Planning an evaluation and estimating its cost

Scientific evaluations can provide funders and program administrators with useful input concerning where to allocate scarce service dollars. But evaluation itself is legitimately the subject of cost concerns. What will it cost to get the various potential benefits of a scientific evaluation? What are the evaluation options of a given program, given its budget and the size and expertise of its staff? Where can a program administrator go for consulting help? This article provides a helpful framework for answering these important questions. First, it describes two types of evaluations which vary in both the questions they can answer and in their consequent cost. Second, it delineates and briefly describes the technical elements or steps required by each evaluation type. Third, it describes the nature and potential variability of costs associated with each technical step. Finally, it steers the reader to available sources of expert information and help.