Policy Analysis & Evaluation Flashcards
7 cards from real CAP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Policy Analysis & Evaluation flashcards as text
The 'theory of change' in philanthropic program design primarily serves to:
Answer: Articulate the causal pathway from activities to long-term impact
A theory of change maps the logical steps and assumptions connecting program activities to the desired long-term outcomes.
A donor-advised fund sponsor evaluates grantee impact using SROI (Social Return on Investment). A ratio of 4:1 means:
Answer: Every $1 invested generates $4 in social value
SROI of 4:1 means that for every dollar invested, four dollars of social value are created, as monetized through proxy values.
In designing a policy evaluation, 'triangulation' refers to:
Answer: Combining multiple data sources or methods to validate findings
Triangulation strengthens evaluation credibility by cross-checking findings across different methods, sources, or evaluators.
Which policy analysis tool is specifically designed to identify the minimum condition under which a policy remains beneficial?
Answer: Sensitivity analysis
Sensitivity analysis tests how outcomes change under varying assumptions, revealing the threshold at which a policy stops being cost-effective.
A foundation wants to assess whether its early childhood literacy grants changed reading proficiency rates. The most rigorous design would be:
Answer: Randomized controlled trial with waitlist control
A randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control provides the strongest evidence of causation by randomly assigning participants to treatment and control groups.
Which of the following best describes 'summative evaluation' in the context of philanthropic programming?
Answer: Assessment of overall program effectiveness conducted at or after completion
Summative evaluation judges a program's overall effectiveness and value, typically after it concludes or at a major milestone.
When a philanthropic advisor recommends using 'comparable group design,' the comparison group is selected by:
Answer: Matching on key characteristics to the treatment group
Comparable group (matched comparison) design selects non-participants who resemble participants on observable characteristics to approximate a control group.