Covid-19 has changed the way we all work. Third sector organisations have adapted to deliver services online, meet new and emerging needs and find new ways of working. ESS supports the third sector to evaluate and learn about their response to the crisis in order to help them strengthen their response and their recovery and guide future strategy.
We can help third sector organisations use evaluation to:
- Celebrate success
- Check they are doing the right things in the right way
- Find out what to keep doing or stop doing in future
- Share learning with others
Methods and tools to help you capture evidence
ESS Evaluation Tool: Change Record Template
This template may help you record what adjustments you have made to how you run your project (even small changes can be significant), why, and what difference this has made.
ESS Evaluation Method: Capturing casual moments
This method is a simple means for writing down service users’ actual words when staff or volunteers want to record comments in non-formal circumstances.
ESS Evaluation Method: Capturing casual moments – template
Capturing casual moments template
ESS Evaluation Method: Using case records
Using case records method sheet shows you how to make use of the information you collect during everyday practice to collect evidence of meeting your outcomes. Useful for: Organisations who
ESS Evaluation Method: Using contact forms to gather evidence during a call
ESS has developed this resource for those organisations who have recently adapted to remote delivery in light of COVID-19.
ESS Evaluation Method: Taking stock in a time of change
ESS developed this resource for those organisations who have recently adapted their service in light of COVID-19.
ESS Evaluation Method: Using social media to evaluate other activities
This method sheet can show you how to capture useful evidence from social media.
ESS Evaluation Method: Using social media to evaluate other activities – Twitter case study
Twitter case study of collecting evidence from social media
Resources to help you make sense of your evidence
Resetting after Covid-19
This useful guide discusses exercises that a third sector organisation can take to reflect on Covid-19 learning, ultimately leading to self improvement.
Crisis to Recovery (Part 1 of 2)
This is part 1 of 2 videos that contain tips and ideas to help you use your evaluation learning from Covid-19 to plan your future. They summarise the key points in our written guide ‘Resetting after Covid’.
Crisis to Recovery (Part 2 of 2)
This is part 2 of 2 videos that contain tips and ideas to help you use your evaluation learning from Covid-19 to plan your future. They summarise the key points in our written guide ‘Resetting after Covid’.
Challenges and Changes due to Covid-19: Useful questions for analysis and reporting
This 2-page document has a list key questions you can ask as you analyse your evaluation data and get ready to report on challenges and changes due to Covid-19.
- Learning from Evaluation – Recording of webinar/interview with ESS Director Steven Marwick in June 2020 about using data and learning to inform the future. Event ran by Corra foundation and Wren and Greyhound.
Evaluating the Impact of a Partnership Case Studies
In 2021, ESS ran Working Together Better – a peer learning programme to help third sector organisations and their statutory sector partners to evaluate and learn about the impact of their partnerships during the Covid-19 crisis. In these case studies below, staff from organisations that worked together share their experience of evaluating their partnership.
Evaluating the impact of a partnership case study: Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum and Scottish Prison Service
In this case study, staff from the Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) share their experiences of evaluating the impact of their partnership and how they plan to use the learning.
Evaluating the impact of a partnership case study: Glasgow Kelvin College and Leonard Cheshire
In this case study, staff from Glasgow Kelvin College and Leonard Cheshire share their experiences of evaluating the impact of their partnership and how they plan to use the learning.
Crisis to Recovery Case Studies
In 2020 and 2021 ESS supported sixteen projects affected by the Covid-19 crisis to evaluate and learn about their response to the crisis. See below for short inspiring case studies. This work was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. Many organisations are still finding the RSA matrix helpful when reflecting and planning.
