Developing evaluation capacity while improving evaluation training in public health: The American Cancer Society's Collaborative Evaluation Fellows Project

The Collaborative Evaluation Fellows Project (CEFP) is a nationally administered model for the development of program evaluation capacity. It is innovative in that it requires collaboration between the American Cancer Society, Inc. (ACS) offices and faculty and students from local universities. One purpose of the project is to establish stronger links between the ACS and university-based professional training in program evaluation, primarily in schools of public health. Graduate students are selected according to uniform criteria to become CEFP evaluation fellows for 1 year. In the role of evaluation fellows, they design and carry out an actual program evaluation of an agreed-upon ACS program under faculty supervision using the utilization-focused model. During the first 3 years of the five-year grant-funded project, the ACS's National Home Office and all 17 ACS regional offices (divisions) have developed partnerships and gained experience in using program evaluation data for program improvement and decision-making purposes. In addition, 97 students have gained practical, real-world cancer-focused program evaluation experience. It is anticipated that through the CEFP, program evaluation will be demystified for ACS staff and lead to the hiring of professionals to conduct evaluations of older, new, and modified programs in community cancer control. It is also anticipated that participating schools of public health will enhance their program evaluation courses, especially with a topical focus on community cancer control. In these ways, it is hoped the CEFP will have an impact on a national voluntary health agency, on schools of public health and on cancer control, on how public health professionals are trained, and on others who might adapt and adopt the model.