Develop a SART
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Monitor and Evaluate
Your Efforts
Monitoring Versus Evaluating
Process Evaluation
Outcome Evaluation
Impact Evaluation
Overcoming the Costs of Evaluation
Resources
Notes
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Types of Evaluation

Process Evaluation

A process evaluation examines how your team functions. Use it to help you address the quality of your team's—

Interagency Working Environment

Research suggests that the internal working climate that [teams] foster is an important part of their success. . . . [Teams] handling conflict effectively are more likely to generate creative solutions, encourage needed changes, and avoid 'groupthink.'10

Evaluating your team's working environment can include assessing whether your team has a shared interagency mission, the effectiveness of its decisionmaking process, and the ways that it manages conflict. A process evaluation would provide important information about where changes are needed to improve the team's functioning.

Consider asking team members the following questions when evaluating your team's working environment:

To what degree has the team developed a shared mission?

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The mission is supported by all team members.
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Team members have a shared vision regarding needed changes in the community's response to sexual violence.
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Team members have a shared understanding of sexual violence.
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Team members are working together to achieve a common goal.

To what degree do members feel their input informs team decisionmaking?

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The input of all active SART members influences team decisions.
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When making decisions, the team is respectful of all viewpoints.
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The team does not move forward until all ideas are considered.
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If a team member disagrees with the group, his or her perspective is valued.

To what degree are disagreements handled effectively?

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Disagreements among team members are often resolved by compromise.
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Conflict among team members leads to effective problem solving.
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When conflict arises, the team ignores it.
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Conflict has created opportunities for open discussion among members.
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Disagreements typically stifle the progress of the team.
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When faced with conflict, team members agree to disagree.
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The team handles conflict by attempting to get to the root of the problem.
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Conflicting opinions among team members have led to needed changes.
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The team has avoided addressing diverse viewpoints on the team.

When surveying team members, make sure to maximize confidentiality so that all members feel free to candidly share their beliefs about how the team functions.

The Root Cause

There are many different ways that disagreements can be handled. In general, getting to the root of the problem is thought to be the most effective strategy. Compromising, agreeing to disagree, or ignoring conflict is commonly employed by teams, but they are not always effective because they often leave root causes unresolved.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure can refer to how your team is organized, who your team members are, and how effective your team leadership is. Assessing infrastructure is important because there is a positive correlation between organizational capacity and team effectiveness.

Determine whether the team is organized by asking team members the following questions: Does the team have—

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Written agendas for team meetings?
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Agendas distributed prior to team meetings?
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Written goals and objectives?
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Regular meetings?
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Written interagency role descriptions?
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Subcommittees or workgroups (e.g., evaluation subcommittee)?
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Established methods for decisionmaking?
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Established methods for problem-solving and conflict resolution?
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Established monitoring and evaluation methods?
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Training opportunities for new and old members?
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Methods for new member orientation?
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Methods for including victims' viewpoints?

Determine the adequacy and involvement of the team's membership by asking members to rate the level of participation by each agency and the level of training and expertise among SART members.

The following table is one example of this type of evaluation.

Agency Discipline Participation Level
(1–5)		 Areas of Training/Experience (examples)
Rape crisis center Advocacy (1=inactive and 5=very active) Sexual assault trauma and healing, advocacy, criminal justice, civil justice, health care, court monitoring, immigration, bilingual fluency, evaluation, community education, disabilities, care of older adults, substance abuse, community organizing, writing, and so forth
Police department, sheriff's office, dispatch Law enforcement  
Prosecuting attorney's office Prosecuting attorney  
Hospital, forensic examiner organization, EMS Health care  

Determine whether leadership is effective by asking team members to rate the following statements regarding team leadership:

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Is committed to the SART's mission.
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Has appropriate time to devote to administering the SART.
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Plans activities effectively and efficiently.
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Is knowledgeable in the area of sexual violence.
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Is flexible in accepting different viewpoints.
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Promotes equality and collaboration among members.
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Is skilled in organizational management.
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Works within influential political and community networks.
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Is competent in negotiating, solving problems, and resolving conflict.
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Is attentive to individual members' concerns.
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Is effective in managing meetings.
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Is skilled in obtaining resources.
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Values members' input.
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Recognizes members for their contributions.

Activities

In conducting a process evaluation of your SART's activities, you will be asking team members to gauge their satisfaction with the team's activities. For example, you may want to ask your SART members the following questions:

The Right Tool

In This Toolkit:

Collaboration Factors Inventory Asks survey questions to help assess factors that influence successful collaboration.

To what degree have team efforts increased collaboration and communication? [Rate responses from 1 to 5.]

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Increased the ability to coordinate across disciplines.
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Increased knowledge about community organizations.
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Increased respect for multidisciplinary responders.
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Increased knowledge about sexual assault responder's roles and limitations.
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Increased ability to adapt to emerging issues (e.g., funding constraints, staff transitions).
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Increased ability to work more efficiently.
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Increased team's willingness to act on recommendations.

To what degree have team efforts increased the exchange of information, resources, and client referrals?

To help answer this question, you could create a survey that lists the number of times per month that team members communicate across agencies. For example, team members might record and report how many times per month they have contacted interdisciplinary agencies, referred victims, or received referrals (see sample survey below).

Name of Agency (completing form) _______________________________

Agency Name Number of Times I Exchanged Information Number of Referrals I Gave Number of Referrals I Received
Rape crisis center 3 5 1
SANE program 5 1 3
Faith-based organization 1 1 0
Law enforcement 1 3 1

To what degree have team efforts increased service providers' knowledge of community resources?

You may want to develop a process survey to determine team members' understanding of available community services. Consider the following services:

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Emergency shelter
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Counseling
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Housing
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Social Support
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Food
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Transportation
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Clothing
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Medical assistance
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Material goods
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Order of protection
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Financial assistance
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Culturally specific organizations
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Legal aid/civil legal assistance
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Other: ______________________
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Childcare