Counselling-informed pedagogical strategies are being incorporated in environmental education programmes in post-secondary education to enhance environmental awareness, attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviour. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding their usefulness and application especially in Global South settings. This paper appraises an intervention based on counselling-informed environmental education implemented in Nigerian universities in terms of outcome effectiveness and implementation dynamics. The outcomes of a convergenarallel mixed-method design were the collection of quantitative data (274 undergraduate students in five public universities), survey and interview data (100 lecturers and student counsellors). When counselling-informed pedagogies were included in the multiple regression equation predicting pro-environmental behaviour, the overall model was significant (R2 =.454, F (3, 270) = 74.709, p < .001), but the overall regression results indicated that the integration of counselling-informed pedagogies negatively predicted pro-environmental behaviour (R2 =.093, F (3, 270) = 28.051, p < .001; β = -.283, p < .001), suggesting an implementation-context constraint rather than direct behavioural enhancement effect. The qualitative results are used to account for the presence of behaviour gap in awareness, caused by the institutional constraint, which could be a lack of policy support, insufficient training, ineffective lecturer counsellor cooperation, and structural issues regarding the enactment of the behaviour. The results indicate that environmental education based on counselling enhances psychological preparedness, attitudinal orientation but needs greater institutional integration and implementation faithfulness so as to convert the gains into lasting behavioural effects. Besides, the study is linked to the literature on programme evaluation as it shows the effectiveness of the educational interventions in the context of higher education, while taking into account the mediation of contextual and implementation conditions empirically.
Single-room occupancy (SRO) housing is among the most affordable rental options in many cities. However, SROs are frequently lost due to gentrification and luxury redevelopment, leading to the displacement of tenants with few alternative housing options. The City of Chicago passed the 2014 SRO Preservation Ordinance to prevent the loss of SROs and protect tenants who are displaced when buildings are redeveloped; yet SRO building turnover has continued since it was enacted. This qualitative study evaluated the tenant-interfacing components of Chicago's ordinance and associated rules from the perspectives of displaced SRO tenants. Twenty-seven individuals from four SROs were identified through convenience and purposive sampling. After screening, the final sample included 17 tenants who experienced displacement under the ordinance. Through deductive coding, participants described experiences related to key ordinance stipulations, including: (a) tenant notifications (i.e., being informed their building was posted for sale or notified of lease termination), (b) relocation financial assistance (i.e., receipt of $2000 to cover moving expenses), (c) higher relocation assistance provided for non-preservation sales, (d) acts of retaliation by owners are prohibited and restitution for tenants who faced retaliation, and (e) provision of relocation services (i.e., a staff person hired to assist tenants in finding housing). Findings illuminate aspects of the ordinance that tenants viewed positively and others that could be strengthened to better support tenants upon displacement, such as more robust relocation services, as well as areas for further evaluation.
This article revises Tindall and 't Hart's (2011) framework for evaluating consular emergency management by integrating lessons from Baltic and Nordic responses to COVID‑19. It asks how far the original framework captures performance in a protracted, global, and digitally mediated emergency, and what amendments render it adequate. Drawing on eight semi‑structured interviews with senior diplomats, triangulated with government and secondary sources, the study applies the framework comparatively across eight states and develops an indicative assessment matrix. It identifies innovations in sense‑making, decision‑making, and operational coordination, including travel apps, SMS‑based registration, and AI‑driven communication, while weighing risks of digital exclusion, data protection, and accountability. The analysis highlights the strategic role of preparedness, the operational benefits of public-private partnerships and national assets, and the growing importance of diaspora diplomacy as a force multiplier offering situational intelligence, cultural mediation, and logistical support. The proposed expanded framework adds a Preparedness function and indicators for digital infrastructure and multi‑actor engagement, distinguishes wholly new elements from refinements of existing ones, and reflects on transferability to lower‑resource settings. Findings underscore that resilient consular systems require foresight, technology, and networked collaboration to safeguard citizens abroad in an era of volatility.
