The resources listed below are our core evaluation support guides. These guides can support you at each step of the evaluation pathway.
For more guides, method sheets and evaluation tools visit the resources section of our website.
Support Guide 1a – Setting outcomes
This guide helps organisations work out what their outcomes are and how to write them.
Support Guide 1b – Working out what to measure (Setting indicators)
This guide explains ways to develop and use indicators to help measure outcomes.
Support Guide 1c – Developing a Logic Model
This is a practical guide that focuses on how you put together a basic logic model to help you think about your aims, outcomes and activities.
Support Guide 2a – Designing evidence collection methods
This guide covers things organisations should think about when designing a suitable evaluation method for the evidence they want to collect.
Support Guide 2b – Storing Evidence
This guide looks at how organisations can store the information they need to use in evaluation.
Support Guide 3a – Analysing information for evaluation
This guide covers how organisations can analyse and make sense of the information they have gathered through evaluation so they can write reports.
Support Guide 3b – Report writing
This guide helps organisations think about how to turn their evaluation information in to a report for funders and others.
Support Guide 3c – Case studies
This guide looks at how organisations can use case studies to illustrate the impact of their work. Case studies not only help to bring reports to life, but they can be used in a variety of other ways depending on the audience and purpose.
Support Guide 4a – Acting on your learning from evaluation
This support guide explains the many different ways you can use evaluation for example to get better at what you do, to engage service users, or to secure funding.
Support Guide 4b – Reflective practice
In this support guide there are suggestions of tools to prompt reflective practice.
Support Guide 5a – Getting the best from an external evaluation
This guide covers how you can get the best from an external evaluation.
Method sheets
ESS Evaluation Method: Body map
Body maps can be used as a creative way of evaluating your project.
ESS Evaluation Method: Choosing pictures
This method can be used with a group or as a one to one activity. People are invited to pick a card in response to a specific question or idea.
ESS Evaluation Method: Emotional touchpoints
Emotional touchpoints are used to identify key points in people’s experiences of services.
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: Creative writing
Creative or expressive writing isn’t for everyone but it can be very powerful both as an activity and as an evaluation tool.
ESS Evaluation Method: Evaluation Wheel
The evaluation wheel is a creative and flexible tool to collect information on outcomes in a simple and accessible manner.
ESS Evaluation Method: Capturing casual moments – template
Capturing casual moments template
ESS Evaluation Method: Sticky wall
A sticky wall is one way to collect qualitative feedback about outcomes from a large group.
ESS Evaluation Method: Tactile feedback
This method uses textures to represent how someone feels about one or more topics.
ESS Evaluation Method: Observation
Staff or volunteers observe clients taking part in activities and record information to evidence outcomes.
ESS Evaluation Method: Using social media to evaluate other activities
This method sheet can show you how to capture useful evidence from social media.
