Thriving Rural Communities Initiative Summative Evaluation Report

May 01, 2014
  • Description

This report is based on information collected from 2006 through 2013. CAPD began our work on this evaluation via interviews with some of TRCI's key stakeholders at The Duke Endowment (TDE), the Duke Divinity School (DDS) and each of the two United Methodist Conferences in the state of North Carolina: the North Carolina United Methodist Conference (NCUMC) and the Western North Carolina United Methodist Conference (WNCUMC). The purpose was to better understand their intentions for TRCI, and what they thought might constitute reasonable markers of progress and success during its initial years. We also did a modest and targeted literature review, looking at indicators of thriving churches and effective clergy leadership. From this process, we developed an evaluation design, including a phased set of evaluation questions.