Evidencing Outcomes

I help organisations understand the difference they make, define clear outcomes, and capture the evidence they need in easy-to-read evaluation reports. It has never been more important to have the ability to prove what you do, especially when seeking funding, or evidencing the value of your activities to stakeholders.

I can help you with:

Project evaluation; local to national delivery, small-scale to £multi-million
Developing usable evaluation frameworks
Creation of theory of change/ logic models
Creating the tools needed to gather usable data
Stakeholder and audience engagement
Developing systems for information collation and analysis
Mentoring the team to increase data collection
Advice on what funders/ commissioners require

I’m happy to work with you face-to-face, virtually, or a mix of both to provide a responsive service that helps you understand and evidence what you do, and how that makes a difference.

Example: North Staffs Carers Association

North Staffs Carers has been successfully supporting carers for almost 30 years. Its Big Lottery funded Seasons of Care project supported carers through transition into, during, and after the caring role.

With project funding coming to an end, they required a robust evaluation to demonstrate the project’s performance and to act as an evidence base for further funding. I worked with the full team to define the true value that it created, and supplemented this with service user, staff and volunteer focus groups

The support enabled them to understand the full impact of the project, and also set in place some delivery changes to better meet local need. The evaluation was well received by Big Lottery and as a result they received continuation funding of over £410,000. They aim to help over 2,500 local carers through the continued project to have a life of their own

For a case study of this example, or for further information on how I may be able to support you, please get in touch.

“David understood what we wanted from the outset, working closely with us to develop a practical evaluation that met our needs. He was easy to work with, engaged well with our service users and volunteers alike, and he met our deadline for the work. As a result of working with David we are able to continue delivering our free support services to Carers for a further four years.”

Chief Executive Officer

NSCA

Example: Gwynedd Council

As part of its HLF funded £3 million Storiel gallery scheme, the Council required a three-year evaluation to set in place the ongoing monitoring systems required, to mentor staff and volunteers in data collection, and to develop robust evaluation reports.

I worked with the various members of the team to establish a deliverable measurement framework for both the capital works and activities programme. This included developing the data capture tools, supporting staff/ volunteers to engage visitors, and in ensuring information was being collected fully.

The Final Report enabled senior Council personnel to see the impact of the project including that approximately £4.74 million may have been created for the local economy and 88% of visitors ‘learnt something new’. The approach and tools also provide a long-term legacy, and are being used by the Council on this and wider projects.

For a case study of this example, or for further information on how I may be able to support you, please get in touch.

“David proved to be an excellent appointment. He provided excellent support and advice and made evaluation so much easier for us. It would have been impossible to carry out all of this ourselves. His expertise was very reassuring and he worked well with tight time constraints. I would definitely work with David again.”

Principal Officer

Gwynedd Council

Example: Social Care Wales

Social Care Wales is the national agency for Wales that works to improve the quality of care and support that people can expect; working across the public, private and third sectors.

SCW launched its two-year Social Services Practitioner pilot, delivered by the Open University Wales, to enable learners to gain a Certificate of Higher Education in Social Care (Wales). An evaluation was needed to demonstrate the impact and future potential for the Welsh workforce.

My approach involved working between each of the 22 local authorities, the individual learners involved, and various partner agencies to gather feedback and evidence performance.

Due to the successful approach and the evidence-base within the evaluation, the pilot is set to continue. There has also been interest from Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, and it is the intention that the pilot will have resulted in a qualification that will be available across the UK.

For a case study of this example, or for further information on how I may be able to support you, please …

“David worked with a range of stakeholders in a responsive and helpful way. He provided a real determination to achieving a high quality product even when it was difficult to gather data, and changed his collection methods to ensure a reliable and robust evaluation. He certainly provided excellent value for money.”

Improvement and Development Manager

Social Care Wales