Planning, Conducting and Using General Program Evaluations
No matter what type of general program evaluation you are going to undertake, there are certain steps that can be followed to ensure your evaluation produces valuable and useful information. If you devote sufficient foresight and planning to the evaluation process you will enhance the value of information garnered from an evaluation. The EERE Guide (PDF 1.5 MB) Download Adobe Reader for Managing General Program Evaluation Studies provides you a wealth of information to guide you through the process. This section of the website gives you key points from the Guide, which covers the 14 steps within the process outlined below:
Define Purpose 
Step 1: Decide the Evaluation Objectives
Step 2: Determine the Resources Available
Step 3: Determine the Timeline for Completing the Evaluation
Define Program Logic
Step 4: Construct or Confirm a Program Logic Model
Determine Questions and Methods
Step 5: Specify the Questions the Evaluation Must Answer
Step 6: Develop a Research Design
6a: Determine the Type(s) of Research Design Needed to Answer the Evaluation Questions
6b: Select Data to Be Collected and Develop a Data Collection Plan
6c: Select the Analytical Methods for Answering the Evaluation Questions
Step 7: Identify the Information that Will Go into the Evaluation Report
Step 8: Establish the Quality-Assurance Review Process
Statement of Work
Step 9: Develop the Statement of Work and Select an Evaluation Contractor
Monitoring Implementation
Step 10: Develop an Evaluation Plan and Conduct the Evaluation Study
Step 11: Monitor the Evaluation Contractor During the Study
Use the Results
Step 12: Determine Distribution of Final Report and Results and Distribute
Step 13: Make, or Monitor the Making of, Decisions about the Program Based on the Evaluation Results
Step 14: Establish/Update Program Records for Use in Future Evaluations