Evaluating co-production and measuring impact
Measuring What Matters is a simple and practical tool for anyone undertaking evaluation, to help them ask the right questions, of the right people, in the right way. There is a huge amount of guidance available to organisations regarding evaluation, but the landscape can be hard to navigate. It is not always easy to separate the good advice from the bad, to know which advice is relevant and which isn’t, and to know exactly how you should gather […]
This guide is written for people (primarily social entrepreneurs but it also applies much more widely) who want to maximise their positive impact and want a practical approach to help them do that. The key to this approach is ‘Impact Thinking’ and at its heart this means involving and being accountable to stakeholders, primarily those that you aim to support. It is about collecting data from stakeholders to improve the design of products or services […]
Evaluation has many benefits for you and your project. It highlights your achievements as well as your areas for development, and helps you to progress towards your project outcomes. It gives you useful information to report to current or potential funders, and it helps you to improve the way you run your services. This brief guide will help you think about the benefits of evaluation and how to get started. It also provides links to additional […]
Choosing the correct impact data to collect can often be a confusing hurdle for charities faced with the constraints of limited resources. In September 2015 we hosted an event to try and demystify this topic, and to help attendees understand the best to approach impact data collection. This short briefing summarises advice from the speakers on the day, and draws on the experience of those in attendance. The main themes discussed were: the different types of impact […]
Many evaluations include a process of developing logic models and theories of change – an explanation of how the activities of a program, project, policy, network or event are expected to contribute to particular results in the short-term and longer-term. They have been used for many years – versions can be seen in Carol Weiss’ 1972 book “Evaluation research: methods for assessing program effectiveness” – and they have been mainstreamed in many organisations as an essential component of […]
Both understanding and evaluating social change are complex undertakings. A variety of approaches and standards are currently used across the field, by projects, research, and policy; and often these do not join up or speak of the same outcomes and indicators. There is a history of conversations about these issues, which we wanted to build on within the context of associated policy, practice and research development in Wales. On 17th April 2018, the Co-production Network for Wales, with support from Welsh Government and the Wales School […]
To support those undertaking evaluation, Data Cymru have launched an Evaluation Guide. Developed with support from national partners, the guide serves as an introduction to evaluation and sets out the key steps and factors that need to be considered when planning evaluation. The guide does not try to be the definitive source of information on evaluation. It seeks to cover the key concepts and terminology, including evaluation types, evidence bases and measuring options. It aims to convey […]
Cardiff University have put together a workbook on an effective approach to community engagement and consultation. Read it in full.
A really useful paper from Evaluation Support Scotland including 10 principles to think about when planning or doing evaluation in the context of asset-based approaches. “People in the third sector and funders tell us that they need to evaluate their asset based work for funders, policy-makers and for their own improvement. But they face the challenge of how to reconcile the need for evidence of impact of asset-based programmes, whilst maintaining informal approaches in practice. They need to show […]
Uscreates has launched a downloadable, interactive toolkit that can help you get the most out of Social Value measurement. The toolkit offers tips from hands-on, practitioner experience to make Social Value meaningful to stakeholders, and includes handy worksheets, video interviews and case studies. http://uscreates.com/2014/07/24/introducing-the-social-value-measurement-toolkit/ (via Forum for the Future)