Childhood malnutrition among children under five remains a major public health challenge in developing countries, including Nigeria, posing significant long-term health and developmental risks. This study examined the prevalence, related risk factors, and effectiveness of nutritional interventions for children between 0 and 5 years in the Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. A multi-phase sampling method was employed to select a total of 200 caregiver-child pairs. The study used body measurements and standard questionnaires to assess nutritional status and program participation. Results showed that 13.5% of children were underweight, while 7.5% were overweight and 1.5% were obese. Nutritional deficiencies were significantly associated with economic status, maternal education level, and healthcare access. Evaluation of interventions revealed that the Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) program achieved the highest engagement (60% participation), whereas the Maternal Newborn Child Health Week (MNCHWC) and Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) programs showed lower levels of participation and perceived effectiveness. In addition, the nutritional counselling and services provided as part of the programs were observed to be the most impactful component for reducing malnutrition among the studied population. Statistically significant correlations were also found between caregivers' composite socio-demographic index and children's nutritional status (p < 0.05). To optimize national health outcomes, Nigeria must reform its nutritional framework by strengthening underperforming regional programs and prioritizing community-centred education to ensure more equitable and effective service delivery.
This study investigates Japan's national Social Return on Investment (SROI) of physical activity and sport (PAS) by adapting the pioneering UK model to reflect Japan's sociocultural and policy context. As this study is the first national-level SROI model for PAS in Asia, it addresses a key research gap and responds to calls for geographical diversification. The conservative base-case model quantified the social value of PAS by monetizing outcomes with stronger consensus evidence, including health improvements and subjective well-being, while accounting for sport-related injuries to avoid overclaiming. Education-related outcomes, less-established health outcomes, volunteer labor as an organizational human resource benefit, and crime-related outcomes were examined only as supplementary or reference scenarios because of methodological uncertainty, limited causal evidence, or potential double-counting concerns. Data were drawn from national surveys and official statistics focusing on the year 2022. We identified a total input of approximately ¥4.07 trillion (USD 31.3 billion) and a conservative base-case outcome value of approximately ¥11.87 trillion (USD 91.3 billion), after applying a 20% deadweight adjustment to positive outcomes, which resulted in an SROI ratio of 2.92. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis revealed that the SROI ratio ranged from 2.55 to 3.28 under alternative deadweight assumptions, and from 2.67 to 3.15 under alternative WVA assumptions. A reference scenario including all excluded or reference outcomes except crime produced an SROI ratio of 2.98. This implies that for every dollar invested in PAS, a return of approximately three dollars in social value can be expected in the base-case model, with the overall conclusion remaining robust across tested scenarios. These findings underscore the importance of individual sport participation as a key driver of social value in Japan, where demographic challenges, such as aging and rising healthcare costs, persist. In particular, the concentration of health-related value among older adults highlights the policy relevance of PAS for healthy aging and healthcare cost containment in Japan. This research offers critical insights for policymakers seeking evidence-based justification for investment in PAS and contributes to the development of a globally harmonized yet context-sensitive framework for SROI modeling in public health and sport policy.
Development evaluations are typically governed through Terms of Reference (ToRs) that define purposes, intended users, key questions, and deliverables before empirical inquiry begins. Although often treated as administrative documents, ToRs function as upstream governance texts that shape whose learning, use, and improvement evaluations are designed to serve. Existing evaluation-use theories-including utilization-focused evaluation, evaluation influence theory, and transformative evaluation-examine how evaluation findings are taken up but rarely interrogate whose interests are structurally encoded at the commissioning stage. This article addresses that gap and introduces a distributive analytical lens organized around three questions-whose learning, whose use, and whose improvement-and proposes an Upstream-Midstream-Downstream Learning Model situating evaluation commissioning within the hierarchical architecture of international development. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of 48 ToRs from multilateral organizations, bilateral donors, and international NGOs, the study finds that learning and use are overwhelmingly concentrated among upstream commissioners and midstream implementers. Institutional actors are named as primary intended users in the large majority of ToRs examined, while communities appear in that role in a small minority. Participatory language is largely confined to data-collection methods rather than to commissioning sections defining purpose, users, or accountability. The article discusses implications for evaluation governance and decolonial evaluation practice.
Evaluation exists within social, cultural, environmental, and economic contexts defined by human experience. Taking an identity-oriented, culturally responsive approach to evaluation highlights the consequences of evaluation and how they relate to the social reality and context of priority populations. This article presents a conceptual framework for culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) practice using identity as an orienting construct. The Identity-in-Context Framework (ICF) can help evaluators and practitioners be cognizant of cultural implications for practice and explore how identity intersects with cultural, social, economic, geographic, and structural forces impacting communities around the world. The ICF integrates personal identity, structure, history, and discourse to understand identity formation processes that can enhance the social sustainability of behavior-change focused programming. When promoting behavior change, practitioners are encouraged to use CRE through an ICF framework to align behavior change programs more responsively with communities' sociocultural worldviews to mitigate unintended consequences of program implementation, including attrition, maintenance of the status quo, and failing to account for systemic causes of underlying issues.
