Limited Resources--Growing Needs: Lessons Learned in a Process to Facilitate Program Evaluation

Extension educators face the challenge of delivering reliable information as input to the decision-making process of clientele groups. This article draws on a process used to evaluate member perceptions of program effectiveness for a commodity organization where the program beneficiaries are also the funding source. While vast literature covers evaluation procedures and theory, there is little information on practical evaluation examples linked with this theory, a gap this article addresses. We use a recent project with the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) to illustrate the process and draw attention to critical steps for a successful evaluation.