Effectiveness evaluation collects information to answer questions about the effects of program activities and compares this information to previously identified criteria/objectives related to the immediate, intermediate, and long-term effects of program activities on the target population (e.g., biological, behavioral, psychological) or on aspects of the target population's environment (e.g., social norms, the economy) in an effort to determine the extent of discrepancy or congruence between intended and actual effects of the program.

Sample question…

• Do you want information about the effects of the program (i.e., effectiveness evaluation)?
• If yes, what do you want to know about the program's effects? Do you want information about the immediate (i.e., first level), intermediate (i.e., second level), and/or long-term effects (i.e., third level) of a program activity?
• Do you want to know about the magnitude and stability (i.e., duration) of the registered effects? (e.g., You might ask questions that cut across all levels of possible changes that might occur as a consequence of a campaign to increase emergency preparedness in the home: Did participants [i.e., the public] learn about what supplies they should have on hand in an emergency [i.e., a first-level knowledge change]? Do they believe that preparing one's home for an emergency is a good idea [i.e., a first- or second-level attitude change]? Did anyone actually gather the supplies and take the actions suggested [i.e., a second-level change in their behavior]? Did those who prepared their homes for an emergency feel more prepared and suffer less psychological distress during an emergency situation than those who did not prepare their homes [i.e., a third-level effect])?