Evaluation Basics
Many grant programs typically include a requirement for an evaluation. Depending on the specific award, this may include a process (formative) and/or outcome (summative) evaluation. Solid evaluations involve planning from the early stages of the project to ensure that data are being collected and team members understand the goals and needs of the evaluation. This session is a non-technical discussion of evaluation geared toward practitioners. The intent is to provide a common understanding of evaluation to support effective planning of evaluations.
Speakers:
Edmund McGarrell, PhD
Dr. Ed McGarrell’s primary research interest is in communities and crime and the development of evidence-based strategies for violence reduction. Much of this work involves research to understand local violent crime patterns, the translation of research to practice, and the evaluation of the impact of violence prevention and control strategies. McGarrell has had the good fortune to work collaboratively with a number of policing agencies including the Spokane Police Department, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and with the Detroit, Flint, and Lansing Police Departments, as well as with the Michigan State Police. McGarrell is a 2017 recipient of the William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, Michigan State University. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology, the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award, Division of Policing, American Society of Criminology, and the O.W. Wilson award for contributions to policing research, Police Section, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He also received the Distinguished Achievement Award in Evidence-Based Crime Policy from the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, George Mason University, and the Mentor Award of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
John Klofas, PhD
John M. Klofas is professor of criminal justice, founder and director emeritus of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He is also past chairperson of the Department of Criminal Justice at RIT. Dr. Klofas has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses. His current areas of focus include community-level crime and justice issues including violence, criminal-justice management, and policing strategies and practices. He has received external funding and published widely in these areas. His most recent book collaboration is an examination of changes in criminal justice at the community level, entitled The New Criminal Justice. Dr. Klofas serves as a research partner with local criminal-justice agencies, on New York State’s police training commission and on several national projects addressing community violence. He also works with several police departments across the country on risk management issues as part of federal court reform-focused consent decrees. Dr. Klofas received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and his master’s and doctorate in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany.
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