From initial assessment onward, monitoring and evaluation are critical for an accurate understanding of community health. Good monitoring and evaluation practices help identify factors that positively or negatively affect a community, and they can confirm the contribution of initiatives undertaken to make improvements.

Patience and persistence are required during these processes. Significant changes in population-level outcomes are often not detectable within the course of a few years, and some long-term objectives of improving conditions that affect matters (such as economic and social disparities) typically require time. It is not always readily apparent how much difference particular changes have made to a local environment via interventions (e.g., introduction of programs, policies or practices).  Despite these difficulties, thoughtful, systematic efforts to get a handle on pertinent indicators are important for understanding, and for guidance in direction.

Monitoring progress toward meeting objectives is essential for a productive community initiative. This evaluative exercise enables participants to confirm a plan (and its execution), or to revise it with appropriate adjustments in goals, strategies, and methods. Monitoring and evaluation should be conducted throughout an endeavour, providing a "formative" examination and assessment of processes, as well as a "summative" scrutiny and appraisal of impacts and outcomes.

Evaluation is necessary for examining

• how well a collaborative venture is doing,
• how successfully it is making advances in its agenda,
• the value of a venture’s efforts, and
• what initiatives and activities need to be continued or changed. 

Improvement is the goal of this "look and learn" attempt at better awareness of what is really being accomplished. While the task should lead to enhanced organization and coordination of a collaborative effort, it also serves to honour accountability to community stakeholders, addressing their questions and concerns, and providing them with a basis for ongoing support of the group and its undertaking. Evaluation is critical for responsible sustainability and can give opportunity for celebration.

References

Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. (2004). Community Action on Drug Abuse Prevention. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute. (2007). Evaluation Primer: Setting the Context for a Community Anti-Drug Coalition Evaluation. Alexandria, VA: Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America.

Victorian Government Department of Human Services (2008). Integrated Health Promotion Resource Kit. Melbourne: Department of Human Services.