The purpose of this study is to share lessons learned and recommendations from the adaptation of Participatory Institutional Capacity Assessment and Learning (PICAL) tool used by the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) Integrated Health Program (IHP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The PICAL tool assesses, monitors, and evaluates institutional capacity building across four categories: Demand for Institutional Performance, Organizational Learning Capacity, Administrative Capacity, and Systems Strengthening Capacity. Each category of PICAL is subdivided into sub-categories, and all sub-categories are evaluated using a six-point scale. Through USAID IHP, PICAL has been field-tested and used in nine provinces and 45 health zones in the DRC. Qualitative findings from key informant interviews suggest that use of PICAL contributed to institutional capacity strengthening. Lessons learned from this study underscore the importance of sustaining regular and long-term follow-ups, adapting the tool to an institution's context, engaging with health leaders, and providing financial support to ensure long-term improvement and sustainability. This study is crucial in informing other projects and program implementers about PICAL and its potential to enhance institutional capacity.
This article reports a course-level reform of a master's course in evaluation at the University of Cape Town that seeks to embed decolonization principles in teaching and learning. Using a reflective case study, graduates reflected three years after completion on the utility of their training through a decolonial lens as articulated through the Made-in-Africa Evaluation (MAE) movement. Reflections indicate that a decolonized orientation can positively reshape the practice of emerging evaluators while exposing tensions in existing course design. Priority areas for change included reworking how visual program theory is developed and used, reducing reliance on a Western-dominant literature base when judging theory plausibility, and recognizing the limits of even locally validated or adapted tools to capture situated meanings. We also note structural features that favor average treatment effects in quantitative teaching and cross-cutting themes in qualitative work, often at the expense of individual narratives and power-laden context. We propose course design principles and practices that center lived experience, language, and diverse knowledge traditions. Our approach is likely to speak to African evaluation teachers and decolonial oriented institutions, as well as to non-African evaluators who seek training in evaluation that might equip them to work responsibly in African contexts.
Program evaluation is critical in ensuring the effectiveness of both sport programs and organizations. Despite its importance, many sport organizations lack sufficient knowledge and resources (e.g., funding) to carry out evaluation, reflecting a broader trend referred to as low capacity for evaluation. To address evaluation capacity gaps, organizations can connect with and learn from "evaluation champions" within their respective sectors. Evaluation champions are individuals or organizations that actively promote and exemplify best evaluation practices, provide training and support, and mentor peers in program evaluation. However, little research profiles evaluation champions in sport, limiting sport knowledge users' accessibility to potential knowledge exchange and collaboration opportunities to enhance evaluation capacity. Therefore, this reflective case narrative describes an evaluation champion in the sport sector with a specific emphasis on the impact of its evaluation practices, priorities, and approaches. Recommendations and lessons learned from the organization are shared to provide insight to other sport organizations that engage in evaluation. Findings add to the ongoing work in Canada to support sport organizations in increasing their capacities for effective program evaluation.
A program evaluation will be conducted to assess the achievement of African American males at predominantly white institutions (PWIs) by examining how effectively, efficiently, and equitably the Education Opportunity Fund program supports job placement, graduation, and semester-to-semester progress. Since no comprehensive evaluation of the Education Opportunity Fund has been conducted, this plan will provide valuable insights to help practitioners fund, improve, and set meaningful goals for programs serving economically disadvantaged college students in New Jersey. An Education Opportunity Fund Program Planning & Development logic model serves as the main evaluation approach, with a survey as the qualitative and quantitative data collection method to gather information on mentorship, academic counseling, leadership, and/or extracurricular opportunities from Education Opportunity Fund program staff, students, and others. The primary goal of the Education Opportunity Fund is to structure a sustainable cohort model for first-generation students over time within the United States of America. The need for equity and access is important for African American male students who come from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This program evaluation plan assesses the support services Education Opportunity Fund offers, including academic tutoring, professional development opportunities, and a 5-week first-year orientation, and whether these resources translate into intergenerational success for the target population.
