CNC Program Design & Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which element distinguishes an outcome from an output in a program's logic model?
- Outcomes are measurable while outputs are not
- Outputs represent activities delivered; outcomes represent changes in participants (Correct answer)
- Outcomes are short-term and outputs are long-term
- Outputs are financial metrics and outcomes are programmatic
Correct answer: Outputs represent activities delivered; outcomes represent changes in participants
Outputs are the direct products of activities (e.g., workshops held), while outcomes are the changes in knowledge, behavior, or conditions that result.
Question 2: Cultural competence in program design requires nonprofits to:
- Translate all materials into Spanish regardless of population served
- Integrate the values, beliefs, and practices of target communities into program structure (Correct answer)
- Hire only staff who share the same background as participants
- Avoid adapting evidence-based models to maintain fidelity
Correct answer: Integrate the values, beliefs, and practices of target communities into program structure
Culturally competent design adapts program content, methods, and materials to be respectful and relevant to the specific community being served.
Question 3: A nonprofit discovers mid-implementation that its program model is not generating expected outcomes. The most appropriate response is to:
- Immediately terminate the program to avoid wasting resources
- Continue without change to maintain evaluation integrity
- Conduct a process evaluation to identify implementation gaps and adjust accordingly (Correct answer)
- Replace all program staff
Correct answer: Conduct a process evaluation to identify implementation gaps and adjust accordingly
A process evaluation examines how the program is being implemented, helping identify and correct gaps before they undermine outcomes.
Question 4: Fidelity monitoring in program replication ensures that:
- Each site adapts the model to local preferences
- The program is delivered as originally designed to preserve effectiveness (Correct answer)
- New outcomes are added at each implementation site
- Budget expenditures match the original program budget
Correct answer: The program is delivered as originally designed to preserve effectiveness
Fidelity monitoring tracks whether core components of an evidence-based model are implemented as intended to replicate proven outcomes.
Question 5: When prioritizing program goals for a limited-resource nonprofit, which framework most systematically weighs urgency against feasibility?
- SWOT analysis
- Decision matrix with weighted criteria (Correct answer)
- Gap analysis
- Balanced scorecard
Correct answer: Decision matrix with weighted criteria
A weighted decision matrix scores each goal on multiple criteria (urgency, feasibility, impact) and multiplies by importance weights to produce an objective ranking.
Question 6: Which evaluation stakeholder group is most often overlooked but holds the highest knowledge of program implementation realities?
- Board members
- Major funders
- Frontline program staff and participants (Correct answer)
- Government regulators
Correct answer: Frontline program staff and participants
Frontline staff and participants experience the program daily and often hold critical practical insights that are missing from leadership-only evaluations.
Question 7: A logic model's 'assumptions' box is important because it:
- Lists the program's financial projections
- Makes explicit the conditions believed necessary for the program's theory to hold true (Correct answer)
- Documents the qualifications of program staff
- Outlines funder reporting requirements
Correct answer: Makes explicit the conditions believed necessary for the program's theory to hold true
Stating assumptions makes transparent the contextual conditions or beliefs the program depends on, which is essential for evaluating why a program succeeded or failed.
CNC Program Design & Evaluation 3
Which element distinguishes an outcome from an output in a program's logic model?