From Findings to Insights: The Art of Interpretation in Program Evaluation
When One Chart Becomes Ten Stories
I came across this chart one night while mindlessly scrolling: it compares the actual causes of death in the United States with the amount of media coverage each receives.
At first glance, it’s straightforward. But within seconds, I realized how many different stories this single visualization could tell.
What is this chart trying to communicate?
What stands out as the main takeaway?
What conclusions can I draw about media coverage—and the gaps in what the public hears about most?
Each time I looked, I saw something new. My focus shifted depending on my own assumptions, values, and professional lens.
That moment reminded me: the art of evaluation lives in how we interpret data, not just how we collect it.
Why Data Interpretation Is the Heart of Program Evaluation
In more than a decade of working with 100+ mission-driven organizations, I’ve learned that good evaluation isn’t about declaring “the” insight. It’s about helping teams explore multiple truths and perspectives within their data—what I like to call untangling the braid.
When your organization invests in program evaluation, you’re not just asking what happened—you’re asking what it means for your team, your participants, and your strategy.
And that work happens through interpretation.
Three Ways to Move From Findings to Insights
1. Data Gallery Walk
Inspired by art galleries, this exercise turns your charts and dashboards into conversation pieces.
Print out your visuals—graphs, quotes, maps—and post them around the room. Then invite staff to walk around quietly, jotting down what catches their attention.
After a few minutes, encourage small-group discussions:
What are you noticing?
What questions does this raise?
What feels surprising or affirming?
This simple activity helps people slow down, reflect, and see beyond surface-level findings.
2. The Data Escape Room
This is one of my favorite methods, both in my university program evaluation courses and with clients.
Teams receive a “data placemat”—a condensed set of charts, quotes, and statistics about their program. Their task: work together to escape the confusion by developing key insights, patterns, and recommendations.
The first group excited to share out is the “winner,” but in truth, everyone wins—because every group’s interpretation reveals a different angle of the story.
This method builds both data literacy and shared ownership over insights.
3. Facilitated Conversations Using Art of Hosting and Technology of Participation
Sometimes, moving from findings to insights requires deeper dialogue.
Using facilitation frameworks like Art of Hosting and Technology of Participation (ToP), I guide teams through structured yet creative conversations that surface meaning and prioritize next steps.
These methods honor multiple perspectives, balance voices, and lead to insights that reflect the lived realities of everyone involved.
Turning Data Into Decisions
Program evaluation isn’t just a technical process—it’s an interpretive one.
The next time you find yourself staring at a chart, ask not just what it says, but what it means—and to whom.
That’s where transformation happens.
Because the real power of program evaluation lies in helping mission-driven organizations move from findings to insights—and from insights to strategy.
