LIVE ONLINE • 3-PART INTERACTIVE TRAINING
Build an AmeriCorps Evaluation Plan You Can Actually Implement
For AmeriCorps program staff who have to write the plan — and then live with it.
Stop piecing together evaluation requirements on your own. In three live, interactive 90-minute sessions, you will work step by step through the 10 elements of a practical AmeriCorps evaluation plan, with examples, assignments, and live discussion, so you make real progress on your own plan.
Sept 17 · Oct 1 · Oct 15, 2026
10:00–11:30 a.m. Mountain | Live on Zoom
$219 early bird through September 8 · $249 after
Your registration includes all three live sessions, templates and worksheets, and between-session assignments.
Sue Hyatt
AmeriCorps Evaluation Specialist · 300+ programs supported
The form you submit is a summary. Something has to be there to summarize.
The new AmeriCorps Evaluation Plan Summary Form is what gets turned in with your re-compete application, and it is short. Many programs completed it under deadline pressure without building the plan behind it — and are now in the position of working backward, figuring out the design, instruments, timeline, and roles before data collection starts.
Whether you are writing a plan ahead of your next recompete or building out one you have already summarized, this training walks the decisions in order.
Your evaluation plan should not become a document you write once and then struggle to implement.
A good evaluation plan has moving parts. Your research questions need to match the design. Your data collection methods need to answer the questions. Your sample, tools, timing, analysis, evaluator, and budget all need to fit together.
When one piece is vague or unrealistic, you feel it later—usually when data collection is supposed to begin.
And most AmeriCorps program staff were hired to run strong programs, not to become evaluation methodologists. This course makes the planning process manageable. We will break it into practical decisions, work through those decisions in sequence, and apply them directly to your own AmeriCorps program.
Come with your program. Build your plan as we go.
This is not a generic Evaluation 101 webinar and it is not three disconnected presentations. It is one interactive training delivered across three sessions, with each session building on the work you completed in the last. By the end of the training, you will have worked through the core decisions behind a strong 10-element evaluation plan—not just taken notes about what a plan should contain.
- Define a realistic evaluation scope and purpose.
- Select the evaluation design that fits your program and requirements.
- Develop focused, answerable research questions.
- Determine group formation and sampling needs.
- Match each question to the right data sources, methods, tools, and timing.
- Outline a practical data analysis approach.
- Clarify who should conduct the evaluation and what expertise is needed.
- Build a realistic timeline and budget.
- Reality-check the full plan before you commit to an approach that is too complicated, too expensive, or impossible to implement.
What We’ll Do Together
Session 1
Build the Evaluation Foundation
Start with the decisions that drive everything else: AmeriCorps evaluation context, what part of your program you will evaluate, why you are evaluating it, the type of evaluation that makes sense, and the research questions the evaluation needs to answer.
Between-session assignment: Draft your evaluation scope, purpose, design, and 2–4 research questions. We will discuss participant examples at the start of Session 2.
Session 2
Turn Questions into a Data Collection Plan
Move from “what do we want to know?” to “what data will actually answer that?” We will work through group formation, sampling, data sources, surveys and other methods, tool selection, timing, and who will collect the data.
Between-session assignment: Map the methodology for each research question using the course worksheet. We will troubleshoot participant examples at the start of Session 3.
Session 3
Make the Plan Feasible & Implementation-Ready
Finish the plan by determining how the data will be analyzed, who will conduct the evaluation, the timeline for the work, and the resources or budget required.
Then we will do the step many plans skip: a reality check. Can this plan actually be carried out well with the time, staffing, expertise, data access, and dollars available?
Sue really understands AmeriCorps and our challenges as program staff. Some evaluators talk over our head, but Sue explains evaluation in a way I understand.
Thank you so very much helping me put the evaluation plan together. I definitely couldn’t have done it without your guidance and phenomenal support.
This training is for AmeriCorps program staff who need to make evaluation planning feel doable.
It is especially useful for program directors, program managers, grants/compliance staff, evaluation leads, and other staff who are developing a new evaluation plan, revising an existing one, preparing for a recompete, or managing an evaluator and want to understand the decisions behind the work.
- You DO NOT need to be an evaluator.
- You should have a real AmeriCorps program or draft evaluation plan you can apply the exercises to.
- Commission staff may also find the course useful as professional development or as a way to better support grantees.
This training is probably NOT THE RIGHT FIT if you are looking for someone to design and write your full evaluation plan for you, conduct your external evaluation, or provide individualized statistical consulting during the course.
Learn AmeriCorps evaluation from someone who works in AmeriCorps evaluation.
Sue Hyatt is a Senior AmeriCorps Evaluation Specialist and founder of Big Purpose Big Impact, Ltd. For more than 30 years, she has helped AmeriCorps programs and State Service Commissions strengthen evaluation, performance measurement, data collection, and program learning.
Her approach is practical by design: understand the requirement, make the right planning decisions, and build something the program can realistically carry out. This is not a generic evaluation course with AmeriCorps examples added at the end. The course is built around the same hands-on planning process Sue uses when supporting AmeriCorps programs.
Sue has personally conducted 30+ AmeriCorps evaluations and provided training and technical assistance to over 300 AmeriCorps programs.
Selected Evaluation Evaluation Clients
Register Now!
$219 Early Bird • $249 Regular Registration
Early Bird: $219 through September 8
Regular Registration: $249 beginning September 9
Your registration covers the complete three-part training. There is no separate fee for each session.
Your registration includes:
- Three live, 90-minute interactive sessions.
- AmeriCorps-specific examples and discussion.
- Participant worksheets and planning tools.
- Between-session assignments that move your own plan forward.
- Live Q&A and discussion of selected participant work.
FAQs
Does the $249 registration cover all three sessions?
Yes. This is one three-part training. One registration includes September 17, October 1, and October 15.
What are the ways I can pay?
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Google Pay – Select AfterPay during check out to pay in installments.
Can I cancel once I’ve paid?
Registrations are non-refundable. If you can’t attend, your seat transfers to a colleague at any time — just email sue@americorpsevaluation.com. All three sessions are recorded and available to registrants, so a scheduling conflict doesn’t cost you the material.
Why three sessions?
The AmeriCorps evaluation plan development process involves more content than most of us can absorb in one sitting. Plus, the planning process requires strategic thinking and discussion with your team, as decisions are made along the way to build a strong plan. Breaking it out into three sessions also allows for more dialogue and the opportunity to get answers to your questions tailored to your program’s context.
Will the sessions be recorded?
Yes. Each session will be recorded so you can listen again or catch up if you happen to miss a session unexpectedly.
Do I need evaluation experience?
No. The training is designed to make evaluation planning understandable for AmeriCorps staff who may not have formal evaluation training. You will get the most value if you come ready to apply the material to a real program.
Will I leave with a completed evaluation plan?
You will work through every core element and leave with a strong working foundation for your plan. How complete your draft is by the end will depend on how much work you do between sessions and whether your program still has decisions or data issues to resolve.
Is this only for competitively-funded AmeriCorps grantees?
No. The evaluation planning process is useful across both competitive and formula-funded AmeriCorps programs. Specific evaluation requirements differ by funding type and, for formula programs, by State Service Commission. The course will distinguish those differences rather than treating every program as if it has the same requirement.
Will Sue review my individual evaluation plan?
The training includes live discussion, examples, and troubleshooting of selected participant work. Individual written plan review or one-to-one technical assistance is not included in the registration fee.
Can more than one person from our program attend?
Yes—and teams often benefit from working through the decisions together. AmeriCorps evaluation shouldn’t be the responsibility of just one person.