Some points to consider when assessing candidates include the following:

• Evaluation philosophy.Consider the evaluation philosophy that you and your planning team find most comfortable and appealing. If you select the participatory or collaborative approach, make sure that candidates are committed -- or at least amenable -- to this model. Ask concrete questions about their willingness to involve program staff and stakeholders in the evaluation process.

• Education and experience. If you cannot identify a candidate with formal training in program evaluation, look for individuals with graduate-level training in social science research methods. They should also have professional experience in the areas of evaluation design, data collection, and statistical analysis. Ideally, candidates will have additional experience that is relevant to your specific program. Ask candidates whether or not they have evaluated similar programs with similar target populations. If they have, then they probably have knowledge and resources (e.g., appropriate data collection instruments) that can save you both time and money. To get a clear sense of their work, ask to see the evaluation reports that they prepared.

• Communication skills. Evaluators must be able to communicate effectively with a broad range of audiences. They should avoid jargon; someone who cannot clearly explain evaluation concepts is not a good candidate. To gather accurate information, an evaluator needs to be able to connect comfortably with program staff and participants. An evaluator should be personable and engaging, as well as capable of making evaluation results both compelling and accessible.

• Cultural sensitivity. An evaluator needs to respect the cultures of the communities with which he or she works. Mutual respect and some understanding and acceptance of how others see the world is crucial. Genuine sensitivity to the culture and community will help increase the comfort level of program staff, participants, and other stakeholders. It will also ensure that data collection tools are appropriate and relevant, thus increasing the accuracy of the findings.

• Budget and cost. Ask for a detailed budget that distinguishes between direct costs, such as labor, and indirect costs, such as overhead. Overhead rates vary widely. It is not unusual to see overhead costs of 100% or more, meaning that for every dollar that goes toward conducting the study, another dollar goes toward running the organization responsible for the study. Sometimes you can get an organization to reduce its indirect costs -- this saves you money without compromising the quality of your study.

• Time and access. Make sure candidates have the time to complete the necessary work. Ask them about their current work commitments and how much time they will be able to devote to your project. Compare their responses to your estimate of the time needed to do the work. Make sure to factor in frequent site visits and regular meetings. The more contact your evaluator has with your program, the better he or she will understand how it works and the more opportunities he or she will have to monitor data collection activities. Regular meetings also let you monitor the evaluator's performance. If the evaluator is not local, travel expenses may increase the cost of your evaluation.

• Commitment to your agenda. Your program resources should not be used to support someone's personal research agenda. Researchers, particularly those attached to universities, may have their own reasons for embarking on an evaluation. It may fit into a doctoral dissertation, a book that a professor is writing, or a piece of long-term research that will eventually be published. Researchers may also have strong prejudices about the kind of research methods they want to use or what they expect to find. You may want to discuss these possibilities up front and specify in your contract that the evaluator will make your program's needs a priority. Keep in mind, however, that an evaluator with a strong agenda of his or her own may actually prove to be more dedicated to your study and/or work for less money. Just make sure that your agendas, if not the same, are complementary.

You may have several good candidates for the evaluator's position. Click here for a tool that can help you document and prioritize criteria for selecting the best evaluator for your needs.