My Favourite quotes and comments from the conference:
evaluation is about problem solving not fault finding
@AccessAlliance
Challenging assumptions is difficult when hierarchies are involved- people afraid to be truthful says @Mark Stiles
evaluators need to think beyond the report @Nancy Snow
so much more learning can occur when eval introduced early. @TolgaYalkin
Blog about evaluation findings as a way to share info and show value @Nicholas_Falvo
Role of evaluation - “evaluation is essential for learning” (Uitto et al., 2017) @Astrid Brousselle
The single biggest problem about communication is the illusion that it has occurred @G_KayeP
Funding does not lead to impact. Funding leads to knowledge, which (once applied) leads to impact. @jwmcconnell
Lesson learned in DE: don’t assume that, just because people come together for a project, that they have the same understanding! @StrongRoots_SK
Building eval capacity is as messy as learning, to be transformational we need to help them understand time needed @carolynhoessler
Evaluators work in the space between the thinkers/doubters and the doers/faithful @a_Kallos
Intimacy = in 2 me see @Paul LaCerte
Penny Hawkins summarised the panel presentations (2nd day's keynote) : Misaligned expectations; learning vs. accountability; valuing evaluation. This is a reaffirmation of the main points that were discussed in my Thesis.
This online tool can be used to assess organisational evaluation capacity - developed by @eval_station - Similar to a benchmarking instrument, to be used in group mode, not individual. "The conversation is often of greater value than the answers to the questions"
Met Dr Justin Jagosh, the founder of CARES: Centre for Advancement in Realist Evaluation and Synthesis: https://realistmethodology-cares.org
Through the website I was able to make contact with Dr Prashanth N S who runs a reading list - articles which all identify how realism is used in practice - which I wanted to read to help with my methodology section of the thesis. Great connection.
https://www.mendeley.com/community/critical-realism-and-realist-evaluation/
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3 Questions I was asked about the poster:
1. Who is the audience
2. What is innovative about it?
3. What impact will it have?
These questions really made me think about the design of the poster/project and I hope will help me when writing it all up.
1. The findings from this study consisted of a set of recommendations, some aimed at those carrying out the evaluation and others aimed at the funders of these small projects, usually at the institution level or even the Faculty or School level. The former group can use some of the strategies to assist them in their evaluative efforts and help them grow their evaluative skills. The latter group may learn more about the needs of the grant awardees and be able to modify expectations and behaviours.
These two groups make up the audience for this project. However, I believe the findings and recommendations could be transferable across other sectors who offer small scale grants for introducing new innovations.
2. I'm not sure I would describe my research as innovative - but here we go. The evaluation framework which was developed through action research cycles and resulted in an online interactive tool was a great output from this study. A need for such a resource was identified and the format of the final product is quite innovative in its simplicity.
3. I'm hoping that the impact of this study will come about when people (the identified audiences) start to better evaluate their work, through thoughtful planning and understanding of the available options and requirements. When these small innovations and projects are evaluated, the findings need to be disseminated so that others can learn and improve on them. Thus leading to an improved learning experience for our students.
