Program Evaluation Template: From Results to Findings (Excel)

Funders ask what changed, and a rising outcome number is easy to present as proof that your program caused it.

Evaluators separate the claims. Output verified means you delivered what you said. Outcome observed means the measured change happened. Contribution supported means there is evidence your program was one of the causes. Attribution, that the program alone caused the change, needs a design with a comparison group, which many program evaluations don't have.

In the demo file of our Program Evaluation System for Excel and Google Sheets (a fictional reading program), the share of children reading at grade level rises from 38% to 48%. The workbook labels that OUTCOME OBSERVED, with CAUSAL IMPACT NOT ESTABLISHED beside it. The same demo is READY WITH GAPS, with 10 of 12 readiness prerequisites met. Unreviewed evidence never counts, a serious data-quality issue caps confidence at LOW, and contrary evidence blocks HIGH confidence until it is resolved. A printable Board & Funder Summary shows the claim labels and the gaps you can't close yet.

Your report says exactly what the evidence supports, and no more.

There is no impact score, and it doesn't replace a statistical impact evaluation.