CASE FILE 002 of 4
Inside the Report
Custom eLearning · Reach360
Embedded Files
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The Starting Point
Public Diplomacy practitioners were expected to read and interpret evaluation findings, a task that appeared to require training of its own. Congress later formalized the requirement, calling for training to help Foreign Service Officers and Locally Employed Staff interpret evaluation findings. The subject investigated this peculiar arrangement and developed Reading and Interpreting Public Diplomacy Findings, an asynchronous course hosted on Reach360.
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Follow the Trail
The trail follows the subject from the initial observation through the decision and production steps that turned the learning need into two audio guides.
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The Big Picture
THE PATTERN
Not all teams had an evaluation to interpret. When findings were available, staff often avoided using them or paid private companies to make sense of the results. The pattern was remarkably consistent: someone else was usually asked to explain the findings.
THE PROBLEM
Staff didn't need to become evaluators. They needed to understand reports well enough to apply the findings. Many didn't know where to begin, or felt overwhelmed by unfamiliar terminology. The terminology alone seemed capable of turning a useful report into an object best left unopened.
THE RESULT
The case study gave staff a concrete way to connect unfamiliar evaluation concepts to a program they already understood. Learner feedback indicated that the course was effective but too long, giving us a clear direction for future iteration.
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The Reflection
WHAT WENT WELL
Learners were involved throughout development rather than waiting until the course was finished. Interviews conducted before and during the build gave the audience opportunities to shape the content, and their feedback was incorporated directly into the course as development continued.
WHAT SHE'd CHANGE
The course could be broken into smaller, independent lessons so learners could engage with the material in shorter, more manageable sessions.
WHAT SHE LEARNED
The subject learned that 'basic' is rarely universal. The SME's familiarity with monitoring and evaluation made certain concepts feel self-explanatory, while learners encountering them for the first time needed considerably more context. The subject learned to negotiate that gap, preserving the expert's meaning while translating the material into language learners could actually use.
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