Evaluating your event can help you learn whether it has met its goals, but only if you decide up front what you want to evaluate and how you will go about doing so. The purpose of conducting any evaluation is "to answer practical questions of decision-makers and program implementors who want to know whether to continue a program, extend it to other sites, modify it, or close it down."¹ In particular, you will want to be able to show that your special event did one or all of the following:

	Ran smoothly and approximately on schedule.
	Involved a wide segment of your community -- from youth to media representatives to special target audiences.
	Raised awareness or educated the public on an important crime prevention or other community issue.
	Generated favorable publicity for your group and its efforts.

The best way to start evaluating your event is to reflect on your original goals. Did you plan an event and host it? Was it well attended? Did your community get involved? Be sure to include an evaluation step -- such as a survey for attendees or exhibitors to complete at the end of the event -- in your overall plan. Ask yourself what you can do better to reach your goals, to involve more people in your project, and to spread your message to a wider audience. Then, make adjustments to your activities to improve your special event.

Base your evaluation on both the specific goals you set and any other benefits that may have resulted. For example, your group's goal in deciding to host an open house may have been to find three new funding sources. As a result of the event, you may have gained only one new funding source but recruited three new volunteers and received excellent media coverage in your community. With these results, you may decide to continue with the open house next year and look for funding sources elsewhere.

One very good way to capture feedback while celebrating successes is to organize a postevent debriefing. Attendance should be mandatory for committee chairpersons and important operational people and optional for all other volunteers. Make the debriefing a pleasant experience. Serve refreshments, welcome and thank everyone, and explain the process for the meeting. Basically, all staff and volunteers will share their ideas on the positive and the negative aspects of your special event.

At the start of your meeting, choose someone to write everyone's comments on a flip chart and appoint a recordkeeper who will take careful notes and type them later for distribution to the whole group. Next, ask everyone to take a few minutes and write two lists: what the group should continue doing when planning and hosting its next special event (and why); and what it should change (and how). Explain that you will ask each person to share one thing at a time from his or her lists, and that you will go around the room until each point on every person's list has been noted by the recordkeeper. Begin the discussion with the "what we should keep" list and then focus on the "what we should change" list. The person writing at the flip chart and the recordkeeper will draw stars next to any repeated items. In this way, everyone will see what people think worked well and what they believe needs improvement.

Ask yourself what you can do better to reach your goals, to involve more people in your event, and to spread your message to a wider audience. Then, adjust your activities to strengthen your event.

In evaluating your special event, also consider whether and how it meets the following more general crime prevention goals:

	Reduces crime and fear of crime.
	Educates and informs a target audience.
	Is cost effective.
	Has a lasting impact.
	Attracts support and resources.
	Makes people feel safe and more positive about being a member of your school or community.

Learning to evaluate the things you do is a skill you can apply to all aspects of your life. Good luck and -- Have a great event!

1 National Crime Prevention Council, What, me evaluate? Washington, DC: National Crime Prevention Council, 1986.

Youth In Action Bulletin

July 1999     Number 07