Carbon footprint labeling is an effective strategy to promote sustainable consumption as part of global sustainability efforts. This research explores how personal norms influence the intention to purchase products with carbon footprint labels and examines the effects of environmental beliefs and green perceived value on such norms. It also considers social norms as moderators and investigates their impact on environmental beliefs, green perceived value, and personal norms. From survey data collected in Taiwan and analyzed through structural equation modelling (SEM), the results show that the warm glow effect and climate change awareness positively influence environmental beliefs, while self-expressive benefit and green transparency positively influence green perceived value. Environmental beliefs and green perceived value both positively shape personal norms, which significantly affect purchase intention. This paper offers important theoretical and practical insights for promoting sustainable consumption, particularly in understanding the psychological factors that drive consumer decisions related to carbon footprint-labeled products.
Background Homeless individuals experience disproportionately high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet remain underrepresented in formal health screening programs. While community-based organizations frequently conduct outreach, few have established ethical, standardized, or replicable methods for assessing physiological risk in field settings. Existing models range from passive, meals-only outreach to costly mobile clinics with limited reach, leaving a critical gap that this low-resource, agile framework is designed to address. Objective To describe the development and implementation of an ethical, field-based methodology for cardiovascular screening within homeless outreach programs that emphasizes participant safety, informed consent, and operational feasibility. Methods A cross-sectional quality improvement needs assessment was conducted across outreach missions in San Francisco using convenience sampling. The framework integrated volunteer training, capacity screening, verbal consent procedures, vital sign collection, and predefined emergency escalation thresholds. Participants were unsheltered adults who met decisional capacity criteria and provided voluntary informed consent. Results Iterative protocol refinements, including “quiet zone” policies, addressed missing data patterns inherent to this population. Among N=116 participants screened, the framework achieved 100% fidelity in capacity and consent verification, activated emergency protocols for 9 acute events, and identified hypertensive crisis (6/59, 10.17%), nicotine use (6/33, 15.38%), and diabetes via field vitals (5/38, 13.16%). Conclusion This framework demonstrates a replicable, ethically grounded model for CVD risk screening in homeless outreach settings, achieving 100% fidelity in capacity and consent verification, a 10.17% hypertensive crisis detection rate, and scalable integration of evidence-based physiological assessment into humanitarian fieldwork.
The academic literacy and reading comprehension capabilities of South African undergraduates are often insufficient for higher education. This study assessed literacy levels, particularly reading comprehension, in 51 first-year Extended Curriculum Programme students. Paired t-tests measured their ability to infer information before and after a year-long academic literacy course. Group 1, with the lowest pre-test scores, showed significant improvement, while Group 3, with the highest pre-test scores, showed minimal progress. These findings suggest the need for differentiated interventions to better support academically vulnerable students. The results demonstrate that, under appropriate conditions, struggling students can achieve notable gains in academic literacy and reading comprehension.
Since 2000, providing affordable, high-quality early childhood education and care has been a global challenge for governments worldwide. In 2012, Taiwan addressed this challenge by establishing a public-private partnership (PPP) non-profit preschool (NPP) system, aiming to support children aged 2-5, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. To ensure the effective use of government resources, Taiwan has implemented a standardized financial management mechanism. This five-year study examined the expenditure structure and operational trends of preschool education in Taiwan from 2014 to 2018. We used cluster analysis to categorize records from 271 academic years across 117 preschool institutions based on key expenditure indicators and explored predictive factors by GEE logistic regression analyses. We identified three clusters representing low, medium, and high expenditure levels and found eighteen key factors requiring initiative-taking monitoring. This study established a comprehensive database of NPPs, analyzed expenditure patterns, and linked them to performance outcomes. It will help to further develop classification management indicators and their benchmarks and enhance the management application value of evidence-based empirical evaluation research on funding policies.
Objective This systematic review supported development of a conceptual framework for user-centered process evaluations of web-based diet and exercise programs for older adults with chronic disease. Methods Four databases were utilized: PubMed, Embase, Business Source Premier, and ABI/Inform. Primary search terms were created by pairing the phrase process evaluation with one of the following terms: diet, nutrition, exercise, or physical activity. Primary terms were coupled with secondary terms, including: web-based, web-enabled, and virtual. Results Of 460 abstracts screened, 11 articles were retained for synthesis. Within retained articles, 10 constructs were presented in two or more evaluations: satisfaction, engagement, use, usefulness, adherence, implementation, acceptability, motivation, reach, and recruitment. Of these constructs, 8 (80%) were explored using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Discussion The resulting framework supports user-centered evaluations; whereby, integration of quantitative and qualitative participant feedback is central to process evaluations of web-based programs tailored for older adults.
