Evaluation of one sort or another is built into nearly all industries, though it could slide in under many names: “How’d we do?” surveys, annual employee reviews, or profit and loss statements. Each type of evaluation is intended to identify and measure the processes, outcomes, and impacts of a product, program, or project. When evaluating initiatives in the health care space, specialized evaluators are often used throughout a project to ensure that, after all is completed, those running the initiative have sufficient information to determine whether they succeeded…. or not.
Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) is excited to announce Program Evaluation as a new service focus area designed to help stakeholders leverage all types of data to make informed decisions and craft targeted interventions to improve lives across Colorado. CIVHC already has a rich history of providing similar work for organizations like Project Angel Heart and projects like the Colorado State Innovation Model. By expanding these services, we can assist organizations to better understand the impact of their community-focused efforts while deepening their understanding of CO APCD data in tandem with additional data sources.
To spearhead this new initiative, CIVHC assembled a team with a multi-disciplinary approach and expertise in both quantitative and qualitative evaluation. While the team has cross-departmental support, two new CIVHC members lead the charge:
- Benjamin (Ben) Hauschild is the Evaluation Program Manager and comes to Denver by way of Washington DC. Originally from New Orleans, he can assist with survey development and creating infographics, and will always make sure there’s a King Cake available during Mardi Gras season.
- Valerie (Val) Garrison, the Evaluation Analyst, grew up in Webster, NY, and attended Rochester Institute of Technology. Val’s motto is “The world runs on best intentions and evaluation helps us ensure intention becomes reality.” She’s also a passionate maker of things: crafts, cooking, carpentry, and anything that lets her work with her hands.
These evaluators can conduct in-depth analyses of organizational data, complemented by external data to build a picture of better health in Colorado. They will use many of the same approaches as traditional researchers, but will focus instead on a stakeholder’s processes and outcomes. Their work will generally be focused on program improvement or assessing impact for a narrower audience, such as a foundation or other organization.
As we all grapple with the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, changes in practice like telemedicine visits and moving services online make program evaluation more important than ever. For more information about CIVHC’s evaluation team and the services they can provide, please email info@civhc.org and we can assist you in assessing your program’s performance.