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Evidence: An Essential Tool

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf0531/sta rt.htm

The Consortium for Building Evaluation Capacity

Prepared for The National Science Foundation
Directorate for Education and Human Resources
Math and Science Partnership Program

April 2005

MSP Papers
MSP Key Features / Evidence-Based Design and Outcomes, Institutional Change and Sustainability
Ed Change & Policy / Evaluation

This guiding framework arose out of a need to:

"(a) provide guidance for evaluation planning and evaluation activities to NSF's MSP projects and other projects, and to groups submitting proposals to NSF programs;

(b) have a consistent framework by which to assess project-level evaluation; and

(c) develop a document about project-level evaluation, grounded in the expertise and experience of the scholarly community having that expertise."

..."This document includes the following major sections:

(a) A statement about high quality evidence of project effectiveness and efficiency.

(b) A description of the DIO [Design-Implementation-Outcomes] Cycle of Evidence as a guiding framework for planning, gathering, and using evidence.

(c) The relationship of the DIO Cycle of Evidence to other frameworks used in evaluating projects.

(d) The role of context in establishing evidence of project effectiveness.

(e) Resources to help projects learn more about planning, gathering, and using evidence.

(f) A glossary of terms and abbreviations used throughout this document. (g) Appendices that contain supplemental resources."

09/12/2005