Applied Research and Evaluation: What is Program Assessment (Research Paper Sample)

Applied Research and Evaluation
[Student Name’s]
[Institution]
Applied Research and Evaluation
National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) is a research corporation specializing in performance assessment and measurement. The organization carries out survey research via mail, on the internet, phone and in-person. They analyze existing and new data sets employing sophisticated inferential methods or simple description of data. In addition to quantitative analyses, the firm designs as well as conducts focus groups and other qualitative evaluations. Their customers often are not-for-profit human agencies, foundations and local governments. Customers are helped with tracking resident or customer opinion concerning service delivery. NRC assists their customers by measuring policy or program outcomes and carrying out assessments of the client or community needs. They also offer training in survey research and outcome measurement (O'Sullivan et al., 2008).
National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) is a leading evaluation and research firm specializing on the data requirements of the civic sector, comprising health care providers, non-profit agencies, foundations, as well as local governments. They are a highly experienced team of social science and civic health researchers doing a full range of quality research to assist institutions measure their efficiency and comprehend the perspectives of their staff, and potential and current clients. NRC performs needs’ assessments, conducts civic opinion surveys, assesses existing programs, as well as assists organizations to develop and test expected policies.
NRC offers trainings as well as writes curricula and instruction manuals on the methods and makes use of assessment and survey research. The study’s results are employed to budget for better or new services, benchmark best practices, increase sustainability, enhance performance, improve outcomes, satisfy client or consumer preferences and boost funding, as well as revenue generation. Staff members of NRC are fluent both in quantitative and qualitative research strategies and often make use of both approaches in one study. They do process and result assessments and have broad experience carrying out surveys and interviews, convening focus groups, making use of secondary data sources and observational methods.
The firm employs the framework and meta-analysis methods to integrate research findings, develops statistical models of what works, analyzes as well as boosts the psychometric properties of data collection tools. National Research Center data analysis approaches comprise a broad array of analytic methods: descriptive data analyses, for instance, frequency distributions; cross-tabulations and measures of central tendency; inferential tests, for example, chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Moreover, NRC performs sophisticated analyses, for example, modeling with logistic regression or hierarchical linear modeling or multiple linear regression; time series analysis, as well as multi-factorial variance analysis; structural tests employing cluster analysis or factor analysis (Garson, 2009).
The company’s real world approach to evaluation and research enables NRC to work with customers, which enables to design best research policies given constraint of money and time. They delight themselves on their interest to cultural context in every aspect of their work. This feeling is perceived in the design, instrumentation, and analysis that they recommend as well as in their reports. They strive to create partnerships with the institutions they assess, in order to build the necessary trust for the triumphant results since their work is to boost the life quality of their customers (ASPA, 2006). NRC partnered with the County Management/ International City Association in 2001 and formed The National Citizen Survey, a uniform survey instrument employed by broadly diverse local jurisdictions crossways the U.S. to evaluate resident contentment with government service provision and community amenities.
The National Research Center was developed to offer a statistically valid resident opinions survey concerning community, as well as services offered by local government. The survey results can be employed by staff, designated officials, as well as other stakeholders for resource allocation and community planning, policy making, program improvement and tracking changes in residents’ opinions concerning government performance.
Environmental issues – focus groups and NRC surveys have offered direction in ecological studies regarding waste, water, open space, as well as energy issues. They have carried out surveys on water redundancy, water conservation, water reclamation, water quality, water billing, as well as use of coin operated washing machinery. NRC has gauged civic support and readiness to disburse for recycling programs, transit and alternate means of transportation and open space acquisition. Their survey has frequently been employed to assess ecological programs, as well as policies via measuring changes in resident attitudes, knowledge, behaviors and intentions.
Human services – human services institutions have employed focus groups and surveys to assist plan and assess a variety of programs. NRC firm has carried out numerous studies of special populace needs, for instance, youth, older adults and low income residents. National Research Center has collaborated with and offered information to several community based institutions concerning the efficiency of services in topic areas, for instance, youth self-worth, conflict resolution, drug use and alcohol (substance) abuse, lifestyle and health issues, domestic violence and more.
Community health – public health sections have employed surveys as well as focus groups to generate increasingly healthy milieus for the residents. They have carried out surveys on mosquito treatment, unintended pregnancy, smoking ordinances, leisure and recreation activities, access to health care and health-related matters affecting aged adults. The survey work with health care givers has included needs evaluations for new programs and facilities, patient satisfaction measurement and determination of civic assistance eligibility for uninsured patients. They have as well surveyed customers of community based institutions to evaluate improvement in the fields of food security, nutrition, obesity prevention and physical activity (Surveyspro, 2009).
Research Questions
* What is program assessment?
* Why is program assessment necessary?
* Why do the citizens who run businesses want to succeed?
* What do business managers or owners deem about the services that local jurisdictions offer?
* Which barricades inhibit strong trade in jurisdictions crossways the nation?
* What are the gaps between services required by society members and accessible resources?
* What are the barricades to getting services that exist?
* Are the older inhabitants in a society isolated by poor health, lack of transport or scarce chances that obstruct them to unite with other?
* Should limited society money be directed to converse with a rapid growing number of new Americans who talk Spanish at domicile? Does this society require an inpatient hospital facility?
Program Evaluation
According to Booth et al (1995), institutions as well as private-sector agencies and publics often comprise assessment as an important element of their programmatic plans. Assessment is the use of defensible criteria to resolve the worth or merit of programs. Program assessment involves the methodical collection of data concerning a program, or some program aspect(s) to get to conclusions about the effectiveness or service delivery. The motive of program assessment comprise: oversight and compliance; judgment of worth or merit; knowledge development or organizational and program improvement. National Research Center, Inc has offered program assessment services versatile groups of customers.
National Research Center has worked with units like The Colorado Trust and the Fund for Colorado’s Future on a variety of multi-year education, multi-site, or health related initiatives. More frequently, they work with not-for-profit community based institutions: those serving domestic violence and sexual assault victims, dental aid, after-school programs, child care, Latino parents, African American leaders, homeless, elderly and more. They have youth-serving programs; printed outcome handbooks for older grown-ups; obesity prevention programs; society food security projects, and a toolkit to assist community based institutions and measure their efficiency.
The assessment team at National Research Center comprises experts in research design, program evaluation, qualitative and quantitative methods, cost-benefit analyses and survey research. The employees have education as well as training in different fields comprising political science, education, public health, sociology, social work, psychology, criminal justice, and economics. The diversity in the professional and educational background of the group allows NRC professional to apply their familiarity with program assessment methods to the content fields, as per their customers’ needs.
National Research Center Evaluation – NRC employs a collaborative approach, working together with the customer to design and execute a comprehensive assessment. As a result, they offer several different program assessments within a diversity of activities that comprise: Summative and Formative Evaluation, Needs Assessments, Monitoring Studies and Outcome Evaluation or Process Evaluation. Needs assessment – it is known as a feasibility study or market research in the private sector, and it drives business verdicts. In the wo...