Thanks, Caitlin, for your thoughtful question which I understand to be focused on evaluation of training events vs. assessment of an organization. For a number of years I have been conducting training seminars and workshops for professional caregivers that address secondary trauma and caregiver resiliency. How do I evaluate if a training workshop or seminar has been successful? My approach is essentially qualitative and quite straightforward, as I ask the group to voice or "shout out" at the end of the training event, "what were the highlights for you?", "what will you take with you into your life and work day?", "were there any difficulties or problems in the training event--and if so,how could the training be improved?" I find that using this simple qualitative process provides a sense of closure and validation to the group-- it also gives me a useful perspective on the effectiveness of the training event. Frequently host organization also provide a page of evaluative questions using a likert-type scale (e.g. relevance or effectiveness of the training, presentation, style, materials and resources, etc.). By having the brief qualitative discussion first and writing these up on newsprint or an erasible board, I believe that the quantitative process becomes more focused as well, which seems to be helpful for everyone. Vic Compher, MSS, LCSW - Trainer and Director / Co-Producer of "Portraits of Professional CAREgivers: Their Passion. Their Pain." (www.caregiversfilm.com)