Southern Africa faces intensifying climate risks shaped by rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, extreme weather events, and deep structural inequalities. As investment in climate resilience programming grows, so does the need for rigorous, context-sensitive frameworks for planning and evaluating such programmes. Yet current approaches to vulnerability assessment, predominantly built on the IPCC dimensions of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, often fail to capture the social, institutional, and relational drivers that shape how communities experience and respond to climate change. This paper employs a qualitative, comparative case study methodology to examine three climate resilience programmes implemented across Southern Africa between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on both primary data, including household surveys, participatory rural appraisals, ethnographic interviews, and micro-narrative studies, and secondary sources, the authors conduct a structured cross-case analysis of how vulnerability was conceptualised, how programme responses were designed, and how outcomes were evaluated. The authors propose an expanded vulnerability framework that builds on the IPCC model by incorporating three additional dimensions: mitigation and preparedness, response capacity, and recovery capacity. These additions are argued to better reflect the social dimensions of vulnerability, particularly in contexts of institutional fragility and structural inequality. Findings demonstrate that vulnerability in Southern Africa is shaped not only by climatic exposure but by governance failures, land tenure insecurity, limitations of social protection, and the marginalisation of indigenous knowledge. Programmes that adopted participatory, iterative approaches were more effective at revealing these intersectional and structural dimensions of vulnerability. The paper argues for a more holistic approach to resilience programming that integrates material, relational, and subjective dimensions of wellbeing, and calls for evaluation frameworks that go beyond economic and agricultural indicators. These findings have practical implications for national and international development agencies involved in climate adaptation programming across the sub-region.
Symptoms of anxiety and depression are common in children. There are limitations that prevent the implementation of evidenced-based interventions in national mental health services. Additionally, a community setting may involve factors that limit effectiveness compared to a research setting. Objectives: This study is the first to evaluate the medium- and long-term effectiveness of the Super Skills for Life (SSL) transdiagnostic program integrated into routine clinical practice in Spain, thereby addressing the critical gap between controlled trials and real-world implementation. Method: 43 children (mean = 10.21 years, 65.1% boys) with an emotional disorder participated. Results: Children who met criteria for an emotional disorder decreased significantly at all follow-up visits after the intervention (3-, 6- and 12-months). In addition, significantly lower scores were found for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and global difficulties. Reductions in anxiety symptoms and global difficulties were statistically significant at 3-, 6-, and 12-months follow-up. Conclusions: The SSL program, when implemented in routine mental health services, reduces children’s symptoms and diagnoses and demonstrates the feasibility of applying a transdiagnostic, group-based intervention in real-world clinical settings. Beyond clinical improvements, the design—anchored in multi-informant evidence, fidelity monitoring, and longitudinal follow-up—provides a replicable model for evaluating child mental health interventions under real-world conditions, strengthening both scientific validity and clinical utility.
This surgical rehabilitation program in a community setting provides a case study for the implementation of an effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan. The partnership between St. Catherine University evaluators and staff at Kafika House Tanzania offers insights into how to strengthen evaluation and planning for a rehabilitation program and provides a case study for working in intercultural partnerships. This paper assesses the responsiveness, quality and fidelity of M&E implementation, and elucidates lessons learned from evaluation implementation and key adaptations from piloting data collection in a resource-limited setting. Feedback interviews with Kafika House staff demonstrated responsiveness to the M&E tools. Pilot data collected from tools developed for program and impact evaluation were used to measure implementation quality and fidelity. Data collector buy-in and responsive and communicative partnership supports motivation for consistent data collection. Kafika House learned that program evaluation was imperative to data quality and fidelity while the academic team learned how to best support the evaluation plan. Utilizing an ecological model strengthened our consideration of the individual, community, and innovative factors of implementation that promoted the sustainability of the M&E program. Evaluation and planning adaptations in a resource-limited setting considered training, funding, sustainable integration, and administration of measurement tools.
