Hi everyone. We are conducting a program evaluation for grief education service in a community, which are the following part for our palliative care in the hospital. As a result, the program is kind of complex and involves many components. And it seems impossible for us to evaluate all components of the two projects in a limited time. I understand we have to determine the evaluation priorities, but it is too difficult and we are worried if the bad decision would bring negative effects… Could you please kindly give me some advice?

You are welcome.

That sounds so practical! Thank you for letting me know!

A number of mechanisms are available to assist in the prioritization process. Typically, it involves a formal facilitated discussion with stakeholders. A useful strategy is to have stakeholders vote on what they see as the most important elements of the service. You could give stakeholders “sticky dots” to place on the intervention to represent their interests and priorities. After this process discussion will be held between the evaluators and stakeholders to develop an agreement as to what will be evaluated. And it will enhance alignment between the stakeholders’ views, interests, and expectations of the evaluation process.