Beginning on November 8^th, OPM will host a series of monthly evaluation learning sessions.  These sessions will showcase effective and innovative evaluation practices and tools that will increase your evaluation ability, and help improve training program management. These sessions are intended to integrate theory with practical applications on the following training program evaluation topics: 

• Theory of Change
• Logic Models
• Learning Design
• Decision Making 

The learning sessions will be facilitated using a blended-learning format and provide networking opportunities with evaluation experts.  

Who should attend?

• Federal learning and development professionals, especially those with program evaluation responsibilities. 

What are the intended outcomes?

Participants of the Evalu-Add learning sessions will:

• Increase knowledge of the diversity in evaluation design and practices to guide the development of a training program evaluation.
• Gain knowledge about universal evaluation principles.
• Increase awareness of evaluation professionals within the collective federal evaluation community (whether or not those professionals work in “training”).
• Increase capacity to collect accurate and reliable evaluation data to use in making data driven decisions.
• Determine the role and impact of evaluation in risk management and program effectiveness. 

Why is OPM planning this event?

These sessions are a part of OPM’s ongoing efforts to provide agencies support in meeting the President’s Management Agenda, “Workforce of the 21st Century” Cross-Agency Priority Goal. These sessions will provide Federal employees’ evaluation guidance and resources that aid in their continuous program improvement initiatives. 

Additionally, agencies are required by regulation to “evaluate their training programs annually to determine how well such plans and programs contribute to mission accomplishment and meet organizational performance goals”.  The lack of evaluation capacity, use of evaluation practices, and ability to evaluate training program impact greatly compromises the integrity of training evaluation data and its use in making data driven decisions. 

How can I find additional information?

OPM will send updates via the Federal Training and Development Listserv. To subscribe select the following links and select “Join”: 

• Federal Training and Development Listserv – (http://listserv.opm.gov/wa.exe?A0=LEG-POL)                                                                                                   

 Please e-mail any questions to SESDevelopment@opm.gov. 

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