Different Types of Evaluation

What’s the difference between formative, process, outcome, and impact evaluation? When should you actually use each one? In this episode, Stacey and Bill break down the why and when of evaluation, drawing on real-world examples from education, training programs, and policy work. They talk implementation fidelity, stakeholder engagement, logic models, and why not every evaluation is about proving causality. The takeaway: good evaluation is about learning, improvement, and usefulness—not just measurement.

 

Music written and produced by Stacey Merola. Podcast artwork by Zoe Targino.