DISSEMINATION OF EVIDENCE

4

Project Evaluation

Kimberly Boynton

Grand Canyon University

HCA699- Evidence-Based Research Project

Edward Paluch

11/17/2021

Project Evaluation

Project evaluation involves a comprehensive analysis of a given initiative or project. Project evaluation considers all the stages of project development processes, such as implementation, planning, and monitoring. The information obtained from project evaluation is used in the decision-making process. There are various methods of project evaluation. They include Return on Investment (ROI), Payback method, Present Net Value (NPV), and the internal rate return (Lee & Moon, 2017). Other methods may include the use of focus groups, interviews, surveys, and questionnaires. Project evaluation is done to ensure that the project meets its intended goals and objectives. It also ensures cost-effective allocation of capital and whether the investors use the implemented method proposed during the planning process. The choice of an evaluation method is determined by simplicity, ease of communication, access by every user, clarity, and ease of interpretation of results.

Return on investment (ROI)

ROI is the ratio of the profit expected from the project and the proposed investment for the project.

ROI is used as a criterion in an evaluation process. The higher the ROI, the higher is its acceptability. The concepts about the amount of investment in a project include the number of assets, capital investment, or equity capital. Return on asset is the ratio between net profit and the assets.

Return on capital employed (ROCE) is another type of ROI. In ROCE, the net profit is expressed as a ratio except for tax of the total amount of investment capital.

Payback method

The payback period is when the time between project implementation to the time when the profit becomes equal to the total costs of the project (Witter et al., 2018). When implanting projects, the one with the lowest payback period is prioritized. This method is not suitable for the evaluation of initiatives because it prioritizes only profitable projects.

The net present value (NPV)

To understand how NPV works, we can assume that an initiative expects to obtain a revenue R1 in the initial year of project implementation and R2 in the second year, and R3 in the third year. Also, we can assume that the project's initial cost is C1, and in addition, an organization will spend Q amount in the first year, C2 in the second year, C3, C4…Cn. From this illustration, we deduct the present value of the flow of costs of the project from the current value of the flow of revenue. The result from our calculations will be the NPV.

The evaluation method that would be appropriate for my initiative is Present Net Value (NPV). This is because NPV has all the properties of project evaluation. It uses the rate of the opportunity cost of capital as the discount rate to find the present value of all the standard cots and profits. It also considers all the expected lows of losses and earnings of an initiative. Finally, it evaluates projects independently.

The proposed project is to introduce pay per performance in my organization to enhance service delivery and quality outcome. It also aims to ensure competitiveness and motivation to employees. Since it is a single project, the use of NPV would be more appropriate. The goal of the initiative is to minimize readmission cases that are high in my organization. The process evaluates planning and implementation issues, assessing the attainment of objectives, participants' impact, and community impact (Posavac, 2015). The evaluation process will start on 1st January 2022 to 30th December 2022. The evaluation process will last for 12 months. The questions that will be asked during the evaluation process include:

1. Who were the participants?

2. How many people participated

3. How many hours are participants involved?

4. What is the member satisfaction with the initiative?

5. Do the benefits of the initiative outweigh the cost?

A change in direction might be needed in the project if it does not achieve its goals. Also, a shift in order may be necessary if the project achieved its objectives but did not meet other criteria associated with successful project completion. Factors that determine the project outcome include effective communication, careful planning, and diligence.

References

Lee, C. K., & Moon, M. J. (2017). Performance Management Reforms in South Korea 1. In Public administration in East Asia (pp. 427-450). Routledge.

Posavac, E. J. (2015). Program evaluation: Methods and case studies. Routledge.

Witter, S., Brikci, N., Harris, T., Williams, R., Keen, S., Mujica, A., ... & Renner, A. (2018). The free healthcare initiative in Sierra Leone: evaluating a health system reform, 2010‐2015. The International journal of health planning and management, 33(2), 434-448.