The 29-page toolkit, 15 Key Metrics for Evaluating Participatory Budgeting: A Toolkit for Evaluators and Implementers, was created in collaboration with Public Agenda (PA), the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP), and the North American Research Board. The toolkit includes 15 metrics to capture major elements of a PB process, to support the evaluation of a specific PB site and use the data to inform the larger PB movement. Below is an excerpt from the toolkit, which you can find in full PDF, both in English and in Spanish on Public Agenda’s […] (continue)

This 2008 essay by John Gastil (professor in the Department of Communication, University of Washington) provides a definition of citizen deliberation and suggests broad categories for evaluation, including design integrity, sound deliberation and judgment, influential conclusions/actions, and other secondary benefits (e.g., positive changes to individual participants’ civic attitudes and improvement in local political practices). Evaluation methods are identified for measuring each of these evaluation criteria, and summary recommendations consider how to conduct a thorough, integrated project assessment with a small or larger evaluation budget. Download […] (continue)

The Obama Administration’s Open Government initiative is now three years old.  But is it making a difference?  Tina Nabatchi’s new report (2012), published by the IBM Center for The Business of Government, provides a practical assessment guide for government program managers so they can assess whether their efforts are making a difference.  The report lays out evaluation steps for both the implementation and management of citizen participation initiatives as well as how to assess the impact of a particular citizen participation initiative.  An appendix provides helpful […] (continue)

The Deliberative Democracy Consortium recently released “A SeeClickFix for Public Participation?” Tools like SeeClickFix tap into the capacity of citizens to be ‘intelligent sensors’ of their environment, allowing them to report problems like potholes and graffiti. Can this same thinking, and some of the same technology, allow citizens to gather, track, and analyze data on public participation? In this project, a team of MPA students from the Maxwell School at Syracuse conducted exploratory research on this question, interviewing a variety of participation and evaluation experts, […] (continue)

This questionnaire was designed to be used to examine the outcomes of dialogue groups. The intention was to measure attitudes toward racial, ethnic and cultural groups, optimism regarding the future of race relations in this country, willingness to interact with members of other racial and ethnic groups, perceived understanding of other racial and ethnic groups, and racial and ethnic stereotypes. (continue)

This short publication presents the stories of six different colleges and universities that have developed innovative programs to advance and assess key liberal education outcomes. Originally written for AAC&U News, these stories--which focus on writing, information literacy, understanding of diversity, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and civic engagement--offer models for effective assessment practices. Also included is information about finding additional assessment resources. (continue)

This 184-page guide provides tips and tools for designing and developing effective diversity evaluations. Topics addressed include the need for assessment, designing an evaluation plan, institutional context, audience, data collection and analysis, performance indicators, and theoretical models. An appendix also includes sample assessment and evaluation tools from campuses across the country. (continue)

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of EPA Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) Committees. (continue)

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of public listening sessions and the effectiveness of follow-up after them. (continue)

This user's guide gathers information and tools for EPA staff to use in generating feedback on the effectiveness of public meetings and the effectiveness of follow-up after them. (continue)