The course is designed for all students in all GSIPM curricula seeking to add the critical skill of program evaluation to their portfolio. For MPA students it counts as one of the three Program Evaluation courses that satisfy that MPA core requirement. The course is organized in three parts. In the first quarter of the course we look at program evaluation --- “a robust arena of activity directed at collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and communicating information about the effectiveness of social programs undertaken for the purpose of improving social conditions”-- - in its practical application: purposes and types of evaluations, participants and stakeholders, identifying issues and formulating questions, needs assessment, assessing program theory, program monitoring and strategies for impact assessment. In the second quarter of the course we systematically explore the various data-generation methods used in program evaluation. Methods to be examined may include but are not limited to statistical analysis, survey research, key informant interviews, field research and observation, focus groups, and ethnographic techniques. In the last half of the course students will conduct an evaluation of actual programs conducted in the larger Monterey area, using the concepts and data-generation techniques learned in the first half of the course.