Evaluation Services

The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is happy to support communities in their evaluation activities. Evaluation has become an essential part to the success of any program or policy and is one of the pillars of innovation. This is why the COH would like to help communities develop and conduct meaningful evaluations of their services.

Evaluation can be an intimidating process, so we have tried to break it down into easy to understand components.

First things first, what is evaluation?

Multiple definitions exist, but we like to use the definition provided by the Canadian Evaluation Society:

Evaluation is the systematic assessment of the design, implementation or results of an initiative for the purposes of learning or decision-making.

Essentially, evaluation helps services understand how their programs, policies, and systems operate, what elements work well and less well, the impacts on clients, and recommendations for improvement.

How can the COH help you with your evaluation activities?

The COH has begun to develop a set of resources to help you plan an evaluation, conduct an evaluation, refresh your knowledge on evaluation techniques and learn about emerging evaluation methodologies.

We are in the midst of creating a series of tools, templates, and videos to guide you through the evaluation process. These resources will help you with such activities as:

We also offer direct support to communities who would like assistance in developing and conducting evaluation of their programs, policies, and systems. Please contact the COH’s Director of Evaluation, Dr. John Ecker via email jecker@edu.yorku.ca or phone 416-736-2100 ext. 44136. if you would like to discuss our evaluation services further. A brief bio of John can be found here.