Overview Training Facilitation Tools & Resources Research & Publications

Search

Site Map

Home

Links to Other Evaluation and Adaptive Management Resources

 

Organized by topic, this selection of free online evaluation resources is especially to help organizations and collaboratives engaged in ecosystem management, landscape-scale conservation, and/or community sustainability projects.

 

Many of these sources contributed to the development of EMI's evaluation tools, the Measuring Progress Guide and the Evaluation Sourcebook.

 

Click here to learn how EMI's approach differs from many of the available tools.

 

Please let us know of other online resources that have been especially helpful in evaluating or adapting your efforts!

 

GENERAL EVALUATION GUIDANCE

Handbooks and frameworks for doing evaluation

Related how-to resources

Strategic planning

Survey, questionnaire, or focus group development

Data collection and analysis

Communicating impact

Additional general evaluation resources

 

ECOSYSTEMS OR NATURAL RESOURCE EVALUATION

Ecological indicator frameworks

Monitoring guidance

Sample ecological data sources

Sample reports on ecosystem condition or health

Ecosystem-specific evaluation resources

Agriculture and soil

Forest

Grassland and rangeland

Watersheds, Wetlands and Riparian Habitat

Estuaries, Bays, Coastal, and Marine

 

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION

Community health and sustainability evaluation resources

Economic evaluation

Environmental education evaluation

Sample social and economic data sources

Sample reports on community health or sustainability

 

ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS EVALUATION

Collaborative and organizational process lessons, guidance and evaluation

Organizational effectiveness surveys

 

 

GENERAL EVALUATION GUIDANCE

 

Handbooks and frameworks for doing evaluation

 

The 5-S Framework for Site Conservation: A Practitioner’s Handbook for Site Conservation Planning and Measuring Conservation Success pdf (The Nature Conservancy)

 

Is our project succeeding? A guide to threat reduction assessment for conservation pdf (Margoluis and Salafsky, Biodiversity Support Program)

 

The Multiparty Monitoring Handbook Series ( USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, State and Private Forestry, Collaborative Forest Restoration Program)

 

Check Your Success: A Guide to Developing Indicators for Community-Based Environmental Projects (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , Department of Urban Affairs and Planning)

 

Water Quality Project Evaluation: A Handbook for Objectives-Based Evaluation of Water Quality Projects ( Ohio State University Extension)

 

Measuring Community Success and Sustainability: An Interactive Workbook ( North Central Regional Center for Rural Development)

           

Evaluating Collaboratives pdf ( University of Wisconsin-Extension )

 

Evaluating Community Programs and Initiatives (Community Toolbox)

 

A Guidebook for Multiparty Monitoring for Sustainable Natural Resource Management (Ecosystem Workforce Program and The Watershed Research and Training Center )

 

Planning and Evaluation Resource Center ( Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development and the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University )

 

Planning a Program Evaluation PDF and Evaluation worksheet pdf (University of Wisconsin-Extension)

 

Environmental Results Management Systems: Moving from Planning to Action by Measuring What Counts pdf (ERMS Initiative)

 

Participatory Program Evaluation Manual: Involving Program Stakeholders in the Evaluation Process pdf (Aubel, J., Child Survival Technical Support Project)

 

Results-Oriented Assistance: A USAID Sourcebook: Monitoring and Evaluating Performance (USAID)

 

Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

 

 

Related how-to resources

Strategic planning

 

Steps in a Strategic Planning Process - A Strategic Planning Primer for Higher Education ( California State University , Northridge)

 

The Strategic Planning Process (Quick MBA)

 

The 5-S Framework for Site Conservation: A Practitioner’s Handbook for Site Conservation Planning and Measuring Conservation Success pdf (The Nature Conservancy)

 

Enhancing Program Performance with Logic Models ( University of Wisconsin Extension)

 

Survey, questionnaire, or focus group development

 

Questionnaire design: Asking questions with a purpose pdf ( University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension )

 

Collecting Evaluation Data: End-of-Session Questionnaires pdf ( University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension )

 

