Session A – Introduction to Evaluation and Trends in Evaluation Practice
This introductory session will look at the importance of evaluation to the policy development and implementation process and assess in some detail the following key issues:
1. What can be evaluated in Neighbourhood Renewal Programmes and Projects? This will look at the different types of evaluation questions that can be asked.
2. Where does monitoring fit in? This will look at the key differences between monitoring and evaluation and how monitoring is not a substitute for effective evaluation.
3. The Language of Evaluation. This will look at some of the definitions that are used in evaluation including outputs, outcomes, impact, soft outcomes, distanced travelled etc.
4. How does evaluation relate to an organisation’s aims and objectives?
5. Why bother? How do organisations benefit from doing evaluation? This look as the range of benefits that accrue from effective evaluation that include learning lessons and as a basis for bidding for future resources.
6. Who needs to be involved in evaluation within a Project? – This will look at the range of stakeholders that are required to be involved in any evaluation strategy.
7. Who will do the work? – This is a key element of this session and outlines the range of external and internal organisations and individuals that could undertake the evaluation process.
8. Consent and Assent – This will look at the issue of data collection from individuals and organisations and assess how gaining consent and explaining how the data is and reported upon is vital to the whole evaluation process.
9. The Evaluation Process - This will look at the best time to evaluate a neighbourhood renewal project or programme, the frequency of evaluation activity and the range of evaluation techniques that can be used in evaluation activity.
Session B – The Evaluation Toolkit
This session will provide a range of key pointers for participants to assist and advise when developing evaluation strategies and the following topics will be covered:
- Drawing up the Evaluation Brief – This will provide advice and guidance on the key details that need to be in a brief when commissioning evaluation strategies.
- Managing the Evaluation Process – This will provide a range of pointer on the how to manage an evaluation process, whether it is undertaken externally or internally to the organisation in question.
- Key Issues to Remember About Evaluation – This covers this issue of managing user expectations of an evaluation processes and highlighting the drawbacks of implementing an evaluation strategy that may be well meaning but is not appropriate to the programme in question.
- How to Obtain User Feedback – This provides details of a range of specific techniques that can be used to gather the feedback and comments of services users and project beneficiaries within the evaluation processes. This includes advice on how to conduct focus groups, how to conduct interview with vulnerable adults, how to conduct interviews with children and advice on the use of techniques such as graffiti walls and overt beneficiary observation.
- Guide to Effective Data Analysis – The section of the presentation assesses in detail how to analysis the range of data that is provided by a range of organisations to measure the effectiveness of your programme and collating the data into one meaningful evaluation and analysis report.
- How to Measure the Softer Impacts of Regeneration Programmes – The section provides a range of key pointers in how to measure the elements of a regeneration and renewal programme that are commonly referred to as Soft Outcomes and Impacts. These are generally related to projects that supported people based projects and how the well being, emotional and physical aspects of beneficiaries are changed as they progress through a regeneration programme.
- Guide to the use of Information Technology – This is a new part of this presentation and highlights how developments in Social Networking such as ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ are now starting to be used to assist with evaluation activity. It also looks at the range of programme development and management software programmes that are in use to assist with evaluation activity.
Session C – Case Studies of Evaluation in Practice
This element of the presentation looks at three Case Studies of Evaluation Implementation in the UK and includes the examples of:
(a) Halton Borough Council and its Neighbourhood Renewal Programmes. This will look at the development of a co-ordinated approach to attempt to develop a corporate evaluation strategy and highlight the range of training and support measures that were put in place to promote effective evaluation.
(b) The Welsh Assembly Communities First Programme. This will look at the range of local and national level processes that have been put in place to assess the direct and indirect effects of this neighbourhood renewal programme.
(c) East Brighton New Deal for Communities Programme. This will look back at the evaluation strategy that was implemented during the last few years of this programme.
Session D – Evaluation Group Work Exercises
This is an interactive element of the programme where participants on the training day work in groups of four to see how they would evaluate some real life examples of regeneration programmes and then compare their answers to what actually took place. We have about 25 examples that can be used and on each training day four or five are used which are of relevance to those attending the training programme
Session E – What to do with an Evaluation Report when it have been completed
As the session begins to draw to an end for the day this element of the session provides some advice on how to produce an effective Evaluation Report and how to communicate its findings to a range of interested parties. Advice is provided here on a number of topics that include:
(a) How to report the findings of an Evaluation to the local residents and communities. This will provide advice and guidance on how to present the findings of an evaluation in the form area forums, road-shows and community meetings etc.
(b) How to use your Evaluation Report as a basis for bidding for future resources to continue to regenerate your local community. This is becoming an increasingly important element of any evaluation report particularly where there are competing demands upon limited financial resources.
(c) How to deal with negative conclusions that have been made within the evaluation report. Invariably any effective evaluation process will highlight aspects of a programme that could have been delivered more effectively and advice is this area is crucial in learning lessons.
(d) How to present your Evaluation Report to the wider policy and academic community. Advice is provided on how to prepare for a presentation of your evaluation to an conference or as a report in an appropriate policy journal.
Session F – Wrap Up Session
The training day concludes by summing up the key messages that have disseminated during the day and answering and debating any points that have been raised by participants.
