Impact measurement and evaluation
Build an evaluation plan
Sketches what to measure, how and when, so your evaluation is realistic.
Lower risk: public info only — Plan with general descriptions of your program and data types.
Please note: This site is only a guide to help people understand. Consult your IT, security and/or privacy department for clarification.
Before you start, gather
Take [GOALS] from your logic model or grant application. State [STAFF TIME AND BUDGET] as the hours and dollars your finance lead has actually set aside for evaluation. Name [PROGRAM NAME] as in your grant.
Starter prompt
Help me build an evaluation plan for [PROGRAM NAME]. Our goals are [GOALS]. We have [STAFF TIME AND BUDGET] for evaluation. Suggest evaluation questions, indicators, data sources, collection timing, who is responsible, and how results will be used. Keep it practical for a small team. Do not invent baseline numbers, targets or tools; where I have not given enough detail, write MISSING INFO instead of guessing.
Paste the prompt into your AI tool first, then replace the placeholders with your own details. Don't use real names of clients or donors.
Open an AI tool
You are leaving this guide. Copy the prompt first, then open a tool. The link goes to the website of the company named on each link, in a new tab. That company's terms and privacy policy apply there. Paste the prompt in, then replace the placeholders with your own details. Don't enter real names or confidential details.
- Open Claude (Anthropic) (opens Anthropic's website in a new tab)
Anthropic documents pre-filled links only for the Claude Desktop app, not for the website, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open ChatGPT (OpenAI) (opens OpenAI's website in a new tab)
OpenAI does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Gemini (Google) (opens Google's website in a new tab)
Google does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Grok (SpaceXAI) (opens SpaceXAI's website in a new tab)
SpaceXAI (the company behind Grok) does not document a link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Amazon Bedrock (hosts Llama; needs an AWS account) (opens Amazon Web Services' website in a new tab)
Llama has no chat website of its own, and Meta's own assistant (Meta AI) now runs on a different Meta model. One host is Amazon Bedrock: sign in to AWS, open a playground, and paste the prompt.
- Open Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft) (opens Microsoft's website in a new tab)
Microsoft documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in. The Copilot page shows a Sign in button, and you may need to sign in.
- Open Perplexity (Perplexity AI) (opens Perplexity AI's website in a new tab)
Perplexity documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Open Mistral Le Chat (Mistral AI) (opens Mistral AI's website in a new tab)
Mistral renamed Le Chat to Vibe, at the same web address. Mistral documents no link that pre-fills a prompt, so copy the prompt and paste it in.
- Givebutter (Givebutter): no website to open from here. Givebutter Magic works inside a Givebutter account; there is no public chat page.
- Grantable (Grantable): no website to open from here. Grantable's AI works inside a Grantable account; there is no public chat page.
Check the result
Confirm the plan is realistic for your capacity and, for larger studies, consult an evaluator.
What it might get wrong
Indicators that need data you don't collect. Baseline figures or targets that appear from nowhere. A plan sized for a research team rather than the [STAFF TIME AND BUDGET] you have.