DIY Evaluation – a one day workshop in self-evaluation

Posted on January 28, 2012 by admin

Do It Yourself Evaluation

A one day workshop for beginners and improvers in self-evaluation

Monday, 26th March 2012

I’m running a one day workshop in Edinburgh on the principles and practice of self-evaluation.   It will be valuable for anyone interested in making better use of evidence of all kinds to design and improve services and those who want to involve other people in that process.     It’s not about doing evaluation on the cheap – but it might help you save resources by building ‘evaluative’ thinking into the work you do and also produce some evidence of the difference you’re making, to keep it all on the right track and convince funders.

It will provide practical ideas for approaches that can help to promote wider ‘evaluative’ thinking and embed monitoring and evaluation into routine ways of working.  We won’t be looking at RCTs or SROI.

You’re invited to get in touch to discuss your own examples in advance – and we will work with some of these during the day to make sure you get the most of the workshop.

Here’s more details and the booking form   Do It Yourself Evaluations – 26 March 2012.

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Seldom heard voices

Posted on January 18, 2012 by admin

This set of stories came from the recent evaluation of the Cedar work.

They are composite stories based on themes from across different data sources.  They’re told by young people and mothers who’d been in Cedar groups and the staff that ran the groups.    These stories reveal what the narrators liked and didn’t like about their experience of Cedar; what mattered to them and what worked well for them; the things that caused anxieties or conflicts and what gave them comfort or reassurance.

They reveal much about the deeper issues and meanings that they attach to their experience; the assumptions, values, expectations, ways of seeing and emotions of which they may not always have been aware, may have found to be ‘un-discussible’ or chosen not to speak about.

At a final evaluation event, these stories were ‘told’ by volunteers for whom they had some resonance; story tellers included Cedar graduates, Coordinators and Co-facilitators. The stories were analysed through a group process which drew out key themes and learning and from which the participants together developed recommendations.  Listen and let us know what you think. Thanks to all those who shared their stories throughout this work.

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An award for mentoring

Posted on November 7, 2011 by admin

The Craighead Institute have been awarded Mentoring in Business Project of the Year 2011 for their Management & Leadership Health, Work and Wellbeing Mentoring Project.  The evaluation of this important project was undertaken by Research for Real.

See the report here.


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Research as if people were human

Posted on September 2, 2011 by admin

 Here’s a link to an important new book by Yoland Wadsworth “Building in research and evaluation – human inquiry for living systems“, 2011

Posted in Co-production and new ways of working, How can evaluation be useful?, Participatory research methods, Research Impact, What is action research? | Leave a comment

How can evaluation be worthwhile and useful?

Posted on September 2, 2011 by admin

We have recently completed an exciting and innovative action research evaluation of the Cedar groupwork programme.  This provided a systemic and reflective approach to evaluation which is likely to be of interest to others who want to blend action and analysis in all areas of public policy.   Our perspective was that if research is to be worthwhile, it should contribute to changes in practice as well as report the outcomes of the programme.

The design of the evaluation process created a blended multiple sources of evidence of all kinds, including the perspectives of the children and mothers, in a series of different types of reflective and participatory spaces.   This approach has meant that emerging evidence arising from the implementation of the pilot has been trialled, interpreted and subjected to the hard test of complex live practice.

We used a number of innovative participatory research methods to involve programme participants and professionals in the generation and analysis of narrative and story-based evidence, including the use of composite stories which allowed the voices of children and mothers to remain in the foreground.  They also revealed much about the deeper issues and meanings that professionals and participants attached to their experience; the assumptions, values, expectations, ways of seeing and emotions of which they may not always have been aware, may have found to be ‘un-discussible’ or chosen not to speak about.

Here’s the final report:  We Thought They Didn’t See

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Learn to share, share to learn

Posted on August 15, 2011 by admin

Times are difficult and we need to talk to each other about what we ought to be doing.  Yet, conversations seem to be no longer available in many settings.   We need to learn to work differently and develop new knowledge, skills and the flexibility to respond in new ways to systemic and complex problems on the ground.  This can be both scary and exciting.