Choosing a Data Collection Method for Survey Research pdf (Rutgers Cooperative Extension)

 

Using End-of-Meeting Questionnaires to Assess KOSA (knowledge, opinions, skills, aspirations) Change pdf (The Program Evaluation Toolbox, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension )

 

Documenting Practice Change with Mailed Questionnaires pdf (The Program Evaluation Toolbox, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension )

 

A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Effective Questionnaires and Survey Procedures for Program Evaluation & Research pdf (Rutgers Cooperative Extension)

 

Samples of Surveys ( Rutgers Cooperative Extension)

 

Designing a Survey to Increase Response and Reliability pdf (Penn State Cooperative Extension)

 

What kind of question is good for evaluating awareness? pdf ( Penn State Cooperative Extension)

 

Using Focus Group Interviews ( Florida Cooperative Extension Service)

 

Using Focus Groups in Program Development and Evaluation pdf ( University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension )

 

Data collection and analysis

 

Collecting Evaluation Data: An Overview of Sources and Methods pdf ( University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension )

 

Statistical Primer ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

 

Manager’s Monitoring Manual ( USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center )

 

Communicating impact

 

Writing Program Success Stories ( North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service)

 

The Fast and Easy Way to Write Effective Success Stories ( Florida Cooperative Extension Service)

 

Present Results for Decision-making ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

 

Graphic Display of Data ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

 

Using Graphics to Report Evaluation Results pdf (Program Development and Evaluation, University of Wisconsin-Extension)

 

How to Use Evaluation Data to Write Different Types of Impact Statements pdf (Penn State Cooperative Extension)

 

 

Additional general evaluation resources

 

Database of Key Monitoring and Evaluation Sources (Foundations of Success)

 

Performance Measurement for Government (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)

 

Michael Quinn Patton on evaluative thinking (International Development Research Centre)

 

Program Evaluation Tipsheets ( Penn State Cooperative Extension)

 

American Evaluation Association

 

 

 

ECOSYSTEMS OR NATURAL RESOURCE EVALUATION

 

Ecological indicator frameworks

 

A Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition pdf (Scientific Advisory Board Report, Environmental Protection Agency)

 

State Environmental Goals and Indicators Project (SEGIP): State environmental indicator reports, Catalog of Environmental Indicators, Catalog of Data Sources, and Other Environmental Indicator Resources (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Center for Public Management)

 

Ecosystems Indicator Report (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 

Vital Signs Monitoring (Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service)

 

Environmental Indicators Initiative (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

 

Evaluation Guidelines for Ecological Indicators (Environmental Protection Agency)

 

Conservation by design: Measuring Success (The Nature Conservancy)

 

The Conservation Measures Partnership

 

 

Monitoring guidance

 

Inventory and Monitoring Protocol Database (Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring Program, National Park Service)

 

Manager’s Monitoring Manual: How to design a wildlife monitoring program ( USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center )

 

Measuring and monitoring plant populations (BLM Technical reference)

 

 

Sample ecological data sources

 

Catalog of Data Sources, Environmental Indicator Technical Assistance Series ( U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida Center for Public Management)

 

Conserve Online

 

Nature Serve

 

National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)

 

USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

 

NASA Global Change Master Directory: A directory to earth science data and services

 

Environment, Energy and Agriculture on FirstGov

 

 

Sample reports on ecosystem condition or health

 

State of the Bay Scorecard ( Chesapeake Bay Foundation)

 

Status and Trends of the Nation’s Biological Resources (USGS)

 

Natural Resources Stewardship 2001: Key Indicators of Progress, A progress report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

 

Core National Indicators: The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems (The Heinz Center )

 

Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2002 (Government of British Columbia )

 

Pacific and Yukon Region Environmental Indicators (Environment Canada )

 

Ecosystem Health Report Card 2006 pdf (South East Queensland Waterways)

 

 

Ecosystem-specific evaluation resources

Agriculture and soil

 

Riparian Health Assessment and Riparian Health Inventory (Cows and Fish – Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society)

           

Biological Management of Soil Ecosystems for Sustainable Agriculture (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

