Collecting information

This step will help you find different ways to collect information about the difference you are making and to fit evaluation into your project or organisation.

Pathway Diagram

Getting Started

Do you know why evaluation is important? Are staff and managers motivated to get started? Do you have clear statements about the difference you want to make as an organisation?

Collecting Information

Do you have statements that help you recognise the impact that you have? Do you have the right systems to enable you to measure what you do, and the difference that you make?

Using Consultants (Optional)

Do you know what you want from an external evaluation, and can you communicate that? Do you know how to go about commissioning consultants?

Analysing & Reporting

Do you know how to analyse the information you collect? Can you write a report about what you've done and the difference you've made?

Learn from your Findings

Do you know how to use the findings to improve your service? Do you know how to share your findings with others?

Events & Training

Be sure to read this booking information.

September 18, 2008 Collecting information to report on outcomes Glasgow

October 2, 2008 Using visual approaches to evaluate your project Glasgow

November 13, 2008 Collecting information to report on outcomes Edinburgh

November 27, 2008 Using visual approaches to evaluate your project Edinburgh

Resources

Case Studies

ESS case study: Granton Youth

The Peer leader project at Granton Youth Centre was looking for more exciting ways to collect information on its outcomes. The young people involved in the project liked the visual methods learnt ...

ESS Support Guides

ESS Support Guide 2: Developing and using indicators

Evaluation is about working out what difference you are making through your services or activities. The changes or differences you hope to make are your outcomes (see Evaluation Support Guide 1 ...

ESS Support Guide 3: Using interviews and questionnaires to evaluate your project

This guide covers some of the more traditional approaches to collect information for your evaluation: questionnaires, interviews and group interviews (focus groups) and gives advice on how to ...

ESS Support Guide 4: Visual Approaches

This guide covers some visual approaches you can use to collect information for evaluation: relationship maps, service use maps, lifelines, body maps and evaluation wheels and gives advice on how ...

ESS Support Guide 5: Photographic Technology

This guide covers some ways you can use photographic technology to collect information for evaluation: video diaries, video, and digital photographs and gives advice on how to use them. These can ...

ESS Support Guide 6: Audio & communication technology

This guide covers some ways you can use audio and communications technology to collect information for evaluation: audio recording, mobile phones and internet. These can be used independently ...

Toolkits & Guides

Effective Interventions Unit Evaluation Guide 3: Designing an Evaluation

This is the second Evaluation Guide in the EIU Evaluation series. This Guide aims to explain the planning stage of an evaluation by describing the steps necessary in planning both an intervention ...

Effective Interventions Unit Evaluation Guide 4: Implementing an Evaluation

This is the second Evaluation Guide in the EIU Evaluation series. This Guide aims to explain the planning stage of an evaluation by describing the steps necessary in planning both an intervention ...

Evaluation Ladder (Drugs and Housing)

This ladder was adapted by Kevin Callaghan from Cyrenians in West Lothian to use with the service users he works with. This is an excellent example of how tools can be adapted to different ...

Step it Up - Charting Young People's Progress

This document is both a report of work commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department in 2001 and materials developed for evaluating youth work. The report identifies ...