17 Metrics To Evaluate Programs

When you lead an association, you understand that every program - whether focused on education, advocacy, or member engagement - must be thoughtfully evaluated to ensure resources are invested where they deliver the greatest value.

Yet it’s surprisingly easy for associations to “rinse and repeat” long‑standing initiatives simply because they’ve always "done it this way." Tradition can be meaningful, but it shouldn’t prevent you from assessing whether a program still resonates with members.

Regular program evaluation helps you stay attuned to evolving member needs, emerging industry challenges, and the shifting landscape that affects your members. Delivering relevant value requires a willingness to rethink legacy offerings and avoid treating any program as a “sacred cow,” no matter how beloved it once was.

Effective Boards lean into this responsibility. They ask hard questions, challenge assumptions, and ensure that both time and budget are directed toward initiatives that are timely, strategic, and forward‑looking.

Evaluating Programs Allows You To:

• Understand what's important to your members TODAY

• Show that your association understands industry trends and challenges

• Allocate resources wisely

• Identify strengths and weaknesses

• Track progress against goals

  
  

17 Areas of a Program Evaluation

1. Strategic alignment - How well the program supports the association’s mission, goals, and future strategic priorities.

2. Member value proposition - Whether members clearly understand and experience value from the program; how essential it is to their professional success.

3. Participation trends - Year‑over‑year engagement and retention impact.

4. Competitive/environmental scan - How similar programs are evolving across peer associations or within the industry.

5. Membership demographics by segment - Assesses who is participating across member types to ensure the program serves the intended audiences.

6. Leadership/volunteer time and oversight required - Analyzes the governance and volunteer involvement needed to sustain the program.

7. Staff feedback - Evaluates staff perspectives on program effectiveness, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.

8. Staff time required to implement the program - Measures the internal labor required to deliver the program and identifies potential resource strain.

9. Member feedback (quantitative & qualitative) - Captures satisfaction, perceived value, and unmet needs directly from participants.

10. Revenue, expenses, and net revenue - Examines the financial performance to determine profitability and long‑term financial viability.

11. Cost per participant - Calculates the per‑person investment to understand efficiency and compare value across programs.

12. Accessibility and inclusivity - Whether the program intends to serve all relevant member segments equitably.

13. Operational complexity - Technology, logistics, vendor management, and internal capabilities required to deliver the program effectively.

14. Risk assessment - Financial, operational, reputational, legal, or compliance risks associated with delivering, or sunsetting the program.

15. Scalability and future viability - Whether the program can grow, adapt, or modernize as industry and member needs change.

16. Impact metrics - Measurable outcomes (knowledge gain, policy wins, engagement increases, satisfaction scores, credential value, etc.).

17. Opportunity cost - What other initiatives could be pursued if time, budget, or staff bandwidth were redirected.

Common program evaluation tools and tactics

Here are some program evaluation tools and examples:

• Strategic Plan: Include program evaluation as a strategic plan tactic to gain support from leadership and staff to ensure there is an appetite to evaluate programs and resource allocation.

• Surveys and Questionnaires: Simple tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms allow you to gather feedback quickly and efficiently. They’re great for measuring relevancy, satisfaction, knowledge gain, and behavior change.

• Focus Groups and Interviews: An unbiased moderator can help you collect qualitative data that adds depth to your evaluation.

• Performance Dashboards: Tools like Tableau, Power BI or Excel functions turn data into visual reports, making it easier to track key performance indicators in real time.

• Timing: Conduct your program reviews so the results can be considered when crafting your budget.

• Outsource Your Evaluation: Bring in an unbiased facilitator to evaluate your programs, conduct your surveys, interviews and evaluation.

  
  

Use visuals to share program evaluation findings with the Board and membership so data points are easy to digest.

Wise Strategies Group offers program assessments to align your mission and goals, strengthen member impact, sharpen priorities and drive outcomes.