The Art of Prioritizing What (and Who) Matters in Evaluation

Here we are—email four in our Evaluation Design series. We’ve got two more design-focused topics coming your way before we shift into the nitty-gritty of data collection: strategies, tools, and what to do when things don’t go as planned.

This summer, much like the rest of the year, has been full of contradictions. Just last week, my family and I traveled to South Carolina to visit relatives I hadn’t seen in years. The garden is lush, the kids are home from school, and we’re squeezing every bit of joy out of long days and late bedtimes. And yet, back home in Minnesota, we’re mourning a tragic act of political violence. That kind of emotional whiplash is becoming all too familiar—the coexistence of beauty and heartbreak, growth and grief. If you’re feeling that too, know that I’m holding space for you.

Now onto today’s topic: prioritization.

So far, we’ve talked about what evaluation questions are, how to define them clearly, and how to design them collaboratively. But what happens when you have too many questions? It’s easy to get excited and want to explore everything—but if you try to learn everything, you often end up learning nothing well.

Let’s get practical.

Step 1: Revisit your list.

You might have three questions. Or fifteen. Or thirty. No shame—this is where many of us start.

Step 2: Filter by accountability.

Ask:

• What do we need to report?
• Who are we accountable to—staff, funders, board, community members?
  Questions tied to those relationships move to the top of the list.

Step 3: Filter by decision-making.

Ask:

• What do we need to know in order to make smart decisions over the next 6–12 months?
• Are we trying to improve, adapt, or expand?
  Keep the questions that help you decide what’s next.

Now take a look—what’s left?

Step 4: Look for overlap.

Some questions may be addressed (at least partially) through others. Are there sub-questions that can be rolled into bigger ones? Can one strong question carry more weight with a few added prompts or measures?

This should get you to a manageable 3–5 core questions.

Still have more than that? No problem. Think in phases or sprints. Design your evaluation efforts in 6-month windows. What can you answer now, and what can wait?
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And don’t do this alone.

Prioritization shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. Involve your team, your partners, and—when possible—your community. Different stakeholders bring different definitions of what matters. The best evaluations reflect that diversity.

You’ve got this.

And if you don’t want to do it alone, you don’t have to. I offer coaching packages that span 6, 9, or 12 months—think of it as having a thought partner in your back pocket to help you sort through priorities, guide your process, and build internal capacity as you go. If that sounds like what you need, get in touch here.

Thanks for being here. If you found this helpful, please consider forwarding it to someone else who’s in the weeds of evaluation design right now. And if you’ve got a tricky prioritization question or want feedback on your evaluation questions, hit reply—I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,
​Kayla

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P.S. If you missed the earlier issues in this series, here’s what we’ve covered so far:

• ​Your survey isn't broken - it's just lonely.​
• ​Before you collect a single data point...​

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