This report, done by Macro Systems for the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, documents the progress and results of an exploratory evaluation of the NIMH Community Support Program (CSP) that began in October 1979 and ended in June 1980. Exploratory evaluation, often called evaluability assessment, is a descriptive and analytic process designed to eliminate the roadblocks that so often disable attempts to conduct relevant and useful program evaluation. The report is divided into four chapters with Chapter I presenting an overview of CSP background and of the exploratory evaluation approach. Chapter II presents a detailed/complete discussion of the study methodology and substantive findings. CSP's implementation and follow-through are outlined in Chapter III. The concluding chapter, IV, presents a case study of the exploratory evaluation of the CSP, describing the responses of the Work Group and the Policy Group to the process and results as well as mechanisms that proved successful in facilitating the exploratory evaluation process.
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