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After the evaluation data have been collected, analyzed and interpreted, your evaluator is prepared to report on the findings. This stage involves crafting a way to convey the meaning of the findings, typically in written form, to various audiences, including your staff and other key stakeholders (e.g., program funders, the sponsoring agency, and the broader community), as well as to the Marriage/Relationship Education field at large.

Evaluation reports are usually thought of as final reports, written at the conclusion of a study. But interim findings are just as valuable. For you and your staff, on-going informal reporting of findings on participation and immediate outcomes can identify what is and what is not working well. Stakeholders may be interested in an interim report describing program implementation and early findings on participant outcomes. Funders may want a brief, but sufficiently detailed summary of findings, perhaps in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, to make the case for ongoing or additional funding. More broadly, evaluation reports can contribute to the field of knowledge about effective MRE approaches.

In order for the evaluator to report on findings, he or she will need to have conducted a series of data analyses that align with your evaluation questions, and you will have to have discussed these findings to understand what they mean.

Learn more about

• Establishing your role during reporting findings
• Purposes for reporting
• Creating messages for various audiences

Other Resources

• Disseminating Program Achievements to Garner Support Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Getting Your Evaluation Results Published Administration for Children and Families
• Miron, G. (2004). Evaluation report checklist. Kalamazoo, MI: Western Michigan University, The Evaluation Center.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation. The Program Manager's Guide to Evaluation Glossary.