Title image: Learning from experience
Tips and helpful resources
for evaluation
Reflection, evaluation and learning activities do not need to be too onerous. However, they do need to ask the right questions of the right people for them to be of use.
When thinking about evaluation, it is helpful to consider these points to help you reflect on what you can learn from your co-productive processes and experiences.
Tips for conducting good evaluation
Clear objectives, outcomes and processes
Identify clearly what you want to find out or measure, this should be linked to the overall purpose of co-production process or activity. In reflecting, don’t only consider outcomes and objectives also evaluate the processes that were implemented.
Collect feedback throughout process
Don’t wait until the end to reflect or evaluate, start to think about this from the beginning of the process and collect evidence throughout.
Doing this will lead to better more sustained evidence and also identify and support any changes that need to be made during the co-production process or activity.
Use multiple methods
Think about how to collect evidence and use multiple methods which are inclusive and appropriate to your audience.
Identify successes and challenges
It is sometimes easy to ignore or downplay when things didn’t go as planned or when challenges happened, but these are often where the most important learning points are presented. Be honest about what went well and what didn’t – don’t be afraid to identify what could have been done better, tell the story and learn from your experiences.
Include unanticipated outcomes
Unplanned outcomes or situations commonly arise from co-production processes and activities. These could include a new partnership, a change to an unrelated service or even new topic areas emerging for action. Recording such outcomes will reinforce the benefit of the overall process and show how activities are inter-related.
Promote findings
Don’t keep findings or learning to yourself or only those involved in the process. Promote what you have learned, share your reflections (and achievements) and record what people thought of the process. Only by sharing will we be able to learn from each other and encourage more co-production across Scotland.
Helpful resources
Evaluation Support Scotland works with third sector organisations, as well as trustees, intermediaries and funders, to ensure that they can measure and explain their impact and learn how to improve practice and inform policy. They have a range of tools, learning resources and information on their website, as well as holding workshops for people wanting to understand more about evaluative processes and how they work.
Co-production impact: A resource to support impact assessment from the Social Care Institute for Excellence is designed to support co-production groups and organisations who want to demonstrate the impact of co-production and offers a more accessible version of impact assessment with insights to encourage the development of tailored approaches to fit specific needs.
Co-production self-assessment framework - this is a working reflection tool which helps practitioners to review their own co-production activities in relation to the key components of co-production set out by the New Economics Foundation (NEF). You can learn more about the components from Co and Pro in section 1 of this guide!
The Right to a Grand Day Out (PDF) - This bright and colourful evaluation report from Yorkshire DEEP (part of the UK network of Dementia Voices) gives an interesting and reflective account of a co-production process through the eyes of those involved.