If you have a question which is not answered here please get in touch using the form below.
Evaluation measures the difference your work makes. Quality measures how good your service is. Your service can be very good, but unless it is relevant and addresses people’s needs, it may not make a difference to anything!
We don’t tend to worry too much about this. What matters is that you collect information about what you do and the difference you make and analyse that information, report on it and learn from it. Some people think of monitoring as the process of collecting information, and evaluation as the process of analysis and reflection. Other people see monitoring as collecting and analysing information about your activities and evaluation as collecting and analysing information about your outcomes (the difference your work makes). Pick whichever definition works for you!
No. Our work involves helping organisations to learn how to evaluate their own work; we do not carry out evaluations for organisations. We can work with you (via tailored support) to review your own information and help you reflect and learn, but we cannot gather data for you or make an independent judgement about the impact of your work.
If you want an external evaluation, see our support guide ‘Getting the best from an external evaluation’ for tips on how to proceed. Find the support guide here.
We periodically hold evaluation support accounts with various funders – these contracts allow grantholders to access our training and/or tailored support paid for by the funder. If we do not currently have an evaluation support account with your funder, it is worth asking your funder if funded evaluation support is an option.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources to offer workshops or tailored support for free. However, our library of free resources – including support guides, method sheets and case studies – can be used to support your evaluation.
Additionally, we host several different peer-support networks (all of which are free to join), find out more here.
We do not usually work with public sector organisations, however, if the public sector team works in partnership with third sector organisations – or community groups – then we may be able to offer support. If this sounds like you, please get in touch with us via the form at the bottom of this page and we can look into this further.
We do not promote any particular evaluation tools. There are lots of different, and creative, ways to engage people in evaluation. We find that evaluation works best when it fits with the way you do your work and with the ethos of your organisation.
Among our resources we have a variety of methods sheets and evaluation tools – all of which are free to use – try adapting them to your needs or simply use them for inspiration!
You may also want to check out our blog ‘Getting creative with evaluation methods’ which provides useful tips for collecting evidence.
Evaluation works best when it fits into the way you do your work – the same is true of databases. So, no one single database works for every third sector organisation.
For some organisations, Excel and a good electronic filing system can be enough, while some choose to create their own bespoke database. There are also many off-the-shelf databases. For example, we use an adapted version of Salesforce (which is free for small charities but there are developer costs to adapt it). If you are collecting data electronically (e.g. an online form) that system may also store the data.
Whatever your approach, some key things to think about are:
– Don’t start with the IT, start with working out what you want to measure – and store – including outcome data.
– No database will be perfect first time so be ready to adapt as you go.
– Follow your organisation’s data protection (GDPR) rules.
– Databases are only as good as the people who input the data! So involve staff in designing a database and planning its use.
Additionally, here are some resources which you may find useful:
– This case study is about how Hot Chocolate (a youthwork charity) successfully developed its database.
– This paper has tips for funders about their databases.
Our workshops are designed for third sector organisations in Scotland. In some circumstances (where we would not be denying a place to a third sector organisation) we may be able to accommodate staff from local authorities – or other public sector staff – who are running front-line projects.
Our workshops for funders can also be relevant for public sector staff who fund the third sector, or provide support to third sector organisations in accessing and managing fund. find more details here.
Our workshops are not suitable for consultants.
Our 3 Let’s Evaluate! workshops follow a sequence and most people find it best to attend all 3 in order; but you can pick and choose which you’d like to book on to (when listed on our site as 3 separate workshops, rather than a single training programme).
However, if you choose not to attend the first workshop in the programme – ‘Getting started: Setting outcomes and indicators’ – please ensure you have a good understanding of outcomes and indicators before attending any of the other workshops. This is important, as outcomes and indicators are the building blocks of evaluation!
You might find it helpful to read our ‘Setting outcomes’ Support Guide before attending any of our training.
Our workshop ‘Getting the best from your grantholders’ is for people who work for funders – such as trusts and foundations, local authorities, Government and public bodies.
This workshop will help attendees to:
– Understand what good self-evaluation practice for third sector organisations is.
– Understand what effective funder-funded relationships look like.
– Assess and give feedback on reports to funded organisations.
We periodically run ‘Getting the best from your grantholders’ as an open workshop, it can also be commissioned. Find out more about ‘Getting the best from your grantholders’ here.
Alternatively, you may prefer a tailored support session designed to focus on the specific areas you want help with.
We are keen to learn from funders about the support we can provide to help them improve their understanding of self-evaluation and make the most of their relationships with the third sector organisations they fund. Please let us know if there are any resource(s) you would like showcased/created, or any specific topics you would like us to cover. You can get in touch with us via the form at the bottom of this page.
Yes, we’re happy to do this. We find our Let’s Evaluate! workshops meet most people’s needs (and have the benefit of being lower-cost than tailored training), however, if our existing workshops don’t suit your needs we can certainly adapt something for you.
Find out more about commissioning a workshop.
If you aren’t sure where to start, we recommend our evaluation pathway, it guides you through each stage of evaluation. Find out more about the evaluation pathway here.
Alternatively, you can complete the form below to request support from us, and we can help you get started!
Didn’t find what you were looking for? Please get in touch