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November 15, 2017

Nexus LAB: Evaluation Framework and Instrument

About the Evaluation Framework & Instrument

The Nexus LAB team, in partnership with TrueBearing Consulting, Educopia Institute, and the Center for Creative Leadership, issued this fully validated, adaptable, and customizable evaluation instrument in 2017. The evaluation instrument is based on rigorously validated leadership competencies documented in the “Layers of Leadership” publication produced by the Nexus LAB team under the guidance of the Educopia Institute and the Center for Creative Leadership.

Please note that this is a validated evaluation framework and instrument, not a fully configured tool. (The Nexus LAB team hopes to build a tool to support trainers in a follow-on project.) At this time, instructors can use our well-documented framework and instrument to 1) identify the specific competencies their training addresses and 2) to pull the corresponding questions for pre- and post-training assessments. Instructors can then populate the survey tool of their choice (SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo, Zoho, GoogleForms, etc.) with those questions, ensuring they have reliable and validated assessment measures that evaluate student learning according to competencies.

The evaluation framework and instrument is freely available for trainers and workshop leaders to adopt, adapt, and use when delivering leadership development and training offerings. The development of the evaluation framework and instrument was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [Award Number: RE-00-14-0095-14].

Using the Evaluation Framework & Instrument

This framework and instrument is deliberately structured around a range of high-demand leadership competencies across library, archives, and museum environments that have been identified by the Nexus LAB team. These competencies are described and related directly to a range of leadership functions commonly encountered in a career in the Nexus LAB “Layers of Leadership” publication. These functions include the following: “Leading Self,” “Leading Others,” “Leading the Department,” “Leading Multiple Departments,” “Leading the Organization,” and “Leading the Profession.”

Trainers should begin by identifying the Layers and Competencies in the Nexus LAB “Layers of Leadership” to which their own training offerings correspond, and using that information, select the questions in the evaluation framework and instrument that match those layers and competencies.

The framework and instrument includes the following:

  • A Pre-Training Skills Assessment to gather baseline data about individual learners. This pre-training assessment includes common questions that can be presented to all learners, and an additional set of custom-selected questions that the instructor will identify according to the Layers and Competencies addressed by the specific offering.
  • A Post-Training Evaluation (Immediate Post-Event) to measure individual learners’ learning immediately after the training event. This post-training assessment includes common questions that can be presented to all learners, and an additional set of custom-selected questions that the instructor will identify according to the Layers and Competencies addressed by the specific offering.
  • A Post-Training Evaluation (3-Month) to measure individual learners’ learning and applied skills three months after the training event. This post-training assessment includes common questions that can be presented to all learners, and an additional set of custom-selected questions that the instructor will identify according to the Layers and Competencies addressed by the specific offering.

Trainers are encouraged to use the Nexus LAB Leadership Evaluation Instrument as it fits their programmatic needs. It is intentionally flexible and customizable to fit a wide variety of continuing education and professional development offerings, from conference workshops to components within larger scale leadership development programs. These three assessment components can be used as a series; they can also be used separately. Trainers are also welcome to combine the questions included in these assessment components with other questions of their own.

We encourage trainers and workshop leaders to adapt the framework and instrument as needed.

License

Nexus LAB evaluation framework and instrument development was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [Award Number: RE-00-14-0095-14]. All Nexus materials referenced in this User’s Guide are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license means you are welcome to share and adapt, transform, and build upon this material, even for commercial purposes, as long as you give appropriate credit and distribute future contributions under the same license.

About Nexus LAB

Nexus LAB is an Educopia Institute-led project to build community and resources for those who provide leadership development and training opportunities to staff members of museums, archives, and libraries. The Nexus LAB project team includes more than 30 associations, programs, and trainers drawn from across the United States, broadly representing the many facets of these fields.