Call for Expressions of Interest: Strategic Evaluation of SIOP Awards Program

SIOP and the SIOP Foundation sponsor many different types of awards, scholarships/fellowships, and grants that recognize and benefit SIOP members. Donations are channeled through these instruments with the goal of furthering the impact of I-O psychology on the workplace and society. The awards program serves a critical mission in recognizing the considerable achievements of SIOP members and for facilitating future research and practice on topics that are important to the field. 

Although recognition of members’ achievement is clearly a worthy goal unto itself, SIOP leadership and other key stakeholder groups (award donors, Award Committee leaders, Foundation Trustees) believe that a clearer line of sight should be established between the awards program and valued outcomes. The impact of the SIOP awards on the field of I-O is not very well known simply because it is not currently measured. 

SIOP leadership and SIOP Foundation Trustees have agreed that determining the impact of awards on our field is appropriate and necessary. In addition to informing current and future donors as to the impact of their contributions, the results from these evaluations would also facilitate course corrections and program enhancements, heighten the impact of the awards program, and promote the visibility of our field’s overall contributions to both psychology and society.  

To fully realize and effectively communicate the value of our awards program, it will be necessary to create a stream of evidence that reveals a clear link between the program and its goals and desired outcomes. As such, this RFI has been developed to solicit interest in conducting a strategic evaluation of the SIOP awards program.

Project Description

The awards offered through SIOP and the SIOP Foundation have been categorized by theme and strategic intent. The focus of this project will be on the Graduate Student Scholarships and Fellowships award category. 

At minimum, the evaluation should focus on this award category’s short- and long-term impact on recipients, how well it has met donors’ objectives, and the extent to which it has enhanced member engagement with SIOP.  It will also be important to evaluate how well this award category aligns with SIOP’s mission, vision, values, and its newly developed strategic goals.  Other evaluation questions will likely arise during discussions with these and other stakeholders. 

Experience Needed and Deliverables

Experience with program evaluation will be key. Project teams may be assembled that include practitioners, academics, or academic and practitioner partnerships. Alternatively, a professor teaching program evaluation may lead a team of graduate students in conducting this evaluation.

Deliverables would include

• A detailed plan for the evaluation prior to project initiation including:
  • Stakeholder identification
  • Evaluation questions
  • Data collection methodology
  • Plan for analyzing and interpreting the data
• Final report
  • Executive Summary
  • Background (the program’s objectives and activities)
  • Evaluation questions
  • Methodology (data collection and analysis)
  • Findings
  • Conclusions and recommendations

Statements of interest are due Dec. 11. For the full submission timeline, submission guidelines, and the Awards Strategy Planning and Implementation Subcommittee, follow this link. This project is to be considered strictly pro bono.