Budgeting

Budgeting involves identifying probable areas of expense for an evaluation and determining the costs associated with those expense areas. A budget for an evaluation typically includes the following: salaries or compensation for the evaluator(s), the clerical staff, and any consultant(s); materials, supplies, and equipment; communications, printing, and reproduction; travel and associated expenses; facilities; overhead and general administrative costs; and miscellaneous or contingency costs. Table 1 shows an example of such a budget.

Beyond creating the budget, the evaluator should review the proposed budget, comparing it against the actual expenditures, on a regular basis and make needed adjustments to avoid overrunning the budget. If adjustments cannot be made, the evaluator should immediately notify the client and important stakeholders. Furthermore, in some evaluations, information on the budget, to-date ...