Additional Info:
Projects That Matter introduces project leaders and teams to the five basic elements of project design and describes in detail a six-step process for designing and implementing a project evaluation and disseminating evaluation findings. Written for the nonexpert, leaders in religious settings will find Cahalan's guidance clear and invaluable.
Presenting evaluation as a form of collaborative inquiry, Cahalan show how leaders can use evaluation design to develop effective project plans and prepare case statements for donors or grant proposals for foundations. She introduces project planning and evaluation as mission-related practices and invites leaders to consider how their tradition's particular mission and beliefs influence the way they plan and evaluate. Cahalan concludes the book by making explicit her own theological presuppositions—that the virtues of discernment, stewardship, and prudence are essential for good project planning and evaluation.
About the Author
Kathleen A. Cahalan is assistant professor of Pastoral Theology and Ministry at St. John's University School of Theology & Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota. She served as evaluation coordinator for Lilly Endowment's religion division from 1996 to 2000. (From the Publisher)

Table Of Content:
Foreword by Craig Dykstra
Preface
Part One
Project Planning: Five Elements of Project Design
Element 1: Assess the Organization's Mission and Capacities
Element 2: Identify the Purpose: Conditions and Goals
Element 3: Explain Activities and Resources
Element 4: Define Results and Impact
Element 5: State the Rationale
Part Two
Evaluation as Collaborative Inquiry: Six Steps to Effective Evaluation
Step 1: Focus the Evaluation
Step 2: Create an Evaluation Design
Step 3: Collect and Record Data
Step 4: Analyze and Interpret Information
Step 5: Report and Disseminate Findings
Step 6: Revise the Project's Rationale
Conclusion
Discerning and Prudent Stewards: Theological Perspectives on Planning and Evaluation
Bibliography
Appendix