Why We Evaluate Engagement Initiatives

We evaluate aspects of our life and work every day: we might start a new fitness routine and check out our progress in six weeks, or switch to a different software program and then evaluate how effective it is, or where we are with it. We evaluate the minor and the major to answer a simple question: Did it work? Then we ask more complex questions: If it did, what made it work? If it did not, what prevented us from achieving the desired outcome? In the field of public engagement, evaluations can be a powerful tool for learning and improvement.