Posts tagged ‘evaluation’
Outcome mapping lab 2014, Tanzania, September 2014
Outcome mapping is an evaluation technique that is growing in use and interest. The Outcome Mapping Learning Community is hosting their third annual event this year in September in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The OM Lab 2014 is a three-day training and knowledge sharing event to explore the value Outcome Mapping can add to monitoring and evaluation in complex programmes.
Learn more about the three-day programme>> (pdf)
10 evaluation infographics
Infographics are visual images used to represent information and/or data. Increasingly we see infographics used to communicate key evaluation findings. It can be an excellent tool to communication key findings quickly and to reach diverse audiences. The presentation below contains 10 evaluation infographic that I’ve collated from various evaluations. I think these examples show the different possibilities and options for how you can use this tool to communicate key findings.
(disclaimer – I’ve been involved in one of the evaluations featured – that done by Oxfam)
Two evaluation workshops in Switzerland – 2014
An often-overlooked step in evaluation is ensuring that findings are communicated, understood and acted upon. Equally important, however,is what, how and when we communicate with different stakeholders throughout the evaluation process. Communicating effectively implies using different means,messages and methods to reach different groups with very different needs and expectations.
2) Addressing complexity in evaluation – June 5 and 6, 2014
Increasingly evaluations have to address programs, projects and policies with complex aspects. The activities and objectives of these interventions are fundamentally dynamic and emergent in response to needs and opportunities, and they often involve multiple organisations with emergent and unpredictable roles. These characteristics present challenges to traditional evaluation approaches.
The workshop will examine the particular challenges that complexity presents and explore practical strategies for evaluation, including developmental evaluation, use of non-linear logic models, and emergent evaluation design. The workshop will include case studies of successful and unsuccessful attempts to address complexity in evaluation. It will also provide opportunities to analyse participants’ own examples in terms of identifying the particular challenges that complexity presents and how the different strategies might be applied.
The workshop will be facilitated by Professor Patricia Rogers, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia.
Both courses will will be held in the Federal Office of Personnel, Bern, Switzerland. Please note that there are no scholarships or travel funds available for these courses.
New article: Evaluation of IO/INGO communication activities
I’ve just had an article published in the journal PR Review. It’s the first article of my ongoing PhD on communication evaluation in intergovernmental organizations and NGOs. Below is the Abstract or if you are really keen you can download the full article below.
Abstract
Evaluation of international and non-governmental organizations’ communication activities: A 15 year systematic review
The purpose of this paper is to understand how intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations have evaluated their communication activities and adhered to principles of evaluation methodology from 1995–2010 based on a systematic review of available evaluation reports (N = 46) and guidelines (N = 9). Most evaluations were compliant with principle 1 (defining communication objectives), principle 2 (combining evaluation methods), principle 4 (focusing on outcomes) and principle 5 (evaluating for continued improvement). Compliance was least with principle 3 (using a rigorous design) and principle 6 (linking to organizational goals). Evaluation was found not to be integrated, adopted widely or rigorously in these organizations.
Presenting evaluation findings – Using Prezi
I’ve written before about the challenges of presenting evaluation findings – and the need to find creative ways to present findings. No doubt many readers would have already come across Prezi, a new presentation software that you see used often these days. I’ve recently worked on a research project for the Joint Standards Initiative where we presented our research results in a Prezi as you can see displayed below. It is allows the results to presented in visually appealing way and I believe communicates well the main points.
This Prezi was produced by Peter from YourPrezi.
A guide to monitoring government policies
We often focus on the evaluation of advocacy that aims to influence government policies – but another important aspect is to monitor government policy as it develops (or not).
Here is a useful guide from CAFOD, Trocaire and Christian Aid on this subject: Monitoring government policies: A toolkit for civil society organisations in Africa (pdf).
It explains very well how policy is developed and when and how it can be monitored – very informative.
Surveys for communicators
Increasingly communicators need the ability to evaluate their activities – being able to design and set-up online surveys is a key tool for communicators for soliciting feedback and interacting with audiences. Here are the slides from a practical workshop that I conducted last Friday for the Geneva Communicators Network and covers surveys for communicators from concept to analysis – hope it’s of use!
Communicating Evaluation Findings: Advice from the Field
An interesting post on the Learning Portal for Design, Monitoring and Evaluation for Peacebuilding that focuses on communicating evaluation findings and brings forward three tips for those who hope to influence decisions with evaluation data:
- Answer the right questions;
- Speak their language;
- Be humble.
What I Wish I Had Known in My Beginner Evaluator Days
An excellent post from Priya Small on the AEA365 blog where she describes what she wish she’d known in her beginner evaluation days. Some of the points she highlights are:
– Listen more, speak less
– Observe more, take less notes
– Compete less and cooperate more – Team work has great potential to produce optimal outcomes
From my experience as an evaluator, I would add the following:
– the process is important as the report: I realised later in the day…the actual act of undertaking an evaluation can have a significant influence on the concerned organisation and its stakeholders – so you should be aware of this and not only focus on the “end product” – usually the final written report.
– evaluation is scary for some: yes, simple as it seems, when the evaluation team arrives it can be misperceived as being the creators or bearers of bad news – job/project/budget cuts – so it helps that evaluators are able to explain well the purpose of their work.
– evaluators need to be guided but not too guided: Organisations employing evaluation teams want an independent evaluation – then again, they often want to mold the evaluation process in their own views – interview these persons, see these documents, etc. I learnt that evaluators sometimes have to be insistent in designing the evaluation to get the best results. I heard a good suggestion recently where an evaluation team insisted that a follow-up process be included in the evaluation planning.
There are certainly more lessons learnt about data collection, budgets, deadlines and reports – but I leave that for next time…!
Advocacy campaigns and policy influence
Influencing policy is often an aim of many advocacy campaigns – the notion of trying to bring about change in the policy of governments, the private sector or even international organisations (e.g. UN). Here are two interesting publications in this area:
“Pathways for change: 6 Theories about How Policy Change Happens (pdf)” of the US-based Organization Research Services describes different theories as to how policy change can occur – interesting reading for those trying to influence policy.
“A guide to monitoring and evaluating policy influence (pdf)” of the UK-based Overseas Development Institute describes the different approaches to evaluating policy influence – i.e. how you can evaluate your efforts to influence policy.
Both publications are worth a read if you are interested in policy influence and advocacy campaigning.
intelligent measurement 