Evaluating your program > Understanding your findings

Understanding your findings

The goals you set when you were planning the evaluation are the starting point for interpreting your results. The information you gathered helps you answer the following questions.

• What did we learn about what worked and what didn't work?
• What strategies worked well? Why?
• What strategies didn't work well? Why?

"Why" questions are usually harder to answer than "what" questions. Knowing you had twice as many older adults involved in your walking club this year compared to last year is great. However, knowing "why" this has happened is probably more important.

Once you have accurate numbers, take the time to bring a few people together. Discuss each of the objectives you set when you started the program. This dialogue can help interpret the results. Several people together are usually better than one in providing insight into what has been happening.