Evaluation is a term many of us have probably heard of but are unsure what it actually involves. Where do I start with evaluation, what do I want to evaluate, where can I access support to complete an evaluation, what data do I collect. These are probably all questions that you have asked previously when looking at evaluation.
To help you get started, we spoke to Piper Normoyle (HLC Health Broker - Evaluation).
What is Evaluation?
Evaluation is the overarching term linked to the process of understanding impact and effect. Evaluation can determine if something is working, if something is not working and better yet, what we can do to improve our service in meeting our planned outcomes. Evaluation does not have to be difficult. There are thousands of templates and tools available to support you to complete simple evaluations in your own work, from starting as a beginner to advanced experts in evaluation practice.
What are the benefits of Evaluation?
Evaluation has many benefits. Understanding what is working and what is not working is key to service improvement and continual delivery of outcomes across all aspects of the community and government. Aspects of what evaluation can help you to understand include:
- Am I communication effectively with stakeholders?
- Is my program achieving the outcomes planned at the beginning?
- What challenges and barriers are preventing the accomplishment of outcomes?
- Who is being affected by my service? How is it affecting them?
These are just some examples of what evaluation can be used for, but it is not limited to what can be achieved.
Who can Evaluate?
The answer is simple. Everyone can evaluate. Armed with the right templates and tools, the process of evaluation is achievable for all looking to understand their service or program better. You don’t have to be an expert in one particular field to complete evaluation, just come with the attitude of wanting to learn and improve what can be improved.
Where do I start?
As mentioned, there are heaps of useful resources available to help you get started on your evaluation. The following are fantastic, trusted websites with great templates to help you through the process:
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Guide
- Australian Government Evaluation Toolkit
- Australian Institute of Family Studies – Planning an Evaluation Guide
The main thing to note when you are completing an evaluation, is that best practice is to begin your evaluation planning at the beginning of your service delivery/program delivery. This enables you to plan at what stages of project delivery you will collect key data and when to involve specific stakeholders in the data collection process (surveying and focus groups).
So, where to now?
Now that you are equipped with all the tools and templates, it’s time to begin your evaluation plan. Before you begin, have an internal look at your organization and identify who may best support you in completing your evaluation. Most organisation have staff that work in any of the following: change management, evaluation, community engagement, service review specialist, strategic planners – all of which will be able to provide advice on data collection and evaluation planning.
Let’s get evaluating!
For more information or questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected]