 

A guide to the art and science of on-farm monitoring: The Monitoring Tool Box pdf (Land Stewardship Project)

 

Sustainable Agriculture: An On-Farm Assessment Tool pdf (Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan )

 

Forest

 

Forest Biodiversity Indicators Selection Web Tool ( Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences)

 

Sustainable Forest Management Community Handbook pdf (Great Lakes Forest Alliance)

 

A Guidebook for Multiparty Monitoring for Sustainable Natural Resource Management related to ecosystem management and community-based forestry, especially the National Fire Plan: Ecological Effects (Ecosystem Workforce Program and The Watershed Research and Training Center )

 

The Multiparty Monitoring Handbook Series ( USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, State and Private Forestry, Collaborative Forest Restoration Program)

 

Multiparty Monitoring and Assessment Guidelines for Community Based Forest Restoration in Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests ( USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, State and Private Forestry, Collaborative Forest Restoration Program)

 

North American Test of Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forestry: Selected criteria and indicators

 

Overview of Forest Health Monitoring Protocols ( USDA Forest Service)

 

Grassland and rangeland

 

Interpreting indicators of rangeland health pdf (BLM Technical reference)

 

National Range and Pasture Handbook: Chapter 4 – Inventorying and Monitoring (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 

Monitoring at the Asylum Lake Preserve: Prairie and Oak Savanna ( Asylum Lake Preserve)

 

Floristic Quality Assessment for Plant Communities of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Adjacent Grasslands (The Northern Great Plains Floristic Quality Assessment Panel)

 

Ecological goals of The Living Grasslands Initiative ( Northern Great Plains )

 

Watersheds, Wetlands and Riparian Habitat

 

Biological Indicators of Watershed Health (EPA)

 

Riparian Health Assessment and Riparian Health Inventory (Cows and Fish – Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society)

 

A Framework for Analyzing the Hydrologic Condition of Watersheds (USFS and BLM)

 

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program: Freshwater Indicators (Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchments Partnership, and CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Queensland , Australia )

 

Biological Assessment of Wetlands (EPA)

 

Tools for assessing stream quality (The Stormwater Manager’s Resource Center )

 

Watershed Assessment Tools (Center for Watershed Protection)

 

International Stormwater Best Management Practice Database

 

Volunteer Surface Water Monitoring Guide (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)

 

Freshwater Initiative Workshop Proceedings: Evaluating Ecological Integrity at Freshwater Sites pdf (The Nature Conservancy’s Freshwater Initiative, FWI)

 

Estuaries, Bays, Coastal, and Marine

 

South Carolina Estuarine and Coastal Assessment Program: Integrated Measure of Habitat Quality

 

Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program ( Maryland DNR)

 

Bay Trends and Indicators ( Chesapeake Bay Program)

 

State of the Bay 2006 Scorecard ( Chesapeake Bay Foundation)

 

Florida Assessment of Coastal Trends (FACT) (Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Coastal Management Program)

 

Environmental indicators for national state of the environment reporting: Estuaries and the Sea (Australia Department of the Environment)

 

Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program: Marine (Moreton Bay Waterways and Catchments Partnership, and CRC for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, Queensland , Australia )

 

Report of the ICES Advisory Committee on Ecosystems: Marine ecological quality objectives and measures pdf (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)

 

 

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION

 

Community health and sustainability evaluation resources

 

Measuring Community Success and Sustainability ( North Central Regional Center for Rural Development)

 

Livable Communities: An Evaluation Guide (AARP Public Policy Institute)

 

Community Culture and the Environment: A Guide to Understanding a Sense of Place (EPA)

 

Measuring Poverty, Inequality, Vulnerability (World Bank Group)

 

Human Health Indicator links (Program for Environmental Policy and Planning Systems (PEPPS) at the Institute of Science and Public Affairs)

   

The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP)

 

Sustainability Indicators (Sustainable Measures)

 

Community Indicators (Interagency Working Group on Sustainable Development Indicators, SDI)

           

Sustainability Indicators, including the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) and ecological footprint (Redefining Progress)

 

Compendium of Sustainable Development Indicator Initiatives (International Institute for Sustainable development)

 

Dashboard of Sustainability (Consultative Group on Sustainable Development Indices)

 

Ecosystems Indicator Report, including human dimensions of the system (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

 

Social goals for rural communities (Friends of Palliser's Country, Grassland Heritage Region)

 

A guide to the art and science of on-farm monitoring: The Monitoring Tool Box pdf (Land Stewardship Project)

 

Sustainable Agriculture: An On-Farm Assessment Tool pdf (Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan )

 

 

Economic evaluation

 

Tools for Automated Economic Analysis (Sonoran Institute)

 

BANKING ON NATURE 2002: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation: Appendix 2. Estimating Economic Impacts: General Methodology and Assumptions pdf (Division of Economics, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

 

Economic goals for rural communities (Friends of Palliser's Country, Grassland Heritage Region)

http://www.eidnet.org/local/grassland/grassp13.htm

 

 

Environmental education evaluation

 

Measuring the Success of Environmental Education Programs pdf (Gareth Thomson, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and Jenn Hoffman Sierra Club of Canada)

 

Environmental Education Guidelines for Excellence (North American Association for Environment Education)

 

Nonformal Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence (North American Association for Environment Education)

 

75 Evaluation Tools (Data Base from the Bay Area Environmental Education Evaluation Community)

 

 

Sample social and economic data sources

 

FirstGov Data and Statistics

 

U.S. Census Bureau

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

 

USDA Economic Research Service data

 

Northwest Area Foundation Indicator Website

 

Stateline.org: Politics and policy news, state by state

 

State Microenterprise Associations

 

 

Sample reports on community health or sustainability

 

Cascadia Scorecard (Northwest Environmental Watch)

 

Sustainability Indicator Reports of the Fraser Basin Council

 

Quality of Life Progress Report (Jacksonville Community Council, Inc., Florida )

 

Minnesota Milestones

 

Santa Barbara South Coast Community Indicators Project

 

Indicators of sustainable community (Sustainable Seattle )

 

Sierra Nevada Wealth Index (Sierra Business Council)

 

Central Texas Sustainability Indicators Project

 

Livable Tucson Goals: Indicators of a Livable Tucson (City of Tuscon )

 

Willapa Indicators for a Sustainable Community

 

Other community examples (Sustainable Development Indicators)

 

 

 

ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS EVALUATION

 

Collaborative and organizational process lessons, guidance and evaluation

 

Learning from Experience: A National Resource for Collaboration and Partnerships (Ecosystem Management Initiative, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan )

 

Evaluating the Collaboration Process ( Ohio State University Extension):

 

Evaluating Collaboratives PDF (University of Wisconsin-Extension)

 

Collaboration: Guide for Environmental Advocates PDF (University of Virginia Institute for Environmental Negotiation, The Wilderness society, and the National Audubon Society)

 

Evaluating environmental conflict resolution and collaborative problem solving projects and services (U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution)

 

Evaluating Dispute Resolution as an Approach to Public Participation PDF (Resources for the Future)

 

Ten Ingredients of a Successful Organization (Community Toolbox for Children’s Environmental Health)

 

Organizational development resources (Community Toolbox for Children’s Environmental Health)

 

Process improvement and strategic planning tools (Total Quality Leadership (TQL) Office, Department of the Navy)

 

Assessing whether to participate in a collaborative process PDF (Yaffee and Wondolleck, Collaboration Skills and Strategies: A Workshop for Environmental Leaders, Denver , Colorado , 2001)

 

 

Organizational effectiveness surveys

 

Collaboration Factors Inventory ( Amherst H. Wilder Foundation Research Center )

 

Effective Negotiations: Measuring Participant Satisfaction (The Montana Consensus Council):

to evaluate the consensus building process

 

Board evaluation, skills inventory, self-evaluation (Community Toolbox for Children’s Environmental Health)

 

Watershed Council forms and checklists (Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board)

 

Home | Site Map | Search | © 2009 Ecosystem Management Initiative. Terms of Use