racial discrimination in how and particularly where evaluations recommend that program services be delivered. Two quantitative examples show how inequities in provider and consumer income can yield biased CIE.

Participants will be asked to describe additional drivers of biased and inequitable evaluation, and possible means of resolving those problems.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Brian Yates is a tenured Professor at American University. Dr. Yates received his Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology at Stanford University in 1976. His first book, published in 1980, applied operations research methods to collecting and analyzing data on costs, activities, and effectiveness. In 1981, Dr. Yates testified before a U.S. Congressional subcommittee on the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of therapy. Dr. Yates wrote the 1999 NIDA manual Measuring and improving cost, cost-effectiveness, and cost-benefit for substance abuse treatment programs. Dr. Yates also was a member of the 2006 APA Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice. He now has 100 publications including 5 books. His sixth, with Dr. Nadini Persaud, is in press for 2023.

Dr. Yates uses his Resource → Activity → Process → Outcomes Analysis model for formative evaluations of costs, cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of alternative delivery systems for suicide prevention in civilian and military populations, substance misuse, parent-child relationship management, depression, and emergency assistance programs for human rights defenders in international contexts. With Dr. Mita Marra, Dr. Yates also has critiqued social return on investment. He also advocates for collaborative roles for evaluators and economists in cost-inclusive evaluation.

If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.

Meet, Dine, & Connect with our 2022 WE President!

Led by the Washington Evaluators, July 28, 5:00-6:00pm ET

Back by popular demand! Bring your own dinner and join us for a virtual networking dinner to meet our 2022 WE President, Esther Nolton! During this dinner, participants will have the opportunity to meet fellow evaluators, discuss the state of the profession, and offer suggestions for improving the larger WE community and the field of evaluation.

This event will have a particular focus on evaluation in the government and non-profit sectors and will feature Veronica Olazabal, Chief Impact and Evaluation Officer at the BHP Foundation and current AEA President, and Albertina Lopez, Senior Associate at the Center for Evaluation Innovation, as special guests!

This event is open and free for WE members. If you have questions about this event, please email programs@washingtonevaluators.org.