We conducted an evaluation pilot study to measure the influence of the statewide University of California Master Gardener Program on participants who attended its public education events. We discuss (a) steps for developing a statewide evaluation and (b) findings from the event follow-up survey we used to evaluate public education participants'…

We describe a process for construction and use of a "dashboard" for monitoring the quality of in-person nonformal education programs. We followed the process to develop a 4-H special interest (SPIN) club dashboard, but the steps are applicable to any education program that includes instruction over multiple sessions. The dashboard…

This article provides an overview of the development and components of LEAD95, University of Tennessee (UT) Extension's comprehensive leadership program for county-level leaders. The program was designed in accordance with results from a Delphi study, which identified critical skills and resources new county directors need to be successful. The…

Within Extension, certain personnel, facilitators, and volunteers expected to conduct research in the form of program evaluation may have little or no training in effective research design and practices. This circumstance can lead to difficulties in the implementation of evaluation procedures, particularly with regard to program evaluation…

Extension professionals often communicate program outcomes to external stakeholders using impact statements. We developed and evaluated four impact statements for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). We drafted the statements after conducting literature reviews for core content areas of EFNEP that include diet quality, food…

Effective curricula are considered to be the cornerstone of successful programming in Extension. However, there is no universal operationalized definition of the term "curriculum" as it applies to Extension. Additionally, the development of curricula requires a systematic process that takes into account numerous factors. We provide an…

The case study addressed in this article illustrates the value of continuous response measurement (CRM) for testing and refining messages produced for distribution to Extension audiences. We used CRM to evaluate the responses of Extension educators and Natural Resources Conservation Service technical service providers to a video describing…

Extension educators are expected to more fully evaluate programs. In response, evaluation capacity building (ECB) is a necessary component of Extension educator professional development. One size rarely fits all; ECB more likely succeeds if it is well aligned with the educator's evaluation needs and the type of educational effort. Four approaches…

Understanding long-term impacts is essential to knowing whether an Extension program is achieving its goals. I describe a process for long-term program evaluation, using evaluation of the Utah Master Naturalist Program (UMNP) as a successful example. Surveys revealed that the UMNP had impacts on participants up to 10 years after program…

Short dietary assessment instruments known as screeners have potential for use in evaluating nutrition education programming because detecting change in dietary intake can demonstrate movement toward program goals. Using screeners results in objective dietary intake data but involves less administrative time, training, and cost than other…

Extension program evaluations often present opportunities to analyze data in multiple ways. This article suggests that program evaluations can involve more sophisticated data analysis approaches than are often used. On the basis of a hypothetical program scenario and corresponding data set, two approaches to testing for evidence of program impact…

The Power of Produce (PoP) Club is a farmers' market incentive program for children aged 5-12. The purpose of the summative evaluation described in this article was to determine the impact of the PoP Club on improving family and child behavior at a Minnesota farmers' market as well as child fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption. Results from a…

Return on investment (ROI) is a commonly used metric for organizations concerned with demonstrating the value of their investments; it can be used to determine whether funds spent providing professional development programs for Extension professionals are good investments. This article presents a method for calculating ROI for an onboarding…

Extension master volunteer programs, such as master naturalist and master gardener, often focus heavily on volunteer education. The model presented here describes the full life cycle of a master volunteer's experience in the program, putting education in the context of other essential program components. By zooming out to a wide-angle view of the…

We undertook a multiyear evaluation of the NaturePalooza Science Festival, an annual public event designed to increase science literacy and sustainability behavior, to measure impacts. Surveys conducted at the 2014 and 2015 events and 6 months after the 2015 event showed that 77%, 92%, and 100% of respondents, respectively, learned new…