In Scotland, the Christie Commission has suggested that changing the way we organise our public services is going to take much more than money and calls for a radical, new and collaborative culture. This is a challenge for Government as shown here:  in the absence of ‘new money’ national government will need other ways of influencing to achieve the outcomes it seeks in public programmes and services. 

This new publication is based on an action inquiry process which supported the evaluation of a publicly-funded health improvement programme.  It only skims some of the issues but hopefully it’s a contribution to some important conversations we need to have about evidence generation and use and the role of action research.  I hope to write more about this topic soon so please send any comments.

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New skills we need…listening, unlearning, reflexivity…..

Posted on June 10, 2011 by admin

Professor Robert Chambers was interviewed about his career in international development.  It’s refreshing to hear his reflections, especially about unlearning and reflexivity….. Robert Chambers interview

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Action research makes an impact?

Posted on February 3, 2011 by admin

One of my ‘favourite’ quotes is from a former Chief Research Officer who said that “Evidence-based policy is all very well, but at the end of the day, politics wins out”.  So in that spirit, it’s great to hear that a Research for Real action research  project is being discussed in the Scottish Parliament.   We’ll update you on the funding position as soon as we know.   UPDATE:  Both interim and final reports are now available on the projects page.  

Excerpt taken from Meeting of the Parliament 27 January 2011

3. To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the getting it right for every child approach, what plans it has to ensure that children and young people experiencing and recovering from domestic abuse receive appropriate support. (S3O-12784)

  • The Minister for Children and Early Years (Adam Ingram): In 2010-11, we provided £4.16 million for the children’s services-women’s aid fund, which supports the network of children’s workers throughout Scotland. I was delighted to announce in the Parliament on 23 December last year that we will continue to fund those important local services at the same level for 2011-12.

  • Cathy Peattie: That answer is very welcome.

    The minister will be aware of the positive evaluations of the children experiencing domestic abuse recovery pilot projects in Edinburgh, Fife and Forth valley in my constituency in a report that is appropriately entitled “Through the eyes of a bairn”. What is the timescale for delivering that important project?

  • Adam Ingram: We are looking at funding the CEDAR project through the new early years and early intervention fund. We are working up details on the scope and management of the new fund and eligibility for it, and we will make an announcement as soon as we can.
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    Things we like

    Posted on November 17, 2010 by admin

    I think it is very important to hold to the idea that action research is one way to break down this barrier between living an inquiring life and research in a formal sense, and to see inquiry as part of a well-lived life, and of a healthy organization and society. So I love this quote from the great American playwright, Arthur Miller:

    “There is hardly a week that passes when I don’t ask the unanswerable question: what am I now convinced of that will turn out to be ridiculous? And yet one can’t forever stand on the shore; at some point, filled with indecision, skepticism, reservation and doubt, you either jump in or concede that life is forever elsewhere”.

    This means that action research is an attitude toward inquiry, not just a methodology.

    Taken from Peter Reason, Choice and Quality in Action Research Practice, Keynote address, ALARPM 6th World Congress, PAR 10th World Congress, Pretoria, September 2003

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    Insights from stories

    Posted on November 17, 2010 by admin

    Storydialogue allows hands-on analysis of qualitative data

    Research for Real is eight years old this month!  It’s been an exciting time and it’s hard to believe the variety of work that we’ve been involved in.  At the moment we’re busy preparing for an Exchange Event for the evaluation of the Cedar project – a groupwork programme that works with children, young people and their mothers that have experienced domestic abuse.    The event will be run as a Storydialogue event which is a great approach to sharing and analysing real experiences.  We’ll give you an update before Christmas.

    If you’re interested in different ways to make use of stories see this recent report for inspiration.  This link opens as a pdf on an external site.

    Modest and mighty: stories of health and well being from Langside and Linn

    Posted in Participatory research methods, Research Impact, What is action research? | Leave a comment