The Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University is excited to launch the new Evaluation Champions program, a unique opportunity for non-profit organizations and researchers to build capacity for productive collaborations to strengthen program effectiveness.
Many organizations struggle to integrate evaluation into their programs due to limited capacity or expertise. Researchers often face challenges in connecting with organizations and developing actionable evaluation strategies. Because of this, MFRI developed the Evaluation Champions program to bring researchers and organizations together to develop strategies for bridging this gap. Through a series of guided web-based seminars and collaborative discussions, participants will develop insights about ways to:
- Understand and apply rigorous measurement in real-world conditions
- Build effective partnerships between researchers and organizations
- Design evaluations that can be embedded in daily operations of organizations
- Locate, utilize, and develop useful evaluation tools
Participation will be open to researchers and organizational leaders who are interested in evaluation of programs serving military and veteran families. Researchers and organizations with no collaboration or evaluation experience will be welcome. We will welcome representatives of organizations who aim to strengthen evaluation of their programs. Preference will be given to organizations without in-house research teams. Eligible organizational representatives should have detailed knowledge about at least one program and have influence over evaluation activities. We will welcome university-based researchers in faculty positions who are interested in evaluation of programs serving military and veteran families and growing their involvement with organizations who serve military families.
To participate in the program, researchers and organizational leaders must be able to participate in four phone calls (scheduled for June 18, July 9, August 13, and August 27), commit about one hour between calls to review content and prepare for discussions, and actively engage and share work during project discussions, while maintaining confidentiality outside the meetings.
Participation in the program will make progress toward partnerships between researchers and organizations and explore ways to build evaluation into daily operations. Participation will also help enhance each organization’s capacity to use data-driven insights.
The application portal is now open. Please reach out to co-founder and director of MFRI, Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, M.B.A., Ph.D., at shelley@purdue.edu.