Evaluation Support Scotland > Workshops & Events > Evaluating Policy Influence (Summer 2026/27)

Upcoming training & events

Open workshops 💡

We run training workshops throughout the year to support organisations and practitioners with their evaluation needs. Scroll down to see our upcoming training and events.

Find out more about our workshops See a full list of all workshops we offer
Commission a workshop ✏️

Our training workshops are available to commission - they can be commissioned and delivered to a group of staff within a single organisation, either in-person or online. Intermediaries, funders and local authorities can also commission us to run workshops for their members or funded organisations.

Find out more about commissioning a workshop

Online workshop 

Evaluating Policy Influence (Summer 2026/27)

Evaluating Policy Influence image
Date/timeWednesday 26th August 2026, 9.30 am – 12.30 pm
LocationOnline (Zoom)
Cost£99.00 incl VAT
Book now

Policy influencing is challenging – working out if you are making a difference is even harder!

Policy making itself is complex and work to influence policy is not linear and takes time.  Even if the change you want actually happens it’s unlikely you can say that was wholly thanks to you!

So, can you actually evaluate policy influence – and if so, how?

There are no magic answers! But this workshop will provide practical tips and tools on how to tackle the challenge. See our resource on evaluating policy influence, Charting the Waters, for more information.

At this workshop you will learn to:

  • Set realistic outcomes for policy influencing activities
  • Identify methods to collect evidence about those outcomes
  • Use evidence to report on policy influencing activities 

Who is this event for?

Staff or volunteers from third sector organisations in Scotland who undertake policy influencing.

Pre-existing knowledge of evaluation is not essential but would be helpful. We advise attending our workshop Getting Started: Outcomes and Indicators or Let’s Evaluate! Lite before attending any other workshop, to ensure you have a good understanding of outcomes and indicators. This is important, as outcomes and indicators are the building blocks of evaluation!

Important note:

This workshop provides a brief overview of the main principles involved in self-evaluation before focussing on evaluating policy influence in particular. If you are looking for full training in the principles and practices of evaluation, the Let’s Evaluate! programme will be more suitable.

Joining Information:

We are running this workshop using Zoom. We’ll email in advance with a link, password and all the materials you will need for the workshop. For more information, please read our Participant guide for using Zoom.

How our workshops run:

There will be a mixture of PowerPoint presentation and trainer guided exercises. We’ll help you learn from other participants and apply the learning to your work. There will be an icebreaker exercise at the start of the day to get to know each other. Participants will be placed in small groups to complete group activities.

For an engaging learning environment, we expect all attendees to actively participate in our workshops and to commit their full attention to the whole session. Please read our digital etiquette and best practice for online events.

About our workshops:

We are accessible. We use plain English. We work in a way that meets the different needs and abilities of people and organisations. We ask you if you have any access needs when we work with you and ensure that, as far as possible, we meet them.  Please ask us if you want to see our equalities policy.

Got any questions?

We’re here to help! Contact us for help and advice.

Book your place on this workshop by completing the form below:

Led by

Dr Gary Walsh

Senior Evaluation Support Manager

About Gary

Gary’s background is in education and project management of third sector programmes for children and young people. He completed his PhD at University of Glasgow. His research interests relate to social justice, citizenship, philosophy of education and trauma-informed practice. He initially trained and worked as a professional musician.

Gary is the Senior Evaluation Support Manager at Evaluation Support Scotland. He provides evaluation support to third sector organisations, including tailored support and more complex pieces of work, while also working on Business Development for ESS. He leads the Third Sector Research Forum and he works with colleagues at Scottish Government to improve funding relationships with the third sector. He also develops resources and delivers evaluation training workshops when demand is high.

About ESS Online workshops

Form

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • By entering your organisation's charity number this will makes it easier for us to check that the booking organisation is a third sector organisation based in Scotland.
  • Your booking will be confirmed by email within 5 working days of submission. Please check your inbox and/or junk mail. If you have any issues in receiving this email, contact us immediately.
  • Let us know if there is anything we need to do or be aware of to help you get the most out of attending.
  • Cost of attendance will be payable by BACS (bank transfer). The invoice will be sent by email after the workshop.
  • We issue our monthly ESS newsletter and updates to bring you the latest news on our work and to inform you of our workshops and events, but also to share information about the great work that others are doing. We never share your personal information or send unsolicited email - read our full Privacy Policy for more information.
  • How did you hear about this workshop? is there anything we can do to improve this booking process?
Back to top