The National Evaluation

While the GPRA indicators provide information about the overarching goals of the SS/HS initiative, they are not exhaustive. Thus, the Federal Government has created a cross-site national evaluation designed to collect further information on the GPRA indicators for the SS/HS initiative, and to examine additional issues relevant to the initiative. These findings will be used to demonstrate the success of the SS/HS initiative and provide support for the continuation of funding. The National Evaluation Team (NET) that is conducting this cross-site evaluation consists of representatives from MANILA Consulting Group, Inc., and its partners RMC Research Corporation and Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation.

The National Evaluation will integrate process data (program activities implemented, services received) with outcome data (effects on students and schools, and qualitative effects on community conditions) collected through a school-level and a project-level survey. Data from NET surveys can also be used at the local level to assess program fidelity, make site-specific improvements, measure the degrees of program utilization and coalition coordination, and meet other site-specific evaluation needs. Project Directors and project evaluators are encouraged to work with the NET liaison to discuss how they can access and use data from the national evaluation. Using this data can help avoid redundant data collection, which is both inefficient and burdensome.

Each SS/HS site is assigned a NET liaison as a link between the local site and the national evaluation team. SS/HS sites should hear from their NET liaison shortly after they receive their formal grant award.

For more information on the national evaluation, please see the SS/HS National Evaluation Web site.