Does my funder require an external evaluator?
Whether your funder requires an external evaluator is something your solicitation will tell you, usually in its evaluation section and sometimes in its budget instructions, so read both before you decide anything. Funders don't all describe the requirement the same way, and the details matter. For example, NSF's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program requires proposals to request funds for an evaluator independent of the project. It allows that evaluator to be employed by the project's home institution, as long as they work in a separate organizational unit with a different reporting line. Other funders and programs may have different requirements, or none at all.
If your solicitation is unclear, ask your program officer or your grants office before the proposal is written. Why do funders want an external evaluator instead of self-reporting? explains what the requirement is meant to accomplish, and Do I need to name an external evaluator before my grant is funded? covers what the proposal needs from one.
When does handling evaluation in-house make sense?
Handling evaluation in-house makes sense when no funder requires an independent evaluator and your questions are mainly about improving your own program. It also depends on having someone with evaluation training and enough protected time to do the work well. Examples might include a team gathering feedback on a new workshop series to decide what to adjust, or a department checking whether a new orientation covers what students or participants say they needed.
The harder test is usually time. Evaluation done in-house often falls to someone who already has a full job. It tends to slip when the program gets busy, which is often when the information would be most useful. Be honest about whether the person you have in mind can make evaluation a real part of their workload. Then consider whether the people who will use the results will trust an evaluation that's led by the program's own staff.
If you're a small organization with no requirement and you want to do this yourselves, Can we evaluate our own program without hiring anyone? walks through what that involves.
What does an external evaluator bring that our own staff can't?
An external evaluator can bring what your own staff can't easily provide all at once: independence from the program, evaluation expertise, and time dedicated to the work. Independence matters because the evaluator doesn't have a stake in the program looking good. Participants may also answer more openly when the person asking isn't their instructor or the staff member who provides their services.
Expertise matters because designing an evaluation is specialized work. It means choosing the evaluation questions, deciding what evidence would answer them, and planning when to collect it. It also means interpreting what the evidence shows in light of how the program was carried out. An external evaluator who has worked across different organizations and programs can also bring a fresh perspective and notice patterns that are hard to see from inside a single program.
Can we split the work between our team and an external evaluator?
You can split the work between your team and an external evaluator, and many projects do. In a common arrangement, program staff track routine information they already handle, such as attendance, participation, and enrollment. The external evaluator designs the evaluation and develops any surveys or interview questions in partnership with the team. The evaluator then analyzes and interprets the data and reports on what the results mean for the project. NSF's ATE solicitation, for example, notes that routine metrics may be collected by a member of the project team and that surveys should be developed in partnership with the evaluator.
The division works when it's agreed at the start: who collects what, how the information will reach the evaluator, and who is responsible for each report. If your institution has an institutional research office, Can our internal institutional researcher do the evaluation to save money? looks at how that office can fit into the arrangement.
The Grantibly perspective
Lauren's perspective
As sociologists and former and current faculty members, we understand both sides of evaluation. We understand rigorous research methods, data collection, analysis, and evidence. But we also understand what it is like to be the faculty member, project director, center leader, or nonprofit professional responsible for actually doing the work.
Whichever way you decide, we want clients to understand their own data. That means explaining what we are doing and why, making findings accessible, and helping teams develop stronger evaluation thinking over time. The goal isn't to turn every client into an evaluator. The goal is to help them become stronger users of evidence.
