This SGER project examines and tests the premise of staged evaluations of large, complex initiatives. The project will study and describe such a staged approach and then conduct a prototype stage-one evaluation using a current NSF Chemistry program as a way to test out the concept. The project is highly innovative as the way evaluations are structured or funded are seldom the subject of research or innovation. While pilot studies are often used in the development of instructional materials, for example, this approach is not used in conducting evaluation studies. The SGER links strongly to evaluation theory, and has the potential to articulate a new approach for conducting evaluative studies of large, complicated projects.
