The Professional Psychologist as Evaluator in a Community Agency Setting

This article describes a process evaluation of an industrial work unit for persons with disabilities, and it comments on the role of the psychologist as evaluator in an agency of this type. The relationship of process evaluation to other aspects of evaluation is discussed, and reasons are offered for establishing goals before embarking on an outcome evaluation. The article outlines the procedures used for establishing, rank ordering, and comparing aims as perceived by the board of management, referral agencies, and the clients. Differences in the importance of aims are discussed in terms of the roles and expectations of the parties involved. Suggestions are offered for ways of using the ranked aims in every phase of the evaluation. Steps to facilitate the implementation of evaluation results are outlined.