Evaluate today to plan for tomorrow
Planning and evaluation are necessary for the future of any organization. Whether your PW group is new or well-established, keep it strong and growing with regular evaluation of your current program in light of the changing needs of women in your congregation. There are many ways to discover the needs and interests of the women in your church. You may want to:
- Conduct a survey of women using a printed questionnaire.
- Invite small groups to share ideas and interests and report back to a larger group.
- Study the demographics and other data about your church and community to discover present or possible future needs of women and how PW can respond to them effectively.
Remember that your PW group has a history that must be taken into account as you look to the future. What happens today and tomorrow is affected by what was done in the past. To find out where you have been, ask members of your group to answer these questions:
- What specifically did you try to accomplish in the past year?
- Did you achieve that goal or goals? Why or why not?
- Based on that experience, what, in the future, would you do the same? differently?
- Is this something that should be continued? concluded?
Realize that nothing, not even Presbyterian Women, remains the same. New needs and new opportunities arise. Look realistically at the present.
- What needs and interests of women are expressed through the PW purpose and principles?
- What are you doing currently that meets these needs?
- What needs and interests of women are not being met by your PW group?
- Which of these needs and interests can PW realistically meet? How?
- Which of these needs and interests can be more effectively met by another organization?
- What goals and objectives can you set to met the needs and interests PW can serve?
Finally, develop concrete action plans to make your goals become realities. Develop a time line to meet specific needs and interests.
- Which needs and interests require long-range planning to accomplish?
- Which needs and interests require a change in structure or program in order to fulfill?
- What steps must be taken in order to change?
- What resistance to change might there be? How can it be handled responsibly?
- What priorities must be established for meeting these needs and interests?
- Do the goals state what you hope to accomplish? Are the objectives specific, measurable, and attainable? Is there a time limit set for accomplishing each objective? Has the responsibility been assigned to a specific person or group?
- Is there a plan to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts? Is everyone who had any responsibility or relationship to the plan involved in the evaluation?
The Planning Process
The planning process for the new year will take more time than is available at a regular meeting. A planning retreat (one-day or overnight) gives time for leaders to get better acquainted to organize the year's work.
Discover Who We Are
After prayer and community building, consider these questions in light of the PW purpose and principles:
- Has the nature of our membership changed?
- What was the most exciting thing our PW did last year?
- What are we still doing because we've always done it? Is it still effective and worthwhile?
Define Our Mission
- For five to ten minutes brainstorm possibilities for PW work in the upcoming year. List all ideas on a chalkboard or newsprint.
- Narrow the field. After considering the whole list, select six to ten items that seem like real possibilities.
- Decide which of the selected possibilities to try this year.
- Is it being done by another group? If so, should we join them or is it important to do alone?
- Is there cost involved? Where would funding come from?
- Who would help us do it? (This is a good way to involve other women in the congregation.)
- State the possibility as a goal for PW. Goal statements should be specific, attainable and measurable.
- Develop a work outline.
- What needs to be done?
- Who will do it?
- Why will it be done? Make a month-by-month time line.
- Where will it be done? Note arrangements needed and schedule early.
- How will it be done? Each planner should have a copy of the outline, understand her responsibility and do her part.
- Present all goals and plans for approval and communication to the appropriate PW gathering.
An Evaluation Process
Look at the Goals
On a separate sheet of newsprint, post each of the goals adopted at the beginning of the year. List what has been done to meet the goal for the year. This may be an arrival activity where members are asked to move around the room and write their responses on the sheets or it may be a beginning activity for the group as a whole. Gain some consensus on the work that has been done to achieve each goal.
- Were there problems?
- What caused them?
- If it went well, do we know why?
- Who benefited?
Consider the Future
As the years draws to a close, you should have for your successor:
- List of goals marked accomplished, abandoned, or incomplete (include what is left do do).
- List of people with their interests, skills and availability.
- Month-by-month diary of meetings, service projects and programs, with details pertinent to each office or position.
- Examples of communication such as newsletters, bulletins, pictures or displays, and bulletin boards, with notes on other successful methods.
- A personal evaluation of accomplishment, and disappointments: “If I had it to do again, I would ...”
