EvaluATE Checklist for Program Evaluation Report Content

This checklist identifies and describes the elements of an evaluation report. It is intended to serve as a flexible guide for determining an evaluation report’s content. It should not be treated as a rigid set of requirements. An evaluation client’s or sponsor’s reporting requirements should take precedence over the checklist’s recommendations. Decisions about the order of content and level of detail in a report should be made with consideration of the audience’s information needs and priorities.

This checklist is strictly focused on the content of long-form technical evaluation reports. Although important, alternative reporting methods (e.g., infographics and slide decks) and visual elements (e.g., document design and data visualization) are outside the scope of this checklist.

This checklist is designed to guide the development of project or program evaluation reports. For the sake of readability, we use the term program to mean either projects or programs. The checklist is not intended to assist in the writing of product, policy, or personnel evaluation reports.

A one-page summary is provided at the end of this checklist.