The growth of mediation as a conflict resolution process has led to the establishment of mediation programs in the courts, public agencies, non-profit settings and the private sector. A fundamental challenge for any such program is to determine whether it is a success.

"Success" is usually considered a function of whether and how the goals of the program are being met. Programs have a variety of reasons for examining whether they are meeting their goals: to meet the demands of reporting to program funders, for quality control, and for planning improvements to existing services.

The choice of method for conducting a program evaluation is critical, because the way in which "success" is defined for purposes of evaluation influences how mediators conduct their interventions. In other words, mediators will aim for "success" as the evaluation program defines it.

Traditional quantitative research provides answers to some evaluation questions, such as how many cases have settled, how much time it took each case to settle, and how much the process cost. But, measures of efficiency and speed seldom address matters of quality. If a mediation program wants to look beyond efficiency and speed, and to explore the quality of services delivered, another approach is needed. The Institute offers qualitative program evaluation research to meet this need.

Qualitative program evaluation research is conducted in the natural setting of the program, using interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, case studies, discourse analysis and other approaches. In consultation with the program administrators, the Institute will design a research approach and submit a proposal that is appropriate for:

• The goals of the mediation program;
• The setting of the program,
• The reporting, planning or quality control needs of the program- and
• The budget of the program.

Through qualitative program evaluation research, critical and meaningful information about the mediation program and the quality of its services can be discovered:

• What do participants in the mediation process experience?
• What do participants in the mediation process value?
• What impact has the mediation process had on the participants?
• What affects a participant's satisfaction with the mediation process?
• What affects a participant's satisfaction with the outcome of mediation?
• What do participants expect from the mediation process?
• What do the mediators experience?
• What do the mediators value, and how does it shape their interventions?
• In a larger context, such as a workplace environment, what impact does the mediation program have on the quality of life?
• What is the relationship between policy and practice?