This article reports on the evaluability assessment (EA) of a program to prevent substance use among young people transitioning from primary to secondary school. Termed Network Intervention (NI), the program is implemented among fifth- and sixth-grade students from five primary schools within a single school board in Quebec. Drawing from qualitative data gathered via interviews, meeting notes and the patient navigator’s logbook, the study allowed a better understanding of the program and its logic model, a tool necessary for the coming evaluation activities. The EA has proven useful not only for the evaluation team but also for the initiators of the program and those involved in the implementation. Recommendations are made to better conduct the process of an EA.

Evaluability assessment (EA) was conceptualized in the late 1970s following the finding of poor program implementation quality and inability of evaluations  to meet stakeholders' needs. EA is an approach that might allow improvement to  both the program and the evaluation to be conducted later. In fact, EA may, on  the one hand help clarify a program theory and on the other hand, facilitate the  elaboration of the logic model, which are helpful for program implementation. When conducted by an evaluator or team of evaluators with the required skills, EA may also help to gather useful information in support of the program's summative and formative evaluation. EA is considered an exploratory type of evaluations that can be conducted over a period of few weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the program and its scope.