Dr. Wandersman's GTO Empowerment Evaluation Workshop in New Zealand

Dr. Wandersman & Knowledge Institute Workshop Participants.

Dr. Wandersman conducted a GTO empowerment evaluation workshop at the Knowledge Institute in New Zealand.  The title of the workshop was:  The Getting To Outcomes® Approach

- demystifying evaluation and accountability

The workshop demystified evaluation and accountability and described how programs can actually increase the probability of achieving outcomes by using the Getting To Outcomes® approach.

Getting To Outcomes® (GTO®) is an approach designed to provide the guidance needed to build capacity, enhance evaluation skills, and facilitate the achievement and documentation of outcomes. GTO is a comprehensive approach that includes all of the following crucial elements for success: needs and resource assessment, goals and desired outcomes, evidence-informed best practices, fit and cultural competence, capacity, planning, implementation and process evaluation, outcome evaluation, continuous quality improvement, and sustainability. Since publication of the Getting to Outcomes manual in 2004, the approach has been by used by dozens of community organizations involved in  statewide initiatives, by county departments of a state agency, in a national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative, and in many efforts to prevent drug abuse, underage drinking, teen pregnancy, and child and family mental health services. GTO is beginning to be used in emergency preparedness, services for homeless people, child welfare, substance abuse treatment, and medical treatment. To date, the Getting To Outcomes manual has been downloaded more than 60,000 times from the RAND website (available free--http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR101/).

This Getting to Outcomes workshop focused on real-world examples and participants were given the opportunity to engage in hands-on exercises that draw upon their own experiences and organisational needs and contexts.
Specifically, participants learned about: 

• The importance of evaluation in a results-based accountability context
• The empowerment evaluation principles that underpin the Getting to Outcomes® approach
• How to use and apply Getting to Outcomes® to plan, implement, and evaluate programs and policies

For more information about the workshop contact Dr. Wandersman.  

For additional information about the Knowledge Institute contact Kate McKegg or visit the Institute's web page at:  www.knowledgeinstitute.co.nz