Project Evaluation Evaluation is about collecting and considering information about any aspect of a project or activity. It is part of a process of judging how effectively you are doing what you set out to do. It can also highlight any unexpected things that you have learned and indicate where you may need to change your work.
Overall Guidance
The Project Cycle Management (PCM) process used in the New Deal for Communities programme emphasises the importance of evaluation as part of an ongoing cycle of thinking, reflecting on and changing your project to respond to changing needs and circumstances.
The guidance below explains what evaluation is, how you can get the most from it, and explains the process in detail.
Click here to download Evaluation Guidance - (Microsoft Word) [604K]
What do you want to know?
The first stage is to establish what questions you want answered by the evaluation. This may sound simple, but the more precise you are and the more you make your questions specific and relevant to your project, the more accurate and helpful the results will be.
Click here to download Questions to establish the purpose of an evaluation - (Microsoft Word) [22K]
The Evaluation Tree
This can help with planning the evaluation process. Using the image of a tree gives you a sense of how all the aspects of the project are related and helps to identify what questions need to be asked and what information gathered.
Click here to download the Evaluation Tree - (Microsoft Word) [40K]
Click here to download the Evaluation Tree Framework - (Microsoft Word) [118K]
Planning your own evaluation
Once you know what you are going to ask, the next stage is to define who you will ask questions (anyone involved in your project - the stakeholders), how long you plan the process to take, and whether there are going to be any costs related to this (for example hiring rooms for focus groups, paying for transport costs, paying someone to do data analysis for you). The Logframe Record may help with checking that all your questions, sources of evidence and aims match up.
Before you start the evaluation use the Planning Checklist to honestly consider whether the time, resources and approach you have planned are really going to give you a thorough and balanced evaluation.
Click here to download the Stakeholder Record - (Microsoft Word) [21K]
Click here to download Planning Actions and Budget - (Microsoft Word) [24K]
Click here to download the Logframe Planning Record - (Microsoft Word) [23K]
Click here to download the Evaluation Planning Checklist - (Microsoft Word) [82K]
Inviting someone else in
There are advantages to getting someone from outside to conduct an evaluation: they may be more objective and avoid biases or history. They may be able to ask questions that someone in the organisation could not ask. They may find it easier to talk to people who use the project and get them to speak honestly. Balanced against this though is the cost of paying a consultant and the additional time required to explain to them the aims and background of the project.
If you do decide to use someone from outside the project, then this template can be useful in making sure you all agree the aims, timeframe and methods of the evaluation at the start. Again, the clearer you are about what you want to find out, and the more guidance you can give the consultant, the better the outcome.
Click here to download the Evaluation Brief Template - (Microsoft Word) [23K]
The Report
At the end of an evaluation there is usually a report - though this may not always be a written report and will be different depending on who it is for and what you wanted to achieve. The report will explain to others what you were trying to find out, how the evaluation was done, what the main findings are and what is recommended next. It should fairly highlight the positives and negatives, and provide a clear argument for what should be done next.
Make sure you are very clear who the report is for. Then make the layout, language and structure appropriate for that audience. You want it to be noticed!
Click here to download an Evaluation Report Template - (Microsoft Word) [27K]
Taking action afterwards
The evaluation will probably identify a number of things that could be changed to make them better, or to suit changing needs in the community. It is very easy to see an evaluation as the end of the story, but in fact it is part of a continuing process of reflecting on what you are doing, changing, and then considering whether the changes have made an improvement.
It's very important to be realistic about how long the changes will take, whether they will cost time or money, who will be responsible for them and how you will know when they are done.
Click here to download a sample Action Plan - (Microsoft Word) [31K]
We hope you can find what you're looking for. For further information about our funding or projects, please contact Jenni Cresswell, Programme Manager on 01273 296766 or email: jenni.cresswell@eb4u.org.uk