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Patchwork of evidence – Questions to plan for your ‘new’ normal
As we begin to contemplate the easing of lockdown in Scotland and what phase 2 and 3 will bring in the coming months, we must begin to think about how
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Alternatives Dundee
Alternatives Dundee share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to recovery: Art in Healthcare
Room for Art is visual art and social prescribing project run by Art in Healthcare providing visual arts workshops facilitated by professional artists with the aim of improving people’s health and wellbeing.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: COWL
Carers of West Lothian offers a range of services developed to meet the needs of unpaid carers and disabled people in West Lothian.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Curnie Clubs
Curnie Clubs is a project run by Fife Alcohol Support Services, providing peer support for vulnerable people in Fife experiencing loneliness and isolation.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Eat Well Age Well
Eat Well Age Well share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: First Step Development
First Step Development helps people affected by addiction to recover and reach their potential through new wider social connections, opportunities to learn and to become more active in their communities.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Get2gether
et2gether arranges social activities for people with disabilities in safe and friendly places in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Covid-19 completely changed the course of their organisation.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: GRACE
GRACE is a local community group in East Dunbartonshire providing aftercare support and prevention activities to vulnerable adults with mental health issues, addiction, homelessness, social isolation issues or any life trauma.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Home Start West Lothian
Home Start West Lothian share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Forres Area Community Trust (FACT)
Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Kingdom Off Road Motorcycle Club
Kingdom Off Road Motorcycle Club share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: SCVO
During the Covid-19 pandemic the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) identified a marked increase in the queries relating to Human Resources (HR) and employment issues.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Sorted Project
The Sorted Project supports people in Edinburgh and the Lothians recovering from substance dependency and mental health. Prior to Covid-19 they had commissioned a canal boat which they were using as a base to run groups and activities.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: The Positive Steps Project at The Moira Anderson Foundation
The Positive Steps project at The Moira Anderson Foundation share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Westerhaven
Case study of Westerhaven, a project within The Health Agency in south-west Edinburgh and supports people affected by cancer diagnosis and life limiting conditions, including carers, family members and friends.
Crisis to Recovery Case Study: Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire (WASLER)
Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire (WASLER) share their learning about adapting and evaluating their work during the COVID-19 crisis.
Why Evaluate? Mini-Case Studies
These short case studies written early in the pandemic show how organisations used simple evaluation to shape their crisis response.
Mini-case study: Evaluating and adapting as you go
In this mini-case study, Liz Gibson from Fife Employment Access Trust shares how she has adapted her evaluation in response to the changes her organisation has made to their activities during lockdown.
Mini-case study: Getting your team on board with recording and analysing
In this mini-case study, Joe McConnell from Crossroads Youth & Community Association shares how he has adapted his evaluation in response to the changes his organisation has made to their activities during lockdown.
Mini-case study: Learning from doing things differently
In this mini-case study, Callum Wilkinson from Soil Association Scotland shares how he and his colleagues are learning from evaluation.
Mini-case study: Learning from doing things differently and using social media
In this mini-case study, Margarita Sweeney-Baird from Inclusive Skating shares how she and her colleagues are learning from evaluation.
Mini-case study: Learning from unexpected outcomes
In this mini-case study, Sara McHaffie from Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre shares how she and her colleagues are learning from evaluation.
Mini-case study: Learning from unexpected outcomes
In this mini-case study, Rachel Sutherland from East & Central Sutherland Citizens Advice Bureau shares how she and her colleagues are learning from evaluation.
Mini-case study: Using social media for evaluation
In this mini-case study, Laura Kearney from PLUS shares how she and her colleagues are learning from evaluation.
Setting Outcomes case study
Case Study: Pain Concern Helpline
This case study is about the steps Pain Concern took in order to capture the difference their telephone helpline makes for people living in chronic pain.
Evaluating on-line services
The principles for evaluating on-line are the same as any evaluation:
- Keep evaluation simple
- Build evaluation into the delivery of activities
- Ask service users how they want to feedback – and tell them what you do with it
Here are some resources to help:
Evaluating online and remote work: Challenges and Tips
On 27th October 2020, ESS held an Inspiring Impact peer-learning event on Evaluating online and remote work. This document is a summary of the challenges and tips participants shared with each other during the event.
Case Study: Pain Concern Helpline
This case study is about the steps Pain Concern took in order to capture the difference their telephone helpline makes for people living in chronic pain.
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COVID-19 has zoomed many of us on a huge learning curve! How do we deliver our services and evidence our impact in our ‘new normal’?
Here at ESS we’ve been doing our best to support third sector organisations who find themselves facing new evaluation challenges in light of the Coronavirus lockdown. For many, the way
Other Resources
- Our support guides and webinars might give you more ideas.
- Inspiring Impact has new resources to help you evaluate in the crisis here including webinars
- SCVO Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub has lots of general advice for third sector organisations.
Please adapt any of our tools to meet your own needs – we’d just ask you to reference ESS.
Looking for support from us?
Please get in touch if you want help evaluating your Covid-19 response or with online evaluation. Contact us for help and advice.
