The Director and a Senior Research Associate initiate this stage, working with program implementers to get a sense of the program's goals and to create a picture of what specific evidence of success would look like for that particular program. This information is used to develop an Evaluation Matrix that is unique to the program being evaluated. Based on the project's size, one or more PERG evaluators implement the data collection activities identified in the Evaluation Matrix . Evaluators then analyze the various types of data collected and distill this information into an evaluation report, designed to help program implementers with their implementation and address program difficulties identified during the evaluation. Evaluators provide frequent, informal, formative evaluation feedback in meetings with program staff and periodic formative evaluation reports based on the program staff's timeline and other needs.
Evaluators provide summative evaluation reports at the conclusion of a program.
George Hein and Brenda Engel designed the original PERG matrix for PERG's first evaluation . Its purpose was to match what is to be evaluated with appropriate information-gathering means. Program goals, activities, and outcomes are considered in relation to the evaluation activities and data necessary to perform the evaluation. Beyond its immediate usefulness for that project, the matrix turned out to be a highly adaptable tool that could be applied to future programmatic planning tasks. A special benefit of the PERG matrix is that it promotes collaboration between evaluators and program staff.