We 8 CRJ 520II - Research Paper Example

The move towards evaluation of program outcomes has moved from the intent of activities to the actual occurrence of the intended change. The most important stage in program implementation is to determine whether the achievements are taking place in the adopted activities. This is to determine whether there were other factors that contributed towards the occurrence of the change (Hatry, Newcomer & Wholey, 2013). This methodology of assessing whether there were other extra factors contributing to a program’s change is known as SROI (Social Return on Investment).

SROI is an evaluation framework that assesses the outcomes of a practice or a program. In order to achieve the intended goals, there are four factors that need to be evaluated. These factors include deadweight, attribution, displacement, and drop off. Deadweight-this is the changes that people expected to take place anyway. Deadweight accounts for any part of change that would happen due to either internal motivations or environmental factors. For instance, the objectives of a certain community program may be to increase job opportunities for the residents.

However, a portion of those employed may also get may also get employed due to changes of the labor market. The portion of those counted to could have found a job due to factors other than the activities of the program should not be included when evaluating the program (Royse, Thyer & Padgett, 2010). Displacement- this factor focuses on whether the achieved change resulted in some sort of displacement or unintended costs. For instance, a crime prevention program may be implemented to reduce criminal activities in a certain neighborhood and not displacing such criminal activities in the neighborhood community (Hatry, Newcomer & Wholey, 2013).

The value of reducing criminal activities in the